Who makes cheap but decent lithium batteries?

[David]

I have nearly alwys found that the original lithium battery which comes
with my mobile phone or digital camera is better than any 3rd party
lookalike.

My original Nokia battery significantly outperforms a lookalike even
though the lookalike claims almost 40% extra capacity.

Similalry my digital camera's battery is better than the lookalikes I
have tried.

Trouble is that original batteries cost a fortune to buy on their own.

Which are the brands for decent lookalike lithiums?

For example the NP-20 shown below.
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Batteries_Plus_Casio_129.html

 

[Graham]

I have nearly alwys found that the original lithium battery which comes
with my mobile phone or digital camera is better than any 3rd party
lookalike.

My original Nokia battery significantly outperforms a lookalike even
though the lookalike claims almost 40% extra capacity.

Similalry my digital camera's battery is better than the lookalikes I
have tried.

Trouble is that original batteries cost a fortune to buy on their own.

Which are the brands for decent lookalike lithiums?

For example the NP-20 shown below.
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Batteries_Plus_Casio_129.html

These are all Lithium Ion batteries.
Lithium batteries are quite different, and are not rechargeable.

 

[Dennis Pogson]

I have nearly alwys found that the original lithium battery which
comes with my mobile phone or digital camera is better than any 3rd
party lookalike.

My original Nokia battery significantly outperforms a lookalike even
though the lookalike claims almost 40% extra capacity.

Similalry my digital camera's battery is better than the lookalikes I
have tried.

Trouble is that original batteries cost a fortune to buy on their own.

Which are the brands for decent lookalike lithiums?

For example the NP-20 shown below.
http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/Batteries_Plus_Casio_129.html

I have found this firm to be excellent.
http://www.battery-force.co.uk/index.html

 

[Mark Fortune]

I have found this firm to be excellent.
http://www.battery-force.co.uk/index.html

Yeah, we got some sample batteries from them for our mp3 players as
duracell ones were lasting about 10 hours playtime. They sent us loads
and their own branded ones lasted for around 20-24 hours playtime.
Really helpful people, the prices were pretty good as I recall too.

Think i've still got some of their batteries running my electric toothbrush.

Mark

 

[Graculus]

I have nearly alwys found that the original lithium battery which comes
with my mobile phone or digital camera is better than any 3rd party
lookalike.

Sony?

Oh, maybe not, unless you like the smell of a real fire.

 

[Bill Funk]

Sony?

Oh, maybe not, unless you like the smell of a real fire.

Interestingly, Sony provided the batteries for both Dell and Apple,
and a lot of those have been recalled.
The Sony batteries used in Sony gear, though, have been reliable.
Sony, in recent years, has shown a shocking disregard for their
customers; yet they obviously have been able to supply themselves with
reliable batteries.
This could lead one to conclude they knew about the problems, and
steered affected product out of house.

 

[Mark Fortune]

Interestingly, Sony provided the batteries for both Dell and Apple,
and a lot of those have been recalled.
The Sony batteries used in Sony gear, though, have been reliable.
Sony, in recent years, has shown a shocking disregard for their
customers; yet they obviously have been able to supply themselves with
reliable batteries.
This could lead one to conclude they knew about the problems, and
steered affected product out of house.

A large respectable company like sony playing dirty? I won't believe it.
Next you'll be telling me they sue 12 year old girls and 90 year old
grannies for downloading mp3's

 

[Graculus]

Interestingly, Sony provided the batteries for both Dell and Apple,
and a lot of those have been recalled.
The Sony batteries used in Sony gear, though, have been reliable.
Sony, in recent years, has shown a shocking disregard for their
customers; yet they obviously have been able to supply themselves with
reliable batteries.
This could lead one to conclude they knew about the problems, and
steered affected product out of house.

While I'm no fan of Sony, especially their rootkit installing BMG branch, I
think that's a conspiracy theory too far. The batteries they make as OEM
product for the likes of Dell and Apple will be manufactured only for them,
as they have to physically fit whatever specifications Dell/Apple give them.

