There are three different laptop
battery chemistries. Nickel cadmium was the first chemistry, which was followed
in time by nickel metal hydride and lithium ion battery types. Notebook batteries
are also sometimes referred to as "smart" or "dumb." These
terms are explained below.
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carries a complete line of laptop / notebook batteries for Apple, Compaq, Dell,
Gateway, HP, IBM, Sony, Toshiba and many other laptop and notebook brands. Click
here to select your laptop model from the drop down menu for a list of available
batteries for your notebook.
Nickel
Cadmium (NiCd)
NiCd batteries were the first rechargeable batteries for notebook computers
and featured low cost, versatility and high output current capability. NiCd
batteries can be charged rapidly and used in a wide range of products. However,
they are now being designed out of notebooks in favor of the newer and higher
power NiMH and LiON batteries.
Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMH)
NiMH batteries represented a significant improvement over NiCd batteries due
to improvements in cost, safety, reliability and capacity. Currently the most
widely used notebook battery, the NiMH battery has only one drawback. The "memory
effect" of NiMH batteries requires that they be fully discharged prior to recharging
for maximum charge effectiveness.
Lithium
Ion (LiON)
LiON batteries are now the most popular notebook battery because of improvements
over NiMH in the area of memory effect. In addition, for batteries of comparable
capacity, LiON batteries are generally somewhat lighter in weight than NiMH
batteries. Because the LiON chemistry is the newest in the market and offers
these benefits, the market price for LiON batteries is often significantly higher
than for NiMH batteries with the same actual capacity.
Smart
/ Dumb Batteries
Some batteries are denominated as "smart" or "dumb." Smart batteries have internal
microprocessor circuits which help manage battery energy, report the state of
the charge, predict running time and track battery usage. Dumb batteries are
counterparts of smart batteries but do not have these smart battery features.