Need More Battery Life?
We are listing the total capacity of the batteries here, but we want to point out this isn't always an apples-to-apples comparison. mAh is the SI abbreviation for milliampere-hour. This is a quick and dirty way to compare the relative energy stored in one battery to that of another. However, these comparisons are only useful if you are looking at same battery chemistry.
If you want to think of capacity as how much fuel the battery holds, like a tank of gas, then chemistry is the type of fuel. If you are comparing lithium-ion polymer to nickel-metal hydride batteries, you might as well be talking about diesel and gas-powered cars. Also, think of the huge energy difference between one pound of coal and one pound of uranium. So, the only real metric of a battery's utility is to measure how long it actually runs. In lieu of automobiles and miles per gallon, our benchmark lab tests notebooks and battery life.
| Brand | Amstar | Amstar | Brunton | Brunton | Digipower |
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| Model | MedXP 140 | MedXP 300 | Sustain | Impel | Universal Laptop Battery |
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| Chemistry | Lithium-Ion Prismatic | Lithium-Ion Cylindrical | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium-Ion |
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| Output Rating | - | - | 60 Wh (19 V @ 3.2 Ah) | 60 Wh (19 V @ 3.2 Ah) | - |
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| Battery Rating | - | - | - | - | 4400 mAh |
|---|
| Battery Capacity | 140 Wh
| 293.04 Wh (14.8 V @ 19.8 Ah) | 73 Wh | 146 Wh | 48.8 Wh (11.1 V @ 4.4 Ah) |
|---|
| LCD | N | Y | N | N | N |
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| Battery Guage | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
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| Output Cable Length | 6' | 6' | 34" | 34" | 30" |
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| Output Voltages | 16, 20 | 12, 16, 19, 24 | 12, 16, 19 | 12, 16, 19 | 16, 19 |
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| Charger (Watts) | 90 | 130 | 38 | 38 | 28 |
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| Charger Weight | 0.86 | 1.58 | 0.41 | 0.41 | 0.58 |
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| USB ports | N | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Casing | Aluminum & Rubber | ABS Plastic | Rubberized plastic | Rubberized plastic | Aluminum & ABS plastic |
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Length
| 10.38" | 10.75" | 7.25" | 7.75" | 6.5" |
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| Width | 8.63" | 7.38" | 6.75" | 3.75" | 3.25" |
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| Height | .56" | 1.63" | 1.13" | 1.13" | 1" |
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| Weight (lbs) | 3.4 | 5.38 | 2.38 | 1.31 | 1.13 |
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| Warranty (years) | 6 months | 6 months | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Warranty on cells | 6 months | 6 months | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Warranty registration | N | N | N | N | N |
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| Brand | Electrovaya | Electrovaya | Energizer | Energizer | Lenmar |
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| Model | PowerPad 95 | PowerPad 130 | XP8000 | XP18000 | PPU916 |
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| Chemistry | SuperPolymer Lithium-Ion | SuperPolymer Lithium-Ion | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer |
|---|
| Output Rating | - | - | 38 Wh (19 V @ 2.0 Ah) | 66.5 Wh (19 V @ 3.5 Ah) | - |
|---|
| Battery Rating | - | - | 8000 mAh | 18 000 mAh | - |
|---|
| Battery Capacity | 95 Wh (15 V @ 6.3 Ah) | 130 Wh (15 V @ 8.6 Ah) | - | - | 104.5 Wh (19 V @ 5.5 Ah) |
|---|
| LCD | LCM | LCM | N | N | N |
|---|
| Battery Guage | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
|---|
| Output Cable Length | 27" | 27" | 26.5" (9 V-12 V), 26.5" (16 V-20 V) | 26.5" (9 V-12 V), 26.5" (16 V-20 V) | 29.5" |
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| Output Voltages | 15, 16, 18, 18, 19, 20, 24 | 15, 16, 18, 18, 19, 20, 24 | 9-12, 16-20 | 9-12, 16-20 | 16, 19 |
|---|
| Charger (Watts) | - | - | 60 | 65 | - |
|---|
| Charger Weight | - | - | 0.72 | 0.65 | - |
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| USB ports | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Casing | ABS plastic | ABS plastic | ABS plastic | ABS plastic | Aluminum |
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| Length | 10.63" | 10.63" | 4.38" | 7.13" | 7.25" |
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| Width | 8.25" | 8.25" | 2.88" | 4.88" | 4.94" |
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| Height | .69" | .69" | .94" | .81" | .56" |
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| Weight (lbs) | 2.02 | 2.38 | 0.49 | 1.11 | 1.15 |
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| Warranty (years) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
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| Warranty on cells | 1 | 1 | 6 months | 6 months | 1 |
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| Warranty registration | N | N | Required | Required | N |
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| Brand | PowerTraveller | PowerTraveller | Tekkeon | Tekkeon | Tekkeon |
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| Model | MiniGorilla | PowerGorilla | MP3750 | MP3450 | MP3450i |
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| Chemistry | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer | Lithium Polymer |
