The big fat lie about battery life

[randomizer]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/digital-life/how-tos/the-big-fat-lie-about-battery-life/2009/02/06/1233423460353.html?page=fullpage

Best. Article. Ever.

A very high-end model may come with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) or lithium-ion polymer (Lipo) battery while your average model will ship with a lowly NiCad.

Someone tell me the last time they saw Ni-Cad in a laptop? Or anywhere for that matter :lol:

 

[lostandwandering]

Maybe in the old (think '95 or 96) IBM ThinkPad I have at home. Just about every laptop I see today has a Li-ion battery, or is at least advertised with one.

Ask anyone who owns a laptop and they will say the same thing: battery life sucks. Nearly everyone reports it is less than they thought it would be.

Can't say that my brother, dad or I have experienced this. We get just about what ours were rated for.

 

[randomizer]

"Nearly everyone" is probably watching DVDs and expecting it to reach the battery life stated on the packaging.

 

[lostandwandering]

^haha that is probably not far from the truth.

He also made a point about limited life spans on the Ni batteries. This is also true for Li batteries. My brother just had to replace the 9-cell Li on his Dell. Granted it lasted close to three years.....

 

[randomizer]

Li-Ion (and Li-Po to a lesser extent) slowly loses capacity from time of manufacture onwards whether it is used or not. Conditions it is stored and used in slow or speed up this process.

 

[cheaptofix]

dumb. when you buy a new laptop battery lasts very long up to 3 hours. 1 year later battery begins to lose its memory charge. time kills batteries nothing else

 

[randomizer]

That's not entirely correct. Li-Ion begins to lose maximum capacity from the moment it is manufactured. There are slow chemical reactions inside the battery that cause this. Also, having the battery in high temperatures accelerates this reaction there therefore speeds up battery aging. The reverse is also true, so that storing in a fridge will slow the aging process. Alternatively, try your favourite anti-aging cream.