A lot of people these days are interested to find out what is the average laptop battery life. This is interesting to know so that you can compare your own batteries life to others. Some batteries will perform much better than others under different circumstances and it also depends a lot on the quality of the battery that is in the laptop. If talking about how long a battery will last between charges then older laptops had an average battery life of around one to one and a half hours but these days it is much more common for batteries to run for much longer. High quality, expensive laptop batteries will run for up to 8 hours if used on low settings with no external plug ins operating and there is even a new type of laptop that will run for up to 19 hours without a recharge.

Average Laptop Battery Lifespan

The time before a battery needs to be replaced is also quite variable and also depends on how the battery is treated over its lifetime and what conditions it is used under. Batteries that are well looked after and used in non extreme conditions should last up to 3 years but if they are used very frequently and in hot conditions then the lifespan can be as low as 6 months.

Increasing Your Laptop Battery Life

Some of the factors that will influence your laptop battery life between charges include how powerful the laptop is, the more powerful the less time out of each charge, what features does the laptop have enabled (such as external hard drives, wireless Internet etc.), and what the power settings are on the computer. If using Windows for example, the power saver setting can be enabled that will greatly increase the amount of time that you will get out of each charge. This will dim the screen of the computer and slow time the response time of the system but it means that if you really need to use your computer and do not have access to a power source then you will get more time before it needs to be recharged.

If you want to increase the actual physical lifespan of your battery then it all depends on what type of battery you have. More information can be found on this page about laptop battery life.

List of Some More Common Laptops and their Laptop Battery Life

Below is a list of some of the more common laptops and what sort of time frame the batteries will last for in a worst case scenario. This is with a movie running the whole time and none of the above power saving features used, all times are around the mark when the battery went flat, give or take 10 minutes:

• MSI Wind U115 Hybrid: 5 hours
• Apple MacBook Pro (15-Inch Screen): 5 hours
• Asus Eee PC 1000HE: 4 hours
• Acer Aspire Timeline 4810T: 4 hours
• Apple MacBook Pro (17-Inch Screen): 4.25 hours
• Samsung N120: 5.5 hours
• Toshiba NB200: 6 hours

Shown below are some other laptops tested only using basic programs:

• Dell Inspiron E1405: 7.5 hours
• Panasonic ToughBook 74: 7.25 hours
• Lenovo ThinkPad X60s: 8.25 hours
• Fujitsu Q2010: Nearly 8 hours
• Lenovo ThinkPad R60: 6.5 hours
• HP Compaq nc2400: 6 hours

So if you are wondering what the average laptop battery life is then above should give you a bit of an idea. If your computer is not up to scratch then it could be time to invest in a new battery or see what programs could be running in the background and chewing through the power. There are some great cheap laptop batteries around and all you have to do is find them!

photo credit: nDevilTV

If you are considering purchasing a laptop computer then first have a look at the wonderful device called a tablet PC laptop. These laptops are really flexible because you can write directly onto the screen with a specially designed pen similar to writing on plain paper with a normal pen. This is great for those of you who love to add a personal touch to your work as you can create any image you want and insert it into your word processor.

If you do decide upon purchasing a Tablet PC then here are few quick tips that will help you to get the most out of your battery.

• When you first get your new Tablet PC you should try and fully charge the battery overnight.

• The battery should be conditioned for the first few uses, this means that you should fully discharge the battery and fully recharge it again.

• Try to fully recharge the battery as soon as it is empty to ensure that no damage is done. A battery that is left fully depleted for a long period of time can be permanently damaged.

• Most new Tablet PC’s come with a Lithium-Ion battery. This type of battery will slowly deteriorate over time so a brand new battery will always outperform a much older battery. Do not be alarmed if your battery is not performing quite how it used to as this is probably just part of this process.

• Running your Tablet PC battery under hot conditions is one of the worst things that you can. Try to get as much air flow around your unit as possible. A bad thing to do is to rest your Tablet PC on your bed and run it for long periods of time. This will quickly reduce your batteries capacity and it will not be long before you start seeing below average performance.

• If you are not going to be using the battery for a long period of time, make sure that you remove it from the Tablet PC. The battery should be at a minimum of 50% charged and should be stored in a dry, cool area.

Following the simple advice above will help to keep your Touch Screen Tablet battery in the best possible condition for as long as possible. A portable computer is not much use without a battery so you should try and find out as much as you can about the make and model battery that is in your computer and follow any guidelines that are recommended by the manufacturer. This will help your battery to perform at its full potential for as long as possible.

