Looking for a laptop that can run for most of the day without a recharge?

The boffins at technology site CNET Australia reckon that HP‘s Folio 13 Ultrabook should be top of your list, as it gallops along for almost six and a half hours on a single tank of juice.

Two more HP laptops follow the Folio – the Envy Spectre 14 and the Pavilion dm1 – before the field widens to include models from Lenovo, Dell, Asus and Toshiba.

Apple’s MacBook Air makes a surprisingly late appearance in the field, with the 13 inch model in twelfth place based on a battery life of 4 hours 43 minutes.

CNET’s aptly-named Laptops with long battery life 2012 report assesses the battery life of each notebook reviewed by the site using a pair of real-world tests.

The heavy-duty test sees the laptop playing a HD video with both screen brightness and volume wound up to full. A light HP nc6000 notebook battery test trims the screen brightness to 40 per cent and visits three different websites every 20 seconds.

CNET Australia reviews editor Craig Simms says this snapshot of the current market will be continuously updated as new laptops are released.

It can be difficult to trust a laptop maker’s own figures on battery life because “things will change depending on usage patterns” as well as how the manufacturer chooses to measure battery life, says Simms.

“Some will quote incredibly light-use battery benchmarks with most things turned off and the screen set to the lowest brightness — a totally unrealistic use scenario” he tells Australian Business Traveller. ”Others, such as Samsung, tend to be more honest with their Dell Inspiron n5010 battery life estimates, using video playback stats instead.”

And while Ultrabooks are helping to set new benchmarks for battery life, Simms says he would be disappointed “if a 13 inch ultrabook didn’t hit at least four and a half hours of light use with screen brightness around 40%. The better ones can exceed six hours.”

A raft of advances in laptop technology is also helping drive battery life towards true all-day capability.

“Since the MacBook Air, quite a few laptops have (adopted) non-user removable batteries, allowing for custom shapes that allow the manufacturer to maximise battery storage for their specific laptop” Simms explains.

“Intel’s ultra-low voltage processors have made quite an impact on power draw, and yet only sacrifice minimally on performance, while on more powerful laptops, graphics switching technology that allows AMD and Nvidia graphics to switch to less power-hungry Intel graphics when the more powerful cards aren’t needed helps the laptop to save on Dell inspiron e1505 battery.”

Simms also sees the widespread use of LED back lighting in displays, “automatically dimming the screen after a period of disuse and smart dimming of screens in different light situations” as helping extend battery life.

Other Ultrabook-type trends such as dropping CD/DVD drives and replacing spinning mechanical hard disks with solid-state drives have also done their part to eke out more hours between recharges.

Looking for a laptop that can run for most of the day without a recharge?

The boffins at technology site CNET Australia reckon that HP‘s Folio 13 Ultrabook should be top of your list, as it gallops along for almost six and a half hours on a single tank of juice.

Two more HP laptops follow the Folio – the Envy Spectre 14 and the Pavilion dm1 – before the field widens to include models from Lenovo, Dell, Asus and Toshiba.

Apple’s MacBook Air makes a surprisingly late appearance in the field, with the 13 inch model in twelfth place based on a battery life of 4 hours 43 minutes.

CNET’s aptly-named Laptops with long battery life 2012 report assesses the battery life of each notebook reviewed by the site using a pair of real-world tests.

The heavy-duty test sees the laptop playing a HD video with both screen brightness and volume wound up to full. A light HP nc6000 notebook battery test trims the screen brightness to 40 per cent and visits three different websites every 20 seconds.

CNET Australia reviews editor Craig Simms says this snapshot of the current market will be continuously updated as new laptops are released.

It can be difficult to trust a laptop maker’s own figures on battery life because “things will change depending on usage patterns” as well as how the manufacturer chooses to measure battery life, says Simms.

“Some will quote incredibly light-use battery benchmarks with most things turned off and the screen set to the lowest brightness — a totally unrealistic use scenario” he tells Australian Business Traveller. ”Others, such as Samsung, tend to be more honest with their Dell Inspiron n5010 battery life estimates, using video playback stats instead.”

