Thinkpads Forum

I ordered an aftermarket 12-cell 10,400 mAh Battery for my ThinkPad T500 from an eBay seller. The capacity is 33% more than the standard 9-cell from Lenovo. It just arrived yesterday. A picture is worth a thousand words:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2544/421 ... 10bafe.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/421 ... 38ab95.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/421 ... f713b6.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/421 ... 337239.jpg

Admin Edit: Images converted to links...... please read the Forum rules about posting in-line images, and adhere to them in the future.

Looks awful! And what is the real point of having this kind of brick attached to your notebook? I would rather go for an battery for ultrabay + Lenovo 9-cell if I would need more battery time.

Eudoxus wrote:Looks awful! And what is the real point of having this kind of brick attached to your notebook? I would rather go for an battery for ultrabay + Lenovo 9-cell if I would need more battery time.

I have 128GB SSD for operating system and application software. I put 100GB of lossless iTunes music on a 500GB hard drive plugged in the UltraBay. I sometimes need to work unplugged at coffee shops in shopping malls or at meeting rooms with no power outlets.

Everybody has their own reasons and preferences.

You are absolutely right! I just expressed my preferences.

Not my cup of tea, but an interesting modification. I'm curious, doesn't the battery have a chip or processor in it that tracks charge cycles and whatnot. Does the 12 cell show up in the power manager as a 9 cell or does it actually show up as a 12 cell and report correct life cycles?

The battery reminds me of the Gateway tablets that had a battery so big it lifted the back of the laptop off the desk about 1"... converting them to a tablet was useless for most users as the battery was so large, they couldn't hold onto the edge of the tablet.

I had no issues with them, but I've been told I have the hands of a Sasquatch.

It's not pretty, but sometimes it doesn't have to be. The fact that such a hack even exists is just awesome.

But if they're going to add that huge ugly bump, why not make it a little wider and make it a 15-cell battery? That would be epic.

syncrotic wrote:... But if they're going to add that huge ugly bump, why not make it a little wider and make it a 15-cell battery? That would be epic.

Why not just strap a car battery to your back?

wow..this battery is huge! How many hours did you get from it?

Wow, thats something I take on a LONG flight.. like to HK, 15-16 hours...

Have you run battery eater to see how many actual hours it'll last. Is the construction solid ?

I bought some aftermarket stuff and it was poorly made.. flimsy.. lmk

It can't fit much worse than the factory 9 cell, which on my T400 is all kinds of lose.

Doesn't look so bad to me. Definitely not much worse than the huge 9-cell of the 14W T61/T400.

Extended batteries that extend from the bottom are common with some manufacturers (DELL/HP). But since Lenovo's design is different, I believe this battery makes the computer undockable.

And I agree - it is awesome that such an option exists, even if aftermarket.

luichn wrote:wow..this battery is huge! How many hours did you get from it?

I get at least 7-8 hours on Windows 7 "Balanced" power profile with WiFi and Bluetooth on with 5 bars of brightness. It should last longer in more power-saving profiles.

lstratos wrote: Have you run battery eater to see how many actual hours it'll last. Is the construction solid ?

I haven't run a battery eater yet. My previous post may be a premise, though. The construction is very solid -- like a brick

dr_st wrote:I believe this battery makes the computer undockable.

Yes, dr_st. One drawback is that it doesn't fit in a dock. I have 2504 docks at work and at home; I stay with the standard 9-cell on regular daily uses and carry the 12-cell for long days at meetings or at Starbucks.

I'm a little late to the party here. Only now have I seen these....and for the R/T/Z 60/61, as well!

I have a few questions about these....

It would seem these are aftermarket creations, not replications. I've seen no TP series that had a 12-cell battery. Plus, I always assumed that the other replicated batteries used casings molded from actual OEM batteries, or some kind of covertly obtained mold impressions. With there being no OEM counterpart to these, I suspect they used a 9-cell mold, and skimped on thickness in the new expanded area, rather than designing for 12 cells.

That last picture shows an area that would easily fracture due to stress if there isn't increased thickness, or density of plastic. Is there a tactile feeling of thickness or "thinness" there? Is there much flex?

Aesthetics aside, that is the bigger potential deal-killer when you consider it's a weight-bearing structure.

jasonth wrote:Not my cup of tea, but an interesting modification. I'm curious, doesn't the battery have a chip or processor in it that tracks charge cycles and whatnot. Does the 12 cell show up in the power manager as a 9 cell or does it actually show up as a 12 cell and report correct life cycles?

No one actually responded to that. Can someone do so in detail? Maybe a screenshot of the details in Power Manager?

thitiv wrote:Yes, dr_st. One drawback is that it doesn't fit in a dock. I have 2504 docks at work and at home; I stay with the standard 9-cell on regular daily uses and carry the 12-cell for long days at meetings or at Starbucks.

Yes, it's not quite a moot issue, but an inconvenience to be sure. This battery would cater to those without docks, or spend little time docked. Those who do use their TPs docked more often than not, would probably lean more towards a 6 or 4-cell for lesser cost.

I'm still interested if anyone can give a firsthand experience. (and a battery manager screenshot too)

Anyone?