Did you know that if you don’t properly shut down applications, they could be running in the background on your phone? A few weeks ago, my friends over at the Inside BlackBerry® Help Blog told you about a great utility app from Research In Motion® (RIM®) that entered beta. Well, I’m happy to tell you that the Application Resource Monitor is out of beta and has landed as a free download for those running BlackBerry® OS 7.1 in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.

This app is designed to run in the background, monitor and notify you when unused applications are running and using up device resources like memory and battery power. You can even adjust the settings to automatically shut down resource-draining apps. If you’re looking for tools that can help you get added efficiency from your BlackBerry smartphone battery, this is definitely one to add to your roster.

For more details, swing by the Help Blog and the app download page on BlackBerry App World.

Have you been using this app in beta? Let us know how you liked it in the comments.

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The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet is designed to give you a solid battery life depending on what you do, but there are some things you can do to help maximize the battery life of your tablet so you can stay connected, enjoy your media and capture amazing pictures and videos. We’ve compiled a number of tips to help you.

Dim the screen

A quick tip to help extend battery life is to adjust the screen brightness of the display to a lower value than the one you are currently using. To change your brightness setting, go to the Home screen status bar, tap on the Battery icon and toggle the brightness slider (in the yellow box below) to your desired value. Note, the system keeps separate brightness levels for whether you’re plugged in and charging or running on battery power only.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog »