There are three refurbished notebook battery types, each named for its component materials:

Nickel Cadmium batteries (NiCad battery) are hardly ever seen anymore. They have dismally low capacities (2000-3000 mAH) and contain heavy metals that harm the environment. Worst of all is the dreaded “memory effect”. When you recharge a Nickel Cadmium battery before it is completely drained, the longevity of the laptop battery is compromised. That is the memory effect.

Nickel Metal Hybrid batteries (NiMH battery) have twice the capacity of Nickel Metal Hybrid batteries (4000-6000 mAH) and are half as susceptible to the memory effect. But these too are becoming rare.

Lithium Ion batteries (Li-Ion battery) are today’s laptop battery standard. They have all the capacity of a Nickel Metal Hybrid battery, but zero memory effect and zero toxins. Bonus: Li-Ion notebook batteries weigh half as much as Nickel Metal Hybrid laptop batteries. In purchasing a notebook battery, the consumer has three options: used, refurbished, or new.

Used notebook batteries that are not refurbished will probably only last you 30 minutes to an hour before needing recharging…

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Laptop users love to complain about how their notebook batteries don’t last long enough. But what if you could get more life out of your laptop battery?

Peter Robbins knows when he turns on his two year old laptop, he doesn’t have long to work.

“My laptop battery dies within a half hour,”

Robbins said.

And when he forgets to watch the power meter,

“all of a sudden it will just go into standby mode and you lose whatever you’re working on. It’s pretty frustrating,”

Robbins said.

Pc Magazine’s Cisco Cheng says no matter if a laptop user has an old, fast dying battery or just can’t plug in, there are simple ways to squeeze out more power when running on a battery. One easy tip: dim your screen.

“Dimming it by 50 percent or even to a level that you can tolerate, can have a profound effect on battery life,”

Cheng said.

Cheng says if you don’t need to be online, disable the wireless connection. Also, pick your programs wisely. Avoid using music and video players, and doing things like watching a DVD, or playing games.

“They can tax your CPU and your battery,”

Cheng said.

“If you’re running a web browser, if you’re running word processing programs, those don’t usually take a toll on your battery.”

Make your battery stronger with regular exercise. Cheng says do something called conditioning everyday…

Full Story: Keyetv.com