If you are like me, we have a series of Apple laptops of various ages (Lombard to a brand new PB15 ordered just this week).
The older models, however, have had their batteries become steadily poor.
As I've done battery repair/replacements for a series of laptop models recently, I thought I'd pass along my experience for those interested in considering the upgrade.
Pismo: This still runs tiger fine, but the battery was only lasting a little over 90 minutes, and I could not justify $150 for a new battery for this machine. So I replaced the cells (purchased from batterspace.com) for $60, great upgrade (used
http://www.wwc.edu/~frohro/Powerbook...ery/index.html. The Pismo battery went into a Lombard, replacing its battery that lasted <30 min. A two-for-one upgrade. Worked great.
iBook G4 12" 800 Mhz: Replaced battery with a new, high capacity model from OWC/Newertech (macsales.com). Works great -- probably getting >5 hours on the machine. The old battery went into a white iBook G3 12", whose battery was down to <10 min. Another two-for-one upgrade, well worth the purchase.
TiPB 400: Replaced Apple battery (~60 min life) with OWC/Newertech. The Newertech build is not quite as nice as Apple's, but it seems to work -- giving over 3 hours of life now. Good upgrade, kept the older battery as backup for airline travel.
PB17 revA : replaced Apple battery (giving less than 80 min or so) originally with just-released OWC/Newertech battery (with slightly higher capacity than Apple's stock). Went thru 3 batteries, experienced two independent problems (one electrical, one physical problem with beveling that precluded proper fit in my laptop). Good customer service, but in the end I sent the last one in for my money back - they need to get the bugs worked out, and I needed a new battery for traveling the next couple months, kept the older battery as backup for airline travel (might even try fixing the cells later). Purchased new battery from Apple store, works great. Love having >3 hours of juice again (see below). Feels like a whole new machine.
I was very pleased with all but the recently released Newertech third party upgrades, each higher capacity than Apple's stock. I'd wait on the PB17 batteries until they've worked the bugs out.
What I realize now is that getting double the life is MORE than double the usable time -- I was always having to watch out and keep some reserve power; now, I can run for 2 hours or more and know I have more than enough power for email checking, etc, afterwards. I even took it to a full day conference WITHOUT my power cord -- so it even made my machine a little lighter!
As always, your mileage may vary. But I thought everyone might find our experience with non-Apple batteries worth considering as you keep your portfolio of laptops fully operational.
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