Over the years, I've had a number of portable devices that use batteries. They ranged from ordinary alkakine cells, through Ni-Cads, Ni-MH cells, and Lithium-Ions. The latter are probably the best, but more expensive.

I had a cordless phone that used Ni-Cads. Mindful of the possible "memory" issues with Ni-Cads, I used to let it charge overnight, and then when I'd take it off the base in the morning, I'd keep it off for a couple of days to make sure it disharged a lot and then put it back on the base/charger. Not sure it did any good, bit I seem to recall reading that Ni-Cads shouldn't be on a trickle charger all the time.

I replaced that phone with a newer one, and this one uses Ni-MH batteries. These are supposed to be better than Ni-Cads, at least regarding "memory". My daughter has one with the same battery pack, and she leaves it on the base/charger all the time. Been running for a couple of years with no problems.

Is this proper protocol for Ni-MH batteries? Is it harmful if you let them run down before charging?

As far as Lithium-ion batteries go, I have them in my laptops and cameras. For the laptops, they can be connected to the charger all day long with no apparent ill effects, and the ones in the camera are just run until they indicate they are low, and then I stick them on the charger.

While my methods have been successful, I've found information on the 'net that is confusing, to say the least. I was wondering of any of the gurus here have definitive information on the subject. After all, pretty much all of us use cell/smart phones and laptops, so I would think it would be of interest.