There aren't as many vendors offering Sonata-type batteries as I'd
expect. HP started offering some in early 2009, either as an accessory
pack or (for a model sold in Europe) shipped as the standard
battery. According to Boston Power, HP offers them, mostly as "the HP
Long Life Battery Accessory," with fifteen commercial notebook
models.
And Boston Power has just announced a deal with Asus, offering them standard with ASUS B Series notebooks.
Unlike
traditional lithium-ion battery where run time degrades within two
years or even one, says Sally Bament, VP of Marketing, Boston Power,
Boston Power's maintain like-new run time for over three years: "Our
chemistry guarantees that like-new run time for well over three years,
based on cycle life."
Is that really the case? I don't
know...but HP and Asus both offer three-year warrantees on the Sonata
batteries, guaranteeing performance, according to Bament.
Also,
says Bament, "We support 90% charge in 90 minutes, and we can charge
even faster, the cell can charge to 80% in 30 minutes."
"There's no question that the longer battery life is important, and so is fast Dell Inspiron 500m battery Dell 6Y270 battery Dell inspiron 8600 battery Latitude x300 battery
charge, once you have used a notebook long enough where these aren't
the case," says analyst Bob O'Donnell, Vice President, Clients and
Displays, IDC. "The challenge for Boston Power is that they are a small
supplier, and larger vendors like HP often want to second-source,
which isn't an option here."
According to Bament, battery
capacity, and pricing from Boston Power, are comparative with
traditional LiON batteries... although in terms of price, Bament notes,
"The vendor may get a premium, with the three year warrantee."
(Showing that some computer vendors have studied with the airline
industry school of pricing.)
I find it interesting -- and
unlikely -- that, if these batteries work as claimed, only HP and Asus
have jumped on the electric bandwagon. I'd expect, at minimum, Apple,
Lenovo, Dell... well, everybody.
Bament's response: "We have publicly announced Asus and HP at this time."
IDC's
O'Donnell's point regarding second-sourcing is a reasonable
explanation. I think that if I were running Boston Power, I'd be doing
my dangdest to license the heck out of the technology, if need be.Dell latitude cpi battery Dell 1x793 battery dell Inspiron 1501 battery
Fortunately
and interestingly, the rest of us don't have to wait for the next
round of deals. Sonata batteries are available for Lenovo, Dell,
Toshiba and other notebooks, not to mention for digital cameras,
camcorders, PDAs and more, through Battery-Company.
If you are
looking for the best brand new Laptop Battery at the most preferred
price, you have come to the right place. Weprovide the highest quality
Laptop Batteries for the lowest price with the highest level of
service, all in a secure and convenient platform. Our product range
include replacement computer batteries for most major laptop brands,
including Dell, Apple, Compaq/HP, IBM/Lenovo, Fujitsu, Gateway, Sony and
Toshiba.
Sadly, I didn't see Green Series for the netbook or
digital camera I wanted to try them with... but I'm tempted to get
one for my five-year-old IBM ThinkPad, whose main and secondary
batteries no longer hold much of a charge, to say the least.
Anyway,
if these batteries really do what they say they do -- granted, it'll
take three years to fully test the no-degredation claim, although a
year or so will start to tell the tale -- mobile productivity and TCO
has just gotten somewhat better.
The degrading run-time of
notebook batteries may be a thing of the past, without waiting for
fuel cells, if Boston Power's Sonata cells live up to their claims.Dell inspiron 2200 battery Dell inspiron 640m battery Dell inspiron b120 battery Dell xps m1210 battery
The
rechargeable batteries we use in our laptop computers -- ditto in our
mobile phones and many other portable devices -- get marginally
better, in terms of product evolution. Compared to the NiCAD and NiMH
notebook batteries of yore, they're a noticeable improvement; for
example, it's been a while since we've had to worry about the "memory
effect" that meant being careful to charge batteries completely, to
avoid capacity creep-down.
But compared to what we need, today's Lithium-Ion (LiON) batteries aren't there yet.
They
don't hold a full day's charge, or they do at the expense of adding
bulk, weight and cost. They don't last as long as the rest of the
notebook's components -- even if you don't use them; within a year or
less, run-time seriously begins to degrade. And they take too long to
charge.
Some consumers remain wary to conduct mobile transactions but perception, reality aren't in sync
And, lithium-ion batteries aren't always safe, and have disposal issues.
One
company claiming a better battery -- that is, the chemistry for a
better battery -- is ZPower, using silver-zinc, which, according to
ZPower, can pack 40% more juice, and be safer to use and dispose of.
However,
ZPower doesn't seem to have any actual product yet, despite "This
year for sure"-type (with apologies to Bullwinkle T. Moose) claims for
the past year or so. The web site doesn't list any products, the
latest press release is dated September 2009... even mobile fuel cells
have actually come to market ahead of ZPower.
But at least one
company has actually delivered product: Boston Power, including its
Sonata batteries for use in notebooks and other portable/mobile
devices and applications, and Swing batteries "suitable for electric
vehicles, industrial equipment, and utility applications."Dell inspiron xps m1710 battery Dell inspiron 1100 battery Dell 310-6321 battery Dell 1691p battery
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