New OE replacement Battery from eBay, first impressions

[WRB]

Hi all,

I am posting this because like many here, my original thinkpad battery is down to less than an hour of capacity, and real IBM batteries really have been demanding a premium. Therefore, I decided to purchase a discount OE replacement and see what you get for $50.

I purchased the new OE replacement battery from a seller on eBay for €55 shipped.

Specs

Brand: CMP (China)
Cells Manufacturer: Sanyo
Manufacture date: 06/2005
Full Charge Capacity: 41.69Wh
Design Capacity: 44.00Wh

At six months old, the battery contains 41.69Wh of 44.00Wh design capacity after 4 100%-4% cycles. I consider this normal aging (google Li-ion battery technology to learn more). This is about a 22% increase in capacity over the originals, and 10% over a t30 battery.

Viewing divx encoded movies on a recent trip, I was able to get just under 4 hours with minimal screen brightness on my 1.0ghz t23.

The only downside so far is that it doesn't slide out easily like the original IBM battery. It fits snug and therefore it requires a bit more prying to remove than the original.

I feel like overall this was a good investment. 4 hours is competitive with more modern notebooks and for the price (especially in the 'States) I'm even making some of the Apple guys jealous, who thought they're batteries were good!

In short, don't be afraid of the OE replacements.

Things to look for when shopping for a Notebook Battery (esp. on eBay):

-Dont buy Used!! even when they say "holds 100% charge"!! unless they show you the screenshot of IBM's Battery Maximiser that says the full charge capacity and # of charges, stay away!
-Dont buy new old stock. See above, Li-ion batteries degrade overtime, regardless of use.

Hope this was useful.

-Bill