With the relatively recent advent of all this new technology, most people who have to travel for work have a laptop computer. These computers have reduced the need for cumbersome, fixed desktop computers that were once the only option. All that is needed now is a small bag to carry your laptop, and of course, a trusty, fully charged laptop battery. The fact that your laptop needs power to run is sometimes overlooked when people purchase a new computer. One of the main questions that you should ask before buying a laptop is when completing basic tasks, what is the battery life like? Anything under 2 hours is not that good these days with most computers using new technologies that will give you much greater times before the battery runs dead.

At this time there are three main materials that batteries for laptop computers are made from; nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, and lithium ion. Nickel cadmium batteries were the first kind of rechargeable batteries for laptops that came out, these were followed by nickel metal hydride batteries, and finally, the newest and best of the current batteries for laptops is the lithium ion battery. Lithium ion batteries are the most expensive to make but the cost is far outweighed by the benefits that come with it. This type is probably the most widely used battery for laptop computers and is the most efficient and reliable. Lithium ion laptop batteries are also a lot lighter when compared to the other types of batteries.

In the near future batteries for laptop computers will most likely all be Ion Polymer batteries. These batteries have an even better power to weight ratio than the lithium ion batteries, although they are dearer to produce, the cost should come down as technology advances. If you are looking to purchase laptop batteries or laptop computers click here for some wonderful bargains.

Shown below is a list of a few small things that you can perform to greatly increase the amount of time you will get out of each charge of a laptop battery and they will also help to keep your battery in a lot better condition over the course of its life.

For Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries:

• During everyday use, try not to completely discharge the battery. Most laptops these days come with power saving devices etc. so they shutdown when the power gets below 10%. But if your computer is older, do not run it dead flat as this will damage the battery.
• If your laptop is plugged into an AC power supply for most of the time, take the battery out but only after it has been fully charged. Ensure that you put the battery back in before unplugging the computer if it is turned on or it will shut down immediately.
• If you are putting your computer into storage or just not using it for awhile, take out the battery.
• Follow the temperature instructions that come with your computer and avoid using it whenever it is outside these temperatures. Most makes and models have a minimum of around 10°C (45F) and a maximum of 35°C (85F). Using your laptop outside this range could damage it and the battery beyond repair.
• If you have purchased a new battery, it should be fully discharged and then fully recharged two or three times. This should only be done if the battery is new and it helps to give your battery the most charge that it can hold every time you charge it from now on.
• These batteries are immune from memory damage (i.e. the amount of time that they can give your computer power doesn’t decrease over time).
• There is no point waiting for the battery to totally discharge before recharging it.
• Make sure that about once a month you give the battery a full recharge.

For Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries:

• Over time, your battery will lose the amount of charge that it once was able to hold (memory degradation). This happens to all NiMH batteries so don’t despair.
• Make sure that the time between each charge that you give the battery is a far apart as possible.
• Do not charge the battery until it is totally empty.
• Every second month or so, completely discharge the battery then give it a full recharge.

Although nickel metal hydride batteries are going out of fashion, they are still around. Make sure you follow the above steps to prolong memory degradation as long as possible.

For Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries:

• Make sure that every time you plug your computer into an external power source, you remove the battery.
• Never charge the battery until it is totally emptied.
• This type of laptop battery will suffer from memory degradation similar to the NiMH batteries.
• This is the oldest of the battery technology and is hardly being used at all anymore.

Similar to the nickel metal hydride batteries, nickel cadmium batteries are going out of fashion but can still be found in some laptop computers so make sure you follow the above steps to prolong memory degradation as long as possible.

For Lithium-polymer (Li-po) batteries:

• This kind of laptop battery should not suffer from memory degradation
• This is the best battery to buy if you are looking for a compromise between weight and power.
• Try not to run this battery completely dry as you might damage the chemical composition and therefore lead to subpar performance from it.
• The overall lifespan of a lithium-polymer battery is quite short when compared to other kinds of batteries.
• When you are ready to charge this battery, do not do it straight after it has been used. To keep it in tip top condition, wait at least fifteen minutes before hooking it up to a charger.
• This battery will give you the best performance out of all the other kinds of batteries out there but you will pay for this with its price tag.
• Lithium-polymer batteries will take longer to charge than other kinds of batteries.
• Make sure you have a good read of the manual that should come with the battery. This will give you any other information that you may need about the specific make and model that you have purchased. It will also help to prevent the battery overheating and thus getting damaged.

