Macopinion

Are Extended Life Laptop Replacement Batteries Worth The Extra Cost?

I've had generally pretty good luck with Apple laptop batteries. The Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery in my PowerBook 5300 lasted through the machine's useful life span (six years, counting the three years my daughter used it in high school and college) and at 11 years plus now will still hold a bit of a charge. The original lithium-ion battery is also still in my 1998 WallStreet PowerBook, although it will only hold a charge for a few minutes work, but is still good enough to keep the memory alive for a day or so of sleep time. Not a problem for an old machine that stays mostly plugged in when it's used at all. The original battery in my 65 month old G3 iBook, now handed off to my wife, is still in fine fettle, still accepting a charge to an astonishing 97 percent of its original 4200 mAh capacity according to the Coconut Battery utility. Ditto for my 17" PowerBook G4, whose battery (manufactured in 2004) still shows 4,888 mAh of its original 5,400 mAh capacity (90 percent)

The exception has been my Pismo PowerBook, whose original battery died around its 3rd anniversary in 2003. True, the 'Book was a year old when I got it, and the battery had evidently been cycled a lot (although the machine itself was in virtually flawless, as-new condition), and was offering only about one and a half hours of runtime by age two years, failing suddenly and completely at the three-year mark. The palm rest over the battery compartment became extraordinarily warm to touch, and then the battery went stone cold dead.

I replaced it with a used unit I got for 80 bucks — not my wisest purchase decision and a false economy as it turned out. The replacement battery (an OEM Apple unit), worked fine when it arrived and for few months subsequent, but then began giving only about fifteen minutes runtime on a full (?) charge. It turns out that that battery had experienced a lot of discharge/charge cycles. It remained able to support the Pismo asleep through some fairly long power outages, and to facilitate orderly shutdowns during power failures, which was fine when I was using the 'Book primarily as a desktop machine, but when I wanted it to do some road work again, I needed a better battery.

Having learned my lesson, this time I replaced it with not just a new battery but an extended life Newer Technology NuPower unit from Other World Computing, and when I bought a second Pismo last spring, I ordered it without a battery and installed a FastMac TruePower one, also extended life. While these batteries are a bit more expensive than standard capacity models, I'm convinced that the extra cost is worth it, at least if you use your machine for road warrioring or live in a locale where power interruptions are a frequent occurrence as they are where I live.

NuPower batteries are available for all models of G3 and G4 PowerBooks and iBooks save for the original PowerBook G3 3500 Kanga of 1997-'08. offering from 16 percent to 62 percent greater capacity than the OEM batteries depending on the model of computer. The 62 percent improvement is for the PowerBook Pismo, whose OEM 50-Watt, 4630 mAh battery was undeniably puny. Actually, the NuPower Pismo extended life battery is available in a 81 Watt-Hour, 7500 mAh version for $149.99 and a 68 Watt-Hour 6300 mAh version for $129.99. I went for the cheaper one, and it delivers more than four hours running time, so the 81 Watt-hour unit should give you close to five hours at least, and note that my Pismo has a 550 MHz G4 processor upgrade and a bigger, faster 40 gigabyte/5400-RPM hard drive.

For more information, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/powerbook/batteries/

As for the FastMac product, TruePower batteries are available for all G3 and G4 PowerBooks and iBooks except for the original PowerBook G3, as well as for both sizes of MacBook Pro and the MacBook. For the Pismo there are two capacities available — a 71 Watt-Hour, 6600 mAh version for $109.95 and a 7800 mAh, 84 Watt-Hour unit for $149.95 - the most powerful battery replacements for the Pismo/Lombard PowerBooks currently available, providing up to 68% more capacity than the original Apple battery. The one I have in my "new" Pismo is the 7,800 mAh version, and it provides mighty impressive performance, giving 5 hours of runtime with reasonable power conservation measures employed.

With the TruePower 7800 mAh battery, I can cruise through my typical morning's work (2 - plus hours) on the Pismo using no power conservation measures, dialing on and off the Internet, and still have 60 percent to 65 percent battery capacity remaining. This morning, I drove to the nearest WiFi hotspot site in this neck of the woods (12 miles) to download the OS X Leopard 10.5.2 updater and Leopard Graphics Updater - a combined 400 MB or so. That took over an hour sitting in the truck in 20° weather, with my Buffalo WiFi card powered up and connected via Airport, the backlight turned up (sunny day), the download running in the background and me working on Applelinks news stories in the foreground. In total I was there about two hours, running off the TruePower 7800 mAh battery, and I still had 61% of the charge left when I finished, so five hours under less demanding conditions should be easily achievable.

