How To Prepare Your Smartphone for a Hurricane

With Hurricane Irene barreling up the East Coast, millions of people in New York and Boston are about to experience the biggest storm of their lives. Staying in communication with family and friends while a natural disaster is important, so people should be sure their phones are ready.

PowerHigh winds are going cause wide-spread power outrages, so be sure your phone is fully charged when the storm starts.

A laptop battery can as well be used to recharge many phones -- by nature, this will drain the laptop, so decide which device is more important to you. Even though the notebook needs to be on to start charging, many models can be put in sleep mode and they'll continue to provide power to their USB ports.

The path of this hurricane

SignalWith millions of people in the path of this hurricane, the cellular phone networks are likely to be overwhelmed with people calling friends and relatives. If this happens in your area, consider sending text messages instead. These are more likely to get through than phone calls while times of peak network use.

If your phone service is interrupted however you nevertheless have access to Wi-Fi, consider using Skype or a similar VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) app. This lets users make free voice calls over the Internet, and even call landlines, although this costs extra.

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