So there you have it, hopefully much of the information that you needed about batteries for laptops. There are some great laptop articles to be found and if you are thinking about purchasing a laptop, have a look around online as there are always some great deals and bargains to be had.

There comes a time in a laptop batteries life when it will no longer hold the charge that you need. If you have looked after your battery well, then you should get roughly 1000 discharges out of it before it will not hold a decent charge anymore. If this is the case with your battery, then you will have to look at buying a replacement laptop battery. There are thousands of different makes and models on the market today so you will need some knowledge before heading out to buy one for your laptop. This article will hopefully provide you with some of this knowledge and after reading it you should be able to select the correct replacement battery for your computer.

The first and foremost issue that you need to allow for is the size of the laptop battery compartment on your existing computer. The replacement laptop battery has to be able to physically fit into this space or your time and money will be wasted. If it is the correct size, then you will need to ensure that the power connector pin assignments on the new battery properly fit with the ones on your laptop. This is easily achievable and not as hard as it sounds. All that is needed is a quick search for a battery using your computers make and model number or use the part number on your existing battery. You will find a plethora of different batteries that show up and choosing one that suits you is the hard part. A well suited replacement battery will have to have enough charge to allow the laptop to run for the amount of time that you require.

After you have found the type of battery that will correctly fit your computer, you need to select the model that matches up to the voltage requirement of your computer. Most computers can tolerate a little bit of discrepancy, about 1 volt, but is always better to find an exact match. One of the great things about buying an external laptop battery is that many of them come with adjustable voltages. This is good if you do not need to replace your battery and are only looking to extend the amount of running time that is available to you. Generally speaking, the internal laptop battery should match up with the voltage requirements of your computer.

After you have matched up the voltage rating of your new laptop battery, you will have to look at the rating of the battery. This is either in watt-hours (WHr) or milliamp-hours (MAh). Watt-hours is normally a better indication of the charge than the milliamp-hours as it gives a more exact value. All these batteries are is a number of rechargeable cells inside a plastic housing which are controlled by an electronic circuit board. Consequently, more cells will give the battery a higher rating, so the higher the rating shown on the battery, the longer it will provide power for.

Once you have determined what sort of laptop battery you require, you need to actually find one. As usual, online is a great place to shop for electronics. Here you will find prices that are around 10% cheaper than the same item in store. It is also great to shop online as you can sometimes buy direct from the manufacturer. In some instances this will lead to even greater savings but not always.

If you have decided to buy a replacement laptop battery online then make sure you have at look at some of the generic brands that are out there. These are usually available in the same makes and models as the brand name replacement batteries but can be found at much cheaper prices. If the store you are looking at buying from has a decent return policy and warranty then it is well worth trying out some of these generic brands. You might be pleasantly surprised with the performance that they will give you. A lot of the time these generic brands are produced at the same factories as the brand name batteries so they are exactly the same just without the fancy name. Ensure that you plug in your new laptop battery and fully charge it as soon as it arrives to check for any defects. If you follow the above advice then you will be well on your way to selecting a great replacement laptop battery for your computer.

There are some other great places filled with information regarding good gaming laptops and leather laptop bags. Finding as much information about what you are intending to purchase will help you to make a much better choice in the long run.

Do you never seem to get enough out of your laptop before it runs flat? If you live a life on the go and have to do a lot of work either out in the field or away from a power source, then buying an external laptop battery for your laptop computer could be just the thing that you need. This type of battery is gaining a lot of popularity among both the consumer and commercial markets as the charge life of a normal laptop battery just does not seem to cut it these days. These external batteries can provide up to 10 hours extra which is about 5 times that of a normal laptop battery. Before you decide to buy one, have a quick read over this article to see if it is what you really need for your computer.

External laptop batteries, otherwise known as universal laptop batteries, usually use either lithium-ion (Li-ion) for their battery chemistry although some are known to use lithium-polymer (LiPo). This is because both of these materials provide the best power to weight ratio that is economically available on the market today. This special type of battery is also a lot more environmentally friendly than older models once were.

The reason that this type of external battery is known as a universal external laptop battery is because they don’t only power one type of laptop and for that matter, they do not only power laptops. Most of the external batteries on the market today will power nearly all types of laptops that are available and many can power other devices such as MP3 players, phones, and PDA’s and even devices such as a mini laptop. They can do this because there are inbuilt voltage adjusters to suit the required voltage of your computer and most models come with a wide range of power adapters.

