Travel Technology - Would You Pay $150 For A Laptop Battery

Would you pay $150 for an energy-efficient battery for your laptop? In this economy? Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Boston Power, a three-year-old startup that makes rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for laptops, are hoping you will, and this morning the companies have officially started selling the Enviro Series notebook battery for HP....................story (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/gigaom/mobile/2009_03_16_will_consumers_shell_out_150_for_a_gree n_laptop_battery.html)

MisterNice

I wouldn't pay a significant premium for an environmentally-friendly battery, but if it offered other benefits (and these appear to), I would. Heck, I paid $299 for an extended battery for my Vaio and thing died after only two years.

I wouldn't. Notebook batteries are already expensive enough but $150 is definitely too much for me.

I wouldn't pay a significant premium for an environmentally-friendly battery, but if it offered other benefits (and these appear to), I would. Heck, I paid $299 for an extended battery for my Vaio and thing died after only two years.

Agreed, and in other areas as well. I will pay a little more for something that is just environmentally friendly, but will increase the spend if it has other benefits. CFLs are an example- lower power consumption (= lower electric bills, and a better fit to the PV system we just put in), longer life (=less replacement and less waste). Definitely a win-win, even though the entry cost is a little higher. Just got a bunch of 65W (equiv) spots for the kitchen recessed lights. Only use about 15W each.

Cheers.

Umm... unless a 3rd party has confirmed something truly is environmentally friendly, don't believe the hype.

I read the article. If the claims are true, I would pay $20 - $30 more for a battery that lasts longer and holds uniform charges longer.

-David

When my old battery expired on my 5 year old notebook, I just bought a netbook. :D

Cheers

Hmm. A complete Asus eee 904 w/6 cell battery is $300. I think I'll take the new laptop. Overall, if the laptop's > 3 years old, I can't see spending more money on it.

Hmm. A complete Asus eee 904 w/6 cell battery is $300. I think I'll take the new laptop. Overall, if the laptop's > 3 years old, I can't see spending more money on it.Depends on the laptop. My VAIO was $2,200 when new and still runs everything I throw at it. My ASUS netbook can't run a lot of what's on there. I've invested in docking stations (office and home), but the only other thing I did was replace the 100gb drive with a 300gb drive -- did it myself.

Nope. That's a chunk of a new cheap laptop.

has anyone rebuild their laptop battery ?

I would think the batteries are common ones you can buy at an electronics shop as long as you got the same amp hour rating,

I know ham radio guys replace the nicads in their battery packs ....

like it said above its not work spending $100-$150 for batteriies in a 3 year old laptop,
but $20-$30 might be interesting to keep it going

Rally

Probably not...

I did shell out $100 for an extra battery for my current HP... however, this was a large capacity one, and I needed the extra juice as AS does not offer in flight power...

As for the premium... it depends on performance... if it did make the battery work better in the long run... maybe... but I am still doubtful.

has anyone rebuild their laptop battery ?



I did. I had a battery pack I was going to replace (actually got another laptop on e-bay for less then the battery pack because the display was dead, I needed a new keyboard too) so I figured what the hey?

Popped it open, diagrammed how the cells were wired (it's tricky as there are some in series, and others in parallel in there). I ordered replacement cells from BatteryJunction.com for $7 each for five cells.

The hard part was finding out what size the batteries were, until I found a website that said usually (for cylinder batteries) the first two digits are the diameter in mm's and the last three are the height. Of course that meant sense as the same number was on the case of the battery, but it was embedded in other text so it didn't stick out as a model number.

It was 14 solder joints, and some hot glue to put the case back together.

It was more of a thing to do to say I could do it, not a way to really save money. If you have the soldering iron, solder, and the rest it may be worth it, but in the end, the savings really isn't work the effort.

If you do it, make sure to order the batteries with the solder tabs already welded on them so you don't have to try to solder onto the case if you have the room. You may have to trim them with little cutters, but it's still easier.

Still fun though.

Lenovo/Thinkpad batteries regularly go for around $150, so I don't really have a choice...

Would you pay that much for a regular battery and then pay it again when the battery doesn't work anymore and pay it again when the battery doesn't work anymore? I'm always amazed at the American idea that the only thing one should consider when making a purchase is up front cost. The Boston Power battery will last a lot longer. Batteries have a notable fade. You end up replacing them rather quickly with a standard battery. Personally, I'm not nearly wealthy enough to buy things that are of poor quality and don't last. That's why I'd do things like buy this battery and not shop at places like Walmart.

Would never pay that for a battery. I almost buy Dell laptops always buy the laptop over the phone and negotiate a price on extra batteries. For example, when I bought my previous laptop, I paid Dell $140 for two extra 9 cell batteries. Since they've raised the prices on batteries for my new Latitude e6400, I bought an second 9 celll genuine Dell battery off ebay for about $80.

Lenovo/Thinkpad batteries regularly go for around $150, so I don't really have a choice...

I have a reconditioned IBM Thinkpad T40 and the battery doesnt last more than 1 hr after unplugging from wall power socket :td:. So that is fine for home use but useless for travel.

A few questions:

1. In Australia, where would be the best place for me to get a replacement battery?

2. How much would I expect to pay?

3. How long should a new battery last when it is unplugged from the power socket?

4. How do I find out where the battery model number is recorded? (EEK, yes I am so not tech savvy at all :o)! I have looked at the back of the laptop but it is not clear to me.

Many thanks :).

Would never pay that for a battery. I almost buy Dell laptops always buy the laptop over the phone and negotiate a price on extra batteries. For example, when I bought my previous laptop, I paid Dell $140 for two extra 9 cell batteries. Since they've raised the prices on batteries for my new Latitude e6400, I bought an second 9 celll genuine Dell battery off ebay for about $80.

You will. When the batteries fail, you'll end up buying them twice, Ebay or not.

I'd pay a little more for a battery that lasted longer (in all three senses).

<SNIP> How do I find out where the battery model number is recorded? (EEK, yes I am so not tech savvy at all :o)! I have looked at the back of the laptop but it is not clear to me.


You don’t need the model # of the battery, just Google “T40 battery”. I can’t help you with a retailer in Australia, but Google Products may have that one figured out. Just make sure you’re buying a Lenovo branded battery, not an aftermarket one.