The method, terminal and computer program product of the present invention are capable of adjusting the power consumption of short-range communication transceivers, such as RFID, IR transceivers or the like. Energy management of the transceiver is achieved by limiting activation of the transceiver to periods of user-interface illumination. The transceiver, therefore, uses less power because it is only activated by an intentional gesture by the user, i.e., a gesture that will initiate the illumination of a user-interface. In addition, the user of terminal is aware, via observation of the illumination, that the terminal is in an active transceiver reading state and, thus, the invention provides for a safe environment in which inadvertent reading of tags or data communication is lessened.