And while Ultrabooks are helping to set new benchmarks for battery life, Simms says he would be disappointed “if a 13 inch ultrabook didn’t hit at least four and a half hours of light use with screen brightness around 40%. The better ones can exceed six hours.”

A raft of advances in laptop technology is also helping drive battery life towards true all-day capability.

“Since the MacBook Air, quite a few laptops have (adopted) non-user removable batteries, allowing for custom shapes that allow the manufacturer to maximise battery storage for their specific laptop” Simms explains.

“Intel’s ultra-low voltage processors have made quite an impact on power draw, and yet only sacrifice minimally on performance, while on more powerful laptops, graphics switching technology that allows AMD and Nvidia graphics to switch to less power-hungry Intel graphics when the more powerful cards aren’t needed helps the laptop to save on Dell inspiron e1505 battery.”

Simms also sees the widespread use of LED back lighting in displays, “automatically dimming the screen after a period of disuse and smart dimming of screens in different light situations” as helping extend battery life.

Other Ultrabook-type trends such as dropping CD/DVD drives and replacing spinning mechanical hard disks with solid-state drives have also done their part to eke out more hours between recharges.

Like!3 [Continue]

Like!3 [Continue]

Have you ever run out of battery power on your laptop, notebook, or netbook during a meeting or a class? Sufficient battery life is a persistent challenge for mobile PC users. You can take simple maintenance steps to extend the life of your laptop battery. TheWindows operating system also offers several ways to help maximize the battery life of your mobile computer.

In this article, I’ll introduce some tips that you can use to recharge a battery and extend laptop battery life, and I’ll discuss how to take advantage of Windows settings to manage power more efficiently.

Have you ever run out of battery power on your laptop, notebook, or netbook during a meeting or a class? Sufficient battery life is a persistent challenge for mobile PC users. You can take simple maintenance steps to extend the life of your laptop battery. TheWindows operating system also offers several ways to help maximize the battery life of your mobile computer.

In this article, I’ll introduce some tips that you can use to recharge a battery and extend laptop battery life, and I’ll discuss how to take advantage of Windows settings to manage power more efficiently.

Like!6 [Continue]

The HP Pavilion g6 is a straightforward, solid all-purpose laptop for a good price.

The HP Pavilion g6 is exactly what you’d expect for its starting price of around £300: bland. While there’s absolutely nothing exciting about this machine, it does what it’s supposed to do, and does it well: The chassis is simple yet sturdy, the keyboard and trackpad are well-designed, and the performance is just around average.

Our review model, at an RRP of £540, costs a bit more than the bare-bones version of the HP Pavilion g6. That price gets you the latest-generation Intel Core i3-380M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, and a 5400-rpm, 500GB hard drive. Our review model also comes preinstalled with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium and features a built-in Webcam, a microphone, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 7 hours extended laptop battery. In our WorldBench 6 benchmark tests, the g6 received a score of 101, which is on the low side of average for laptops in this class.

The HP Pavilion g6 is surprisingly attractive, considering its price point. Don’t get me wrong – it still looks and feels like a budget machine. But its minimalist form and rounded edges lend it an air of style that most budget laptops lack. The lid is a shiny, solid-gray plastic that bends slightly in the middle if you put any weight on it. A small, brushed-metal HP logo is on the bottom left corner, and the edges are smooth and rounded. The underside of the chassis is your typical matte black plastic, with two Altec Lansing speakers located on the front, just under the keyboard.

The interior of the HP Pavilion g6 laptop is simple, with a smooth black plastic border around the silver keyboard and wristpad area. A slightly depressed border is also around the matte-black island-style keyboard. The trackpad is just a textured area directly on the wristpad, with two separate silver buttons below it. The HP Pavilion g6 weighs about 2.55kg, and measures 374x245x30.5mm.

Port-wise, the HP Pavilion g6 is typical for its class. On the right side, you’ll find a VGA port, an ethernet port, and two USB 2.0 ports – plus an HDMI port and a SD/MMC card reader, both nice touches. The left side is dominated mostly by the tray-loading DVD-RW drive with LightScribe, but HP manages to squeeze in an additional USB 2.0 port along with a Kensington lock slot.