 

[ASAAR]

A large respectable company like sony playing dirty? I won't believe it.
Next you'll be telling me they sue 12 year old girls and 90 year old
grannies for downloading mp3's

No, Sony wouldn't do anything like that. Next thing you know
somebody will accuse Disney of doing the same thing. Their lawyers
have issued emphatic denials.

 

[Cynicor]

No, Sony wouldn't do anything like that. Next thing you know
somebody will accuse Disney of doing the same thing. Their lawyers
have issued emphatic denials.

The weird thing was that the Disney lawyer had to wear a character head
and wasn't allowed to speak, so he had to mime the whole denial.

 

[Richard Tomkins]

Want to purchase some Enron stock?

 

[Graculus]

Want to purchase some Enron stock?

OK, I'll sell my WorldCom stock to cover it.

 

[Bill Funk]

While I'm no fan of Sony, especially their rootkit installing BMG branch, I
think that's a conspiracy theory too far. The batteries they make as OEM
product for the likes of Dell and Apple will be manufactured only for them,
as they have to physically fit whatever specifications Dell/Apple give them.

Sony knew.
http://channels.lockergnome.com/new..._discussed_battery_issues_10_months_ago.phtml
It was the manufacturing process that was going wrong, yet they
managed to have *their* batteries come out OK.
Gateway's next.
(Maybe.)

 

[Richard Perry]

I have found this firm to be excellent.
http://www.battery-force.co.uk/index.html

I get my batteries off Ebay. Who cares how long they last. I carry a
bunch of them.

Richard Perry

 

[Homer J Simpson]

I get my batteries off Ebay. Who cares how long they last. I carry a
bunch of them.

IME the ones from eBay tend to be quite a bit lower performing than brand
names.

 

[Lostgallifreyan]

IME the ones from eBay tend to be quite a bit lower performing than
brand names.

Then get brand name batteries off eBay. There are sellers of Duracell and
Procell alkalines, so probably also for lithium ion types. Many of these
large volume sellers are kosher, they're not pushing fakes, it only takes a
small amount of negative feedback to get them shut down, so the big sellers
don't do that, they rely on good stock, large volume and fast sales. You
get good batteries, because they don't sit on shelves getting old, and
you're not paying for the overheads that kind of storage costs, and
they're cheap to deliver straight to you, so it's a very good way to get
them.

 

[Art]

I get my batteries off Ebay. Who cares how long they last. I carry a
bunch of them.

Beware of cheap batteries. I managed to ruin a Seiko watch with a
cheap battery that leaked.

 

[Butch Haynes]

I've purchased 8-9 aftermarket Lithium rechargeables from several of the
bigger name online battery retailers-- ranging from the "cheap Charlies" to
the ones that charge 60% or so of the cost of factory-branded ones and are
supposed to have "Japanese cells."

My experience has been about the same with all of them. First I do several
charge/discharge cycles to condition them Then if I use them right after I
charge them, they're OK-- usually giving about 75-80% capacity of the
factory battery.

However, if I let them sit a few weeks after charging before using them,
they've self-discharged much faster than the factory batts. They're pretty
much useless if I don't top them up before use.

That's my experience YMMV.

Butch

 

[Roger Hamlett]

I've purchased 8-9 aftermarket Lithium rechargeables from several of the
bigger name online battery retailers-- ranging from the "cheap Charlies"
to the ones that charge 60% or so of the cost of factory-branded ones
and are supposed to have "Japanese cells."

My experience has been about the same with all of them. First I do
several charge/discharge cycles to condition them Then if I use them
right after I charge them, they're OK-- usually giving about 75-80%
capacity of the factory battery.

However, if I let them sit a few weeks after charging before using them,
they've self-discharged much faster than the factory batts. They're
pretty much useless if I don't top them up before use.

That's my experience YMMV.

It is also worth being aware, that generally, higher capacity batteries
have higher 'self discharge' rates. A friend uses a lot for quite high
capacity applications, and the higher capacity cells give what they are
meant to, if used as soon as they are charged. However leave the batteries
for a week, and the lower capacity cells, then beat the 'high capacity'
models. This prbably relates to the behaviour reported above...
Panasonic, make generally good cells, that have proven for me to be
amongst the best.

Best Wishes