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Battery ageing -- Thinkpad vs. Fujitsu

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 6:56 am
by madana
Greetings,

I have been a devout Fujitsu ultraportables' user for many years until their most recent P7120 turned me off by being overpriced and upgrade-unfriendly.

Now I am seriously looking into X60s and so far slanting towards it favorably.

However, in Fujitsu LifeBooks there is a very well thought-out battery protection system. Even if you can keep your Fujitsu laptop plugged in 24x7x365 -- still there is no overcharge of the battery. After the battery is fully charged, the smart system disconnects the battery and lets the charge slide down naturally until it reaches 90%, and then it charges again.

This supposedly prevents battery from deterioration due to overcharge. My experience confirms it -- even after 2-3 years of heavy use batteies lose only about 25-30% of their original capacity. This was one of the Fujitsu's goodies that really won me over.

My question is -- does X60s have a similar overcharge-proof system? What is your experience with the deterioration rate of IBM/Lenova batteries over time?

Many thanks.

Re: Battery ageing -- Thinkpad vs. Fujitsu

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:28 am
by sugo
madana wrote:My question is -- does X60s have a similar overcharge-proof system?
Yes it does.

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 9:41 am
by madana
My question is -- does X60s have a similar overcharge-proof system?

Yes it does.
Thank you, Sugo. This sure sways me towards X60s all the more now. Does it work in pretty much the same fashion as Fujitsu's?
What is your assessment of IBM battery's wear over time, if I could ask you for one?

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 10:01 am
by foodle
The Lenovo management is even more flexible. You can custom set the point at which the battery will start and stop charging. You also can just let the machine optimize it for you. It will watch your usage profile and pick the optimal start and stop charge points. The default start charge point is 96%, but as I said, you can change that to whatever you want.

I haven't had my machine long enough to comment on the battery longevity. Personally, it's not something I worry too much about.

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 10:12 am
by madana
The Lenovo management is even more flexible. You can custom set the point at which the battery will start and stop charging. You also can just let the machine optimize it for you. It will watch your usage profile and pick the optimal start and stop charge points. The default start charge point is 96%, but as I said, you can change that to whatever you want.
Thank you, Foodle, for such an informed reply. It settles the matter for me.
I haven't had my machine long enough to comment on the battery longevity. Personally, it's not something I worry too much about.
Yeah, being in US and having spares at fingertips affords mental peace. STaying in India, where spares are either scarce or exorbitantly pricey, does not. Hence the worry. :)

Re: Battery ageing -- Thinkpad vs. Fujitsu

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:41 pm
by archer6
madana wrote: Now I am seriously looking into X60s and so far slanting towards it favorably.
I have had my X60s for two months now and I could not be happier. This is a truly amazing computer and even with my big hands it's easy to use the keyboard... :lol:

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:45 pm
by christopher_wolf
Just to note, even the recent T4X and X4X Thinkpads have had the trickle charge feature, it is actually pretty common depending on the system but you get a great deal of control over it with the software that IBM/Lenovo provides. :)

Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 9:29 pm
by daeojkim
One of the best features of thinkpads compared to other manufacturers is not only warranty but the longevity of support system even for very old systems. YOu can still find drivers and updated softwares for machines that have been out for a long time.

Also there are parts for every component readily available, which make maintainance very easy.

Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 1:18 pm
by archer6
daeojkim wrote:One of the best features of thinkpads compared to other manufacturers is not only warranty but the longevity of support system even for very old systems. YOu can still find drivers and updated softwares for machines that have been out for a long time.

Also there are parts for every component readily available, which make maintainance very easy.
Precisely... :D
This is one of many reasons that I stay a very loyal Thinkpad user. This is the reason I deploy _ONLY THINKPADS_ in my organization. There is nothing, absolutely nothing like the right tool for the job and the ThinkPad is the most exemplary example of this... :D