The HP Pavilion g6′s full-size keyboard is quiet and comfortable to type on. The keyboard itself is a pseudo-island-style affair, and the keys have flat tops and are wider on the bottoms. The keys are evenly spaced and offer good tactile feedback. The keys move a little too much as you press down, but overall the g6 still offers one of the best typing experiences I’ve had on a budget notebook.

HP Introduces Power Laptop Battery With 32-Hour Extended Life

Choosing Between a Lenovo ThinkPad and an HP ProBook Guide

The trackpad is also impressive, considering it’s just a square of textured plastic on the wristpad area. I’m usually not a fan of textured trackpads (I prefer indented ones), because they usually don’t work as well as their counterparts. However, the HP Pavilion g6′s trackpad is extremely responsive, and the discrete mouse buttons are large and easy to press. The trackpad has no scrolling area, because HP has built in multitouch support.

Unfortunately, multitouch gestures work sluggishly at best.

The HP Pavilion g6′s 15.6-inch LED-backlit display has a native resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The glossy screen is nicely bright and has good image quality, so long as you’re sitting directly in front of it. Off-axis viewing is poor, and the glossy screen throws back a lot of reflections if you happen to be in direct or bright light. Speaker quality is pretty good (perhaps not as rich as you might like), and the Altec Lansing speakers are loud enough to fill a medium-sized room.

Since the HP Pavilion g6 features a second-generation Intel processor, it also comes with integrated Intel HD graphics. Casual video playback is good on the g6, but it’s not exactly a gaming computer. In our Unreal Tournament 3 graphics tests, the g6 managed an unplayable frame rate of just 16.8 frames per second (highest quality, 1024-by-768-pixel resolution).

HP pavilion dv3500 extended life battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $53.58

HP pavilion dv9700 laptop battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $66.53 Australia Post Fast Delivery

The HP Pavilion g6′s WorldBench 6 score of 101 is pretty average for its category. So you’re not getting a closet gaming machine, but this laptop will support everyday use just fine.

The HP Pavilion g6 is a straightforward, solid all-purpose laptop for a good price.

The HP Pavilion g6 is exactly what you’d expect for its starting price of around £300: bland. While there’s absolutely nothing exciting about this machine, it does what it’s supposed to do, and does it well: The chassis is simple yet sturdy, the keyboard and trackpad are well-designed, and the performance is just around average.

Our review model, at an RRP of £540, costs a bit more than the bare-bones version of the HP Pavilion g6. That price gets you the latest-generation Intel Core i3-380M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, and a 5400-rpm, 500GB hard drive. Our review model also comes preinstalled with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium and features a built-in Webcam, a microphone, and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 7 hours extended laptop battery. In our WorldBench 6 benchmark tests, the g6 received a score of 101, which is on the low side of average for laptops in this class.

The HP Pavilion g6 is surprisingly attractive, considering its price point. Don’t get me wrong – it still looks and feels like a budget machine. But its minimalist form and rounded edges lend it an air of style that most budget laptops lack. The lid is a shiny, solid-gray plastic that bends slightly in the middle if you put any weight on it. A small, brushed-metal HP logo is on the bottom left corner, and the edges are smooth and rounded. The underside of the chassis is your typical matte black plastic, with two Altec Lansing speakers located on the front, just under the keyboard.

The interior of the HP Pavilion g6 laptop is simple, with a smooth black plastic border around the silver keyboard and wristpad area. A slightly depressed border is also around the matte-black island-style keyboard. The trackpad is just a textured area directly on the wristpad, with two separate silver buttons below it. The HP Pavilion g6 weighs about 2.55kg, and measures 374x245x30.5mm.

Port-wise, the HP Pavilion g6 is typical for its class. On the right side, you’ll find a VGA port, an ethernet port, and two USB 2.0 ports – plus an HDMI port and a SD/MMC card reader, both nice touches. The left side is dominated mostly by the tray-loading DVD-RW drive with LightScribe, but HP manages to squeeze in an additional USB 2.0 port along with a Kensington lock slot.

