Just Laptop Battery.com

Lithium Ion notebook batteries wear down because of two factors:

1. active usage in your notebook battery
2. natural aging of the notebook battery

Both will wear down your notebook battery over time; the trick is to minimize their impact while still getting the performance out of your laptop battery that you need.

The most important thing to understand about laptop batteries is that they are always losing a small bit of their charge. The hotter the temperature, the faster notebook batteries loose their charge. So rule number one is: keep your notebook battery cool. Notebook battery manufacturers store their products at around 60F.

The second most important thing to understand about notebook batteries is that their capacity decreases with each cycle of charging and discharging. By itself, this is not surprising - but when combined with the previous point, it leads to a surprising conclusion.

When laptop users leave their laptop battery inside the machine but leave the computer plugged into the wall, the laptop battery is going through a constant charge-discharge cycle. The notebook battery is sitting unused inside the notebook, discharging a little faster than normal because of the notebook’s heat. Once its charge level drops to a predetermined level, the AC adapter provides extra juice to “top off” the notebook battery. As the laptop battery gets older, it tends to self-discharge a little faster, which accelerates the process even further…

Read the rest of this entry »

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…

Read the rest of this entry »

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

Toshiba has issued its second recall in a month of Sony laptop batteries that could overheat and burst into flames.

The latest recall, announced Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, affects about 1,400 notebooks. The models include the Toshiba Satellite A100 and A105, and the Toshiba Tecra A7, which sell for as little as $680.

The recall stemmed from three reports outside of the United States of laptop batteries overheating. No injuries were reported, but the CPSC is advising laptop computer owners to run the systems on AC power and send the batteries back to Toshiba for replacements at no charge.

Toshiba in July recalled 10,000 batteries in Toshiba Satellite and Toshiba Tecra laptops. The company reported in June that a Sony laptop battery was responsible for at least two notebooks bursting into flames. The CPSC has listed 16 reports of Sony lithium-ion notebook batteries overheating.

Apple, Dell, Lenovo, Gateway, and Acer America also have issued recalls of the faulty rechargeable batteries. The global effort started last year when power sources used in notebooks from several manufacturers began showing defects and overheating. Sony last year recalled 9.6 million batteries, making it the largest recall ever in the computer industry.

Read the rest of this entry »

FreshBattery announced a new Legacy line of laptop batteries. The units are designed to provide batteries for notebook models that have been discontinued for three to 5 years, including older Apple PowerBooks and Apple iBooks.

According to Macworld News, the company claims that the laptop batteries are designed to meet or exceed the original manufacturer’s specifications. In the case of a Legacy battery for an original Apple PowerBook G4, FreshBattery has substituted the original 3600 mAH cells with 4400 mAH cells, resulting in a battery that adds an additional 40 minutes of run time between charges.

FreshBattery currently produces a battery range that covers the original “Clamshell” iBook G3s and goes back as far as the Wall Street and Pismo-era G3 PowerBooks. The Legacy battery line is currently priced under US$100 and available immediately.

Full Story: Powerpage.org

Tekkeon announces myPower ALL Plus MP3450, an external rechargeable laptop battery that doubles the life of laptop batteries and can simultaneously charge other small portable devices through an on-board USB port. myPower ALL Plus is modular, so a second extended battery can be added to provide even more mobile power.

myPower ALL Plus powers and charges most laptop computers and virtually any mobile device on the go. In addition to powering a laptop for up to four extra hours, myPower ALL Plus powers and charges most portable electronics like portable DVD players, digital cameras and camcorders, portable media centers, portable MP3 and CD players, PDAs, and mobile phones.

“Tekkeon’s new external laptop battery is a must-have alternative for expensive notebook batteries that are dedicated to a single device,”

says Jerry Yang, president of Tekkeon, Inc.

“Before needing to be recharged, our new lightweight battery can power a notebook up to four hours, provide up to six hours of extra play time on a portable DVD player, or up to 12 hours of recording time on a digital camcorder - making it a truly universal mobile power solution.”

myPower ALL Plus connects to the power jack on the portable device. Selecting the right voltage for a portable device is done quickly and easily using the voltage selector. Automatic reset upon adapter change provides added safety to protect the connected device.

Full Story: PRNewswire.com

Toshiba said Thursday it will recall lithium-ion notebook battery packs made by Sony Corp.

Up to 5,100 battery packs are defective, but the recall will include 10,000 laptop batteries, as that is the size of the manufacturing lot involved, spokesmen from the companies said.

The recall is unrelated to the much bigger recall of Sony-made li-ion batteries last year.

A Toshiba spokesman said the recall would affect 10 different notebook models sold worldwide. He said the company knew of three separate incidents where the laptop battery packs had overheated and damaged notebooks, and all three came from the lot in question.

A Sony spokesman said all of the batteries involved had come from the same lot the company made in December 2005, and so the companies had decided to recall all batteries from that lot.

He said Sony was still investigating the cause of the problem, but that it was limited to that specific lot.

Both companies expect the financial impact from the recall to be minimal

News source: MarketWatch.com

Gateway today recalled 14,000 batteries used in its notebook PCs after four customers reported that their computers had overheated, a similar condition to the massive laptop battery recall that swept the industry in 2006.

Dell, Apple, Lenovo Group, and other vendors recalled more than 8 million batteries made by Sony when customers began complaining that the rechargeable lithium-ion cells could overheat and catch fire after being dropped. Gateway recalled 35,000 notebook batteries in that episode, beginning in October 2006.

However, the new recall affects battery cells made by Samsung Electronics and assembled into laptop battery packs by Simplo Technology, of Taiwan, Gateway spokeswoman Lisa Emard said today.

Gateway, the third-largest PC vendor in the U.S., expects both vendors to help cover the cost of the action.

“We’re working with our suppliers to cover the cost of replacement battery packs and other direct costs. We expect our costs to be limited to incidental expenses associated with administering the exchange program,”

Emard said.

Simplo and Samsung did not return calls for comment.

Full news