The main factor that will affect the price of an external battery is the amount of charge that it can hold. More expensive models will nearly always hold a charge for a lot longer than the cheaper models available. The capacity of most laptop batteries is specified by the milliamp-amp hour (MAh) rating although a much better rating to look at is the watt-hour (WHr) rating. This is more of an exact value that does not depend upon the batteries voltage. This is similar in a way that speakers are rated, many manufacturers will only try to give you the wattage of the speakers, but when you look at the watts RMS rating, you will get a much better idea of how powerful the speakers truly are.

Most of the external laptop batteries on the consumer market today are rated at around 70 – 140 WHr. This will give approximately an extra 5 – 12 hours of battery life but that is dependent on the power requirements of the laptop computer. Commercial versions of external batteries usually range from about 200 – 500 WHr as they may be the only available power source in some remote situations. Consumer varieties will weigh in at approximately 500g to a bit over a 1 kilogram. The commercial models are obviously heavier as they need to be bigger to hold more of a charge.

It is essential that you know what voltage requirements your laptop has and that you match this to an external laptop battery. It does not have to be an exact match, but preferably within +/- 1 volt. This is usually not that much of an issue because universal external batteries will have 3-5 different voltage outputs. This means that they can be used to charge different types of laptops so you will not have to purchase one for every member of your family.

Another important feature that you must look at when making a purchase, is the power adapter that comes with the battery. You need to ensure that one will come with the battery or you can buy one that fits both your computer and the external battery.

Finally, you need to check the amperage of the external battery and compare it to your computers amperage. The external batteries amperage should equal or exceed that of your laptops. If not, the newly purchased battery might not be able to supply your laptop with any power at all. This can be easily checked by looking at the charger that came with the laptop and on the external laptop battery charger.

You should now be ready to make your purchase and receive the great benefits that come with an external laptop battery. A wonderful place to purchase one of these items is online. As you might know, most electronics are a lot cheaper if purchased online. And if you find a trusted site then your battery should come with a full warranty and return policy.

If you are looking for an alternative to purcahsing another laptop battery, then have a look at this site about the cool Solar Power laptop.

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you really need your laptop only to find that it has gone flat or has pretty much no charge left on it? Most people who own a laptop have been and there are some easy to do things that will lead to a much longer laptop battery life than you have had before. The simple steps shown below will help to keep your battery in tiptop condition and to get the best laptop battery life that you possibly can. So, here they are, some simple steps to greatly increase and extend laptop battery life for you:

• The most important thing to not charge your battery until it is nearly flat, and then charge it fully. Batteries are not designed to be half depleted, then recharged to 75%, then used a bit more. If you do this every time you use your laptop then you will find that the average laptop battery life that you get is greatly increased.

• Make sure that any unnecessary programs are closed. This will help reduce the amount of system resources your computer needs and therefore reduce the amount of power it drains from the batteries. This is very easy to do but most people will leave tons of useless programs running when they do not really need them.

• Wherever possible, plug your laptop into a power source. This helps to keep the battery fully charged so that when you do need to use it, the amount of life left will be greater than normal.

• A lot of people do not know it but your laptop battery is designed to run at a specific temperature range. If it is run above or below this temperature range then the life of the battery will be greatly decreased. If your laptop does become too hot, then turn it off and wait for it to cool down. Although these days batteries design has led to this temperature range being a lot more lenient and most computers will automatically shut down when they overheat. You will find this information in the manual provided with your laptop computer.

• Your computer loads many different programs during start up so disabling the ones that you do not need will help to reduce the amount of power required to start the system. Antivirus software is a killer so if you aren’t using the net or connecting your laptop to any external sources it is okay to disable this. Be aware though, something as simple as transferring a file from a USB bar can infect your computer with a virus so think twice before disabling any software.

• Adjust the brightness of your laptop screen. The brighter it is, the more power it uses. This can have a large effect on the amount of time you get out of your laptop battery so put it as low as possible without straining your eyes to see.

• If you need to perform any file transferring such as uploading songs to an MP3 player, try to do this while your computer is plugged into an AC adapter in the wall. These types of activities drain tremendous amounts of power from your computer.

• Try to plan out what you will need to use your laptop for. If you need to send some important emails during the day and do not have access to any power to charge your computer battery, don’t waste it all by watching DVD’s or surfing the web. DVD’s will drain your battery faster than nearly anything else.