The HP Pavilion g6′s full-size keyboard is quiet and comfortable to type on. The keyboard itself is a pseudo-island-style affair, and the keys have flat tops and are wider on the bottoms. The keys are evenly spaced and offer good tactile feedback. The keys move a little too much as you press down, but overall the g6 still offers one of the best typing experiences I’ve had on a budget notebook.

HP Introduces Power Laptop Battery With 32-Hour Extended Life

Choosing Between a Lenovo ThinkPad and an HP ProBook Guide

The trackpad is also impressive, considering it’s just a square of textured plastic on the wristpad area. I’m usually not a fan of textured trackpads (I prefer indented ones), because they usually don’t work as well as their counterparts. However, the HP Pavilion g6′s trackpad is extremely responsive, and the discrete mouse buttons are large and easy to press. The trackpad has no scrolling area, because HP has built in multitouch support.

Unfortunately, multitouch gestures work sluggishly at best.

The HP Pavilion g6′s 15.6-inch LED-backlit display has a native resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The glossy screen is nicely bright and has good image quality, so long as you’re sitting directly in front of it. Off-axis viewing is poor, and the glossy screen throws back a lot of reflections if you happen to be in direct or bright light. Speaker quality is pretty good (perhaps not as rich as you might like), and the Altec Lansing speakers are loud enough to fill a medium-sized room.

Since the HP Pavilion g6 features a second-generation Intel processor, it also comes with integrated Intel HD graphics. Casual video playback is good on the g6, but it’s not exactly a gaming computer. In our Unreal Tournament 3 graphics tests, the g6 managed an unplayable frame rate of just 16.8 frames per second (highest quality, 1024-by-768-pixel resolution).

HP pavilion dv3500 extended life battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $53.58

HP pavilion dv9700 laptop battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $66.53 Australia Post Fast Delivery

The HP Pavilion g6′s WorldBench 6 score of 101 is pretty average for its category. So you’re not getting a closet gaming machine, but this laptop will support everyday use just fine.

Like!4 [Continue]

Apple finally announced a new iPad that is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2. The reason the new iPad is thicker is because Apple nearly doubled the battery capacity compared to last year’s model.

The new iPad has a 42.5-watt-hour battery. By comparison, the iPad 2 has a 25-watt-hour battery. The iPhone 4S, a smaller iOS device, has a 5.3-watt-hour Apple A1175 Battery, though it uses a lot less energy given its smaller screen.

Despite the bigger battery, the new iPad boasts the same battery life as the iPad 2. Apple claims the new iPad has the same 10 hours of battery life as the iPad 2 when web browsing over WiFi. Like the iPad 2 3G, the new iPad can run for up to nine hours using 4G LTE, mobile broadband that provides download speeds that are several times faster than 3G. Apple is very conservative in terms of its battery life estimates, with many iPad 2 users see more than 10 hours of extended life battery performance depending on their settings and usage scenarios.

Apple a1280 battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $64.58

HP elitebook 2730p battery brand new 5200mAh Only AU $74.89

Apple finally announced a new iPad that is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2. The reason the new iPad is thicker is because Apple nearly doubled the battery capacity compared to last year’s model.

The new iPad has a 42.5-watt-hour battery. By comparison, the iPad 2 has a 25-watt-hour battery. The iPhone 4S, a smaller iOS device, has a 5.3-watt-hour Apple A1175 Battery, though it uses a lot less energy given its smaller screen.

Despite the bigger battery, the new iPad boasts the same battery life as the iPad 2. Apple claims the new iPad has the same 10 hours of battery life as the iPad 2 when web browsing over WiFi. Like the iPad 2 3G, the new iPad can run for up to nine hours using 4G LTE, mobile broadband that provides download speeds that are several times faster than 3G. Apple is very conservative in terms of its battery life estimates, with many iPad 2 users see more than 10 hours of extended life battery performance depending on their settings and usage scenarios.