So with two of these batteries installed in the Pismo's left and right bays, you're good to go for an entire eight-hour work day, with plenty of capacity to spare. I actually got three mornings (and two nights' sleepover) out of the initial charge of the test battery. "With the Pismo's 2 battery bays and our G4 upgrade, you can literally go half-way around the world without a recharge," said Michael Lowdermilk, Business Development Manager for Fastmac Performance Upgrades, Inc.

TruePower is the name of a proprietary FastMac technology designed to extend the life of ordinary Lithium Ion cells, commonly used in most rechargeable batteries. This patented technology allows tiny ceramic particles (each less than a millionth of a millimeter in size) to be integrated into the molecular structure of the chemical binding agent found inside each Lithium Ion battery. According to FastMac, these particles then link-in with each other and an energy management circuit to create an extremely dense and highly conductive layer on the surface of a capacitor-enhanced battery pack. This combination delivers the power necessary to satisfy the pulse demands placed on most batteries, whilst ensuring the protection of the Lithium cell matrix. This results in battery packs that can be recharged many more times as well as yielding longer run times per charge. Whereas ordinary battery packs start losing their power within a few months, TruePower-enhanced battery packs are claimed to continue giving consistent power for long periods, allowing OEMs to offer warranties of 2 years or more.

TruePower batteries feature a patented material & energy management circuit designed to protect the battery's internal lithium crystal matrix from damage caused by power spikes. These spikes occur when the computer demands a sudden high current peak- for example, to turn on the backlight or to load the next data sectors. Over time, these power spikes decrease capacity, runtime and battery life, eventually rendering the power cells unusable. Through the use of TruePower technology, the energy management circuit is able to smooth out the power spikes and lower the rate of decay. This protects the battery and leads to a longer lifecycle. Not only does this extend the usability of the computer, it also helps the environment by curbing the depletion of chemicals and plastic materials used in battery products and reducing the number of waste batteries sent to landfills.

Sensors in the integrated circuit inside the battery detect undesirable levels of swelling or a short circuit that will power off the battery in certain extreme conditions. More information about TruePower is available via the website:
http://www.truepowerbattery.com/

For more information on FastMac replacement batteries, visit:
http://fastmac.com/laptop.php

The first order of business when adding a replacement battery should be to to charge it and calibrate it. Both Newer Tech and FastMac recommend that you charge a new battery for at least twelve hours regardless of what percentage is showing. Once it's up to full capacity, calibrate it for peak performance by unplugging the AC power adapter and continuing to use the computer normally until the battery runs out of power which automatically puts the computer to sleep.

If you're used to the somewhat diminished charge life of an elderly OEM battery, it will probably take a surprisingly long time to discharge the new unit. When the battery charge is completely drained, plug the power adapter back in and recharge. FastMac suggests that to reach full runtime potential, it may be necessary to run two or three battery calibration cycles, and that for peak battery life, the unit should be re-calibrated every month or so.

The battery has an internal microprocessor that provides an estimate of the amount of energy in the battery as it charges and discharges, and it needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate.

For Apple's full detailed instructions on battery calibration, see:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284
or here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1959.html

After running the battery down, you plug in the machine and let the battery recharge back up to full capacity. At that point it is calibrated. Newer Technology suggests doing this every few months.

In summary, I'm very satisfied with the performance of these extended life batteries, both brands. You can find cheaper replacement batteries, but not all that much cheaper, and he extra capacity is the clincher. With two of the 7xxx mAh units, you should be able to go 10-12 hours or more unplugged from AC power. Pretty cool.

While battery replacement from time to time is part of the cost of portable computer convenience and data security, as I noted at the top of this column, I've had pretty decent luck with Apple 'Book batteries over the years. I don't take any special longevity measures - just keep my 'Books plugged in and sleeping when I don't have them on the road, and while that's not a recommendation or a prescription, it has worked well for me.



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cmoore@macopinion.com


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