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| Output Rating | 38 Wh (19 V @ 2.0 Ah) | 104.5 Wh (19 V @ 5.5 Ah) | 49.4 Wh (19 V @ 2.6 Ah) | 49.4 Wh (19 V @ 2.6 Ah) | 57 Wh (19 V @ 3.0 Ah) |
|---|
| Battery Rating | 9000 mAh | 21 000 mAh | - | - | - |
|---|
| Battery Capacity | - | - | - | - | - |
|---|
| LCD | Y | Y | N | N | N |
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| Battery Guage | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
|---|
| Output Cable Length | 32" | 32" | 26" | 26" | 26" |
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| Output Voltages | 8.4, 9.5, 10.5, 12, 19 | 8.4, 9.5, 12, 16, 19, 24 | 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19 | 5, 6, 7.5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19 | 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7.5, 8.4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 |
|---|
| Charger (Watts) | 12 | 37 | - | 60 | 60 |
|---|
| Charger Weight | 0.25 | 0.34 | - | 0.87 | 0.86 |
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| USB ports | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Casing | Rubberized ABS Plastic | Aluminum & Rubber | ABS plastic | ABS plastic | ABS plastic |
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| Length | 5.94" | 8.5" | 6.88" | 6.88" | 6.88" |
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| Width | 3.25" | 5.25" | 3.31" | 3.31" | 3.31" |
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| Height | .63" | .69" | .94" | .94" | .94" |
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| Weight (lbs) | 0.59 | 1.43 | 0.93 | 0.94 | 0.95 |
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| Warranty (years) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Warranty on cells | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
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| Warranty registration | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
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At one point, it is stated that AC adapters have higher voltage than the battery on a notebook so that it can be charged. Then, how can a external battery damage a notebook's electronics with a higher voltage (only if it's too high)?
It is not stated how to set the external battery voltage correctly. What then is the correct voltage? Correct me but I believe the voltage has to be equal that of notebook battery.
it's simple really, AC adapter spit out AC, Batteries spit out DC
Your guess is actually right. The battery with its voltage set too high can damage the notebook.
If you need to know the voltage required, you just check on your laptop AC adapter or power brick. It is not always the same as the battery.
For instance, a Compaq R3000 has an 18.5 volt AC->DC(120w) power supply and its battery is only 14.5 volts. The voltage regulators in the laptop(in the charging system) it self cut it down to the needed 14.5-15volts to charge the battery.
Also note that the AC adapter does NOT spit out AC it in fact spits out DC(it has a rectifier to convert AC to DC).
As you can see by this picture(you have to click the link), The adapter takes in AC 120V and spits out DC 18.5V. AC is shown with a ~ and DC with a --_---_-- cant make it on here, but you get the point.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1950/powerw.jpg
For my smartphone and MiFi, the XP8000 just can't be beat. 5x runtime guarantees me 20+ hours of 3G broadband and week-long phone use. Being barely bigger than a Blackberry, I can effortlessly stash the XP8000 on my belt, and charge my smartphone while I walk.
The XP18000, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. Using a Toshiba NB305 netbook, it was incapable of recharging the factory 6-cell battery while powered on, and could not provide 2 full charges while powered off. For my usage scenario, that's a failure, as I plug in the external battery when my netbook hits 3% critical, right before Windows does a force shutdown, allowing me to continue working.
Using this deplete-charge-deplete approach SHOULD allow me 14+ hours of continuous power-on time, except that even the beefy XP18000 couldn't get through 1 netbook charge. Had it been capable of providing one full charge powered on, or two full charges powered off, I would have recommended the XP18000 as well.
http://lgponthemove.blogspot.com/2010/07/accessory-corner-3-energizer-xp18000.html
Just buy an automatic inverter that works for hours with a car battery
Just buy an automatic inverter that works for hours with a car battery
i wonder how that scores against the others.
i think they are from novuscell
If I am going off grid, I would rather bring a solar panel and charge the battery I already have in my device.
http://leicadig.blogspot.com/2011/04/digital-camera-off-grid.html
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
According to my calculations I would need about 25-30W to power/charge a netbook directly and charge my camera battery.
In theory Solaris 26 could do the job, but I am not sure - I have not read any reports about it. I was planning running Targus DC adapter from Solaris 26 straight into a netbook (I had HP Mini but it broke so now I am looking at Lenovo X120e as a replacement).
Also, I read that CIGS panels after being stored in the dark take days to reach their peak output. Solaris is CIGS, PowerFilm 30W is silicon which does not have that problem.
But PowerFilm 30W is also considerably larger which makes it less feasible to deploy while riding. Hence I am looking at Voltaic panels which are much smaller, but I am not sure how to route power without an intermediate battery from them (because they are 20V).
I am stuck in this decision loop while looking for more information.