Apple a1280 battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $64.58

HP elitebook 2730p battery brand new 5200mAh Only AU $74.89

Like!6 [Continue]

In the business notebook category, Lenovo continues to be the company to beat, and it looks to continue its dominance with the ThinkPad T520. Thanks to a Core i5 processor and Nvidia graphics, this 15-inch $1,299 system can handle just about any task. A sturdy chassis, excellent keyboard, and built-in fingerprint reader further sweeten the pot, but is it enough to keep the T520 at the top of the business heap?

Design

Click to EnlargeAs with other ThinkPads, the T520 is as buttoned-down as they come. Its black matte rubberized lid is highly resistant to fingerprints and smudges, and is only accented by a chrome Lenovo emblem and a ThinkPad logo. Following the ThinkPad aesthetic, the deck features the traditional all-black interior with the keyboard nestled between two speakers. The telltale blue Enter key and the bright red TrackPoint located between the G and H keys are also on board. A raised panel above the function keys houses buttons for mute, volume, microphone mute, the ThinkVantage toolbox and Power.

A black latch along the right front lip of the notebook releases the lid, which is held up by two rock-solid metal hinges. An internal magnesium alloy frame, backed up by strong ABS plastic on the outside, means this notebook should stand up to a fair amount of abuse and resist flexing. The extended battery felt slightly loose, though.

Click to EnlargeEven though 15-inch systems aren’t meant to be carried around extensively, the 6.2-pound, 14.7-by-9.7-by-1.3-1.4-inch T520 is on the chunky side compared to other machines we’ve recently reviewed with this size display. For example, the HP Envy 15 weighs 5.8 pounds and measures 14.9-by-9.6-by-1.1 inches, while the 5-pound Samsung Series 7 Chronos has a 0.9-inch profile.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Click to EnlargeThe T520′s classic, spill-resistant keyboard has large keys with firm, springy feedback. Similar to other ThinkPads, the T520′s keyboard features oversized ESC and Delete keys. We scored 55 words per minute with a 1 percent error rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, higher than our usual 50 wpm/1 percent error rate.

Lenovo’s comfortable, textured TrackPoint pointing stick continues to be the gold standard, delivering accurate navigation. There’s also a 2.8-by-1.6-inch touchpad for users accustomed to using the pointing stick. Rubbing our fingers against the textured surface felt good. However, the limited surface area made activating some multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom tricky.

Click to EnlargeBoth sets of discrete mouse buttons offered strong feedback, as did the center trackpoint scroll button.

Lenovo thinkpad r61 battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $46.72 | Australia Post Free Shipping

Lenovo thinkpad t60 battery brand new 6600mAh Only AU $76.07

HP pavilion dv3500 power laptop battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $53.58

Heat

After streaming a full-screen video on Hulu on 15 minutes, the touchpad, space between the G and H keys and the notebook’s underside measured 82, 85 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. The middle of the notebook’s bottom measured 98 degrees, which is 3 degrees above what we consider to be comfortable, but then this is not a machine that will see a lot of time on your lap.

Ports and Webcam

Click to EnlargeAn ExpressCard/34 reader, a 4-in-1 card reader, a combination headphone/microphone, Gigabit Ethernet, and a tray-loading DVD burner sit on the right side of the T520. Two USB 2.0 ports, a USB/eSATA port, DisplayPort, VGA, Firewire 400 and a wireless switch sit along the left side. A single USB 2.0 port can be found on the notebook’s rear right corner. At this point, we wish the notebook came with USB 3.0, too.

The 720p camera delivered sharp clear images, even in low light settings. During our Skype call, our caller reported a clear image with distinct detail. However, the color appeared to be slightly washed out. Audio came through loud and clear. We experienced some problems with lag on our end, but for the most part, saw a clear image with vivid color and loud audio.

Display and Audio

Click to EnlargeThe T520′s matte 15.6-inch display provided sharp and vivid images thanks to its 1600 x 900p resolution. While watching the 1080p YouTube trailer of “The Hunger Games,” we marveled at how the display rendered Katniss’ brilliant red dress as well as her piercing blue eyes. However, at 155 lux, the T520 isn’t quite as bright as the Series 7 Chronos (167 lux).

