Does any generic battery for the t42 give more juice?

[jerseysteve]

Hi
I have a t42 14.1" and I do not want to use the 9 cell battery because it sticks out the back. Are there any ganeric battery 6 cell (or more if it does not stick out) that last longer then the IBM one. (on my canon digital camera I purchased a generic battery that last twice as long - the same thing on my cell phone).
Thank you

[lfeagan]

A capacity doubling sounds distinctly like you changed from NiCd to NiMH. In the Li+ technology there is very little differentiation between different companies performance and capacity for their cells. The 6 cell from IBM is the only battery that will fit flushly with your notebook. If you want more capacity and don't want something sticking out, get an Ultrabay Slim battery. It should give you about another 25Wh of capacity.

[jerseysteve]

I can't use the ultrabay battery since I use my optical drive almost all the time. In regard to my canera battery they were both Nimh just it had more MaH I think.
Thanks

[Kenn]

A capacity doubling sounds distinctly like you changed from NiCd to NiMH. In the Li+ technology there is very little differentiation between different companies performance and capacity for their cells. The 6 cell from IBM is the only battery that will fit flushly with your notebook. If you want more capacity and don't want something sticking out, get an Ultrabay Slim battery. It should give you about another 25Wh of capacity.

Actually, newer Li-ion cell designs can allow for higher power ratings. IIRC, Canon's BP-511 for digital cameras and camcorders is rated for 1100mAh, whereas the new BP-511A is 1390mAh. On Ebay and they have japanese-cell generic BP-511 clones rated at 1800mAh, which I've been using in my digicam and do last about 2 hours longer than the original Canon batteries I used.

Of course, the danger with generics is that they tend to be responsible for things going wrong - overheating or shorting out while in use or charging, etc. For a $2000+ laptop, I think I'll stick with IBM for a while. Newegg has good prices on OEM replacement batteries.

[lfeagan]

Yes, very true about Newegg. Their replacement extended battery (9-cell) for the T4x series is only $99.50. Which is a pretty good deal.