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Mobile communication systems, such as handhelds and laptops, still suffer from short operation time due to limited battery capacity. We exploit the approach of protocol harmonization to extend the time between battery charges in mobile devices using an IEEE 802.11 network interface. Many known energy saving mechanisms only concentrate on a single protocol layer while others only optimize the receiving phase by on/off switching. We show, that energy saving is also possible during the sending process. This is achieved by a combined tuning of the data link control and physical layer. In particular, harmonized operation of power control and medium access control will lead to reduction of energy consumption. We show a RF power and medium access control trade-off. Furthermore we discuss applications of the results in IEEE 802.11 networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]