• If you are not using your laptop, turn it off. Some laptops have a hibernate feature so it will automatically turn itself off when not being used. For the ones that don’t, it’s not a good idea to leave them only on standby as this will still use a lot of power even though it looks like it is turned off.

• If you know how to, de-fragment your hard drive. This will organise all your files and make it easier for your computer to access thus using less system resources and less power when accessing the files.

• If you are not using your computer for a long time, make sure that you charge the battery about once a month. This will keep the charge fresh and also keeps the electrons in the battery mobile. Another idea is to drain the battery to about 40% charge and keep it in a cool, dry place. This should only be done if you are not going to use it for a very long time.

• Be sure to always update your computer with the latest drivers, software etc. Some of these updates will help to extend your laptop battery life so it is a good idea to check for any updates at least once a week.

• If you are going to be watching movies try to upload them to your computer first. Your laptop will use a lot less power retrieving the files from your hard drive than from your DVD drive.

None of the above tips are hard to do, and they will all help to increase the life of your laptop battery. Whether it is the charge life, i.e. how long you can run your laptop off the battery before it needs recharging, or the shelf life, i.e. how long before you need to replace your battery (normally about 1000 full discharges and charges), the above tips will greatly help in extending both. This will help you to get a lot more out of your laptop battery. Also, mini laptops will usually use less power than larger laptops so consider one of these for personal use.

The world is a very different place compared to what it used to be with the advent of laptop computers. What was once a task that could only be performed at a set work station with a permanent power supply can now be carried out anywhere in the world! Laptops are a great alternative to desktop computers and are great because they are light, compact and can be used anywhere.

If you have a laptop computer or you are thinking about buying one soon, one very important point that you should spend some time to learn about is your laptop battery. The battery that is in your laptop is like the heart of an animal, it provides power to the rest of system and keeping it in tip top shape will great increase the performance of your laptop and increase the overall laptop battery life.

A laptop battery is a complicated bit of technology that does need some knowledge to keep it in pristine condition. The battery in the laptop provides power to the computer when there is no direct power source present. These batteries are not self charging and laptop battery life is usually around 2-3 hours without power although this figure is increasing pretty quickly with the advent of new technology and materials. Laptop batteries can also be quite expensive so you do not want to have to replace them too often, if at all.
The actual time that a laptop battery will stay charged for also depends on the user, the age of the battery, and the condition it is in. If the battery has been well looked after and used in the correct manner then it will keep a longer charge even when it becomes older. This one factor alone should be enough to ensure that you keep your battery well maintained and try to prevent it from any misuse.

There are a few different types of laptop batteries out there and different types will perform differently under different situations. The NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) kind of battery has a life without charge of around 1.5 to 2.5 hours compared to the LiION (Lithium Ion) laptop battery that will last up to 3 hours and sometimes longer. These results are typical but they can vary hugely depending on different factors such as how much power your computer is set to use, what the temperature of surrounding air is, and the climate that the computer is used in. But, as a general rule of thumb, the LiION type of laptop battery will last a lot longer than the standard NiMH laptop battery that comes with most basic laptops.

To maximize the life and performance of a battery, the habits of the user must be looked at. Laptop batteries behave in a very similar manner when compared to other battery powered devices such as a CD player. As you know, when you are playing a CD, the unit will use up the batteries much quicker than if you are only listening to the radio. This is because power is needed to spin and read the CD whereas listening to the radio does not require any of this. To relate this to your computer, just imagine that every program you have open, or every new program that you open, is like playing another CD. The more things that your computer is trying to perform at once, the more power it needs. This is especially true if you are using physical devices on your laptop such as CD/DVD drives or external hard drives. These devices will eat up your battery power before you know it.

Laptop batteries are also susceptible to ‘battery memory’. Say, for example, that you plug your laptop in to be charged every time the power left in the batteries gets down to 50%. What will happen is that your batteries will get used to only having to run for 50% of the time than they should. To get around this, the battery must be completed depleted and then recharged back up to full again. This will help to greatly improve the life of your laptop battery and also the time you get out of each charge.

It is highly recommended that you should try and use your battery once every two weeks (i.e. unplug it from the power source). It is also recommended that if you aren’t using your battery for more than two weeks then it should be completely depleted, removed from the computer and stored in a dry, cool place. This will also help to keep your laptop battery in better shape for longer. Normally, the best laptops will come with the best laptop batteries so be sure to keep this in mind when shopping for a new computer.