Despite the two wide speaker grilles on either side of the keyboard, the T520 doesn’t offer the greatest sound. At full volume, the notebook barely filled a small room, even after tweaking settings in the Smart Audio control panel. Still, Robin Thicke’s soulful tenor were nicely balanced on “Love After War” as were the strings, piano, and crisp snare drums.

Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 comes equipped with a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2540M processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive and switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM). The machine took just about everything we threw at it, including playing video, performing productivity tasks and some light gaming.

On the PCMark07 benchmark, which measures overall performance, the T520 scored 2,177, slightly less than the 2,278 mainstream category average. The HP Envy 15 and its 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-2450M and 6GB of RAM notched 2,385 while the Samsung Series 7 Chronos’ 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-2675QM CPU and 8GB of RAM delivered 2,447.

The T520′s 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive booted the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Professional in 49 seconds. That’s 10 seconds faster than the 0:59 category average. During the LAPTOP File Transfer Test, the ThinkPad T520 duplicated 4.97GB of mixed media files in 3 minutes and 1 second, a transfer rate of 28.1MBps. That’s slightly slower than the 31 MBps mainstream average.

On the OpenOffice Spreadsheet test, the T520 took 4 minutes and 54 seconds to match 20,000 names to their corresponding addresses, 1:32 seconds ahead of the 6:26 average. The Series 7 Chronos was a close second with 4:56 while the Envy 15 lagged with a time of 6:31.

Graphics Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 comes equipped with Nvidia’s Optimus technology, allowing it to automatically switch between its integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and its discrete Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM for optimal performance and battery life.

On 3DMark06, which measures graphics performance, the T520 scored 5,627. That’s 678 points above the 4,949 mainstream category average. During the “World of Warcraft” benchmark, the T520 delivered a frame rate of 38 fps on autodetect at 1600 x 900. While that fails to match the 58 fps mainstream category average, most notebooks in this category sport lower resolutions. When we cranked the settings to maximum, the T520′s frame rate dropped slightly to a still-playable 33 fps. That’s enough to defeat the category average and the Envy 15 (28 fps).

Battery Life

Click to EnlargeLenovo sent us a big 9-cell battery with the ThinkPad T520, and it didn’t disappoint. During the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi) the business laptop lasted a whopping 9 hours and 4 minutes. That’s 4 hours and 8 minutes longer than the 4:56 mainstream category average. If you’re constantly dashing from one meeting to the next, you’ll appreciate the 9-cell battery’s endurance; if you do most of your work at your desk, the smaller 6-cell battery will probably suffice.

Security and Software

Click to EnlargeLenovo keeps things pretty light on the software front, choosing to outfit the T520 with not much more than the standard ThinkVantage utilities. We found the powered fingerprint reader to be the most helpful utility. In addition to adding a layer of security, we also could use it to turn on the T520 by simply swiping our finger.

We especially liked the Power Manager, which gave us the ability to schedule when the notebook went to sleep and check remaining battery power. Our favorite feature is Instant Resume, which keeps the Wi-Fi active for up to 99 minutes after the notebook is in sleep, eliminating the need to wait to reconnect.

Also included is Rescue and Recovery to make backups of important system information, Password Manager and Access Connections to manage wireless connections.

Third-party applications include Skype, Adobe Reader 9, Microsoft Office Starter, Windows Live, a 30-day free trial of Norton Internet Security 2011 and a basic version of Business-in-a-Box, a business document template software.

Configurations

Our $1,299 review unit of the T520 came equipped with a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2540M CPU with 4GB of RAM, 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive, switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM) and a 15.6-inch 1600 x 900 display. The $899 base model features a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i3-2350M processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB 5,400-rpm hard drive, an Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU and a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 display.

The $1,319 top-of-the-line model includes an Intel Core i5-2520M CPU with 4GB of RAM, a 160GB SSD, switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM) and a 15.6-inch 1600 x 900 display. For an additional $200, shoppers can upgrade to a 1920 x 1080 display.

Verdict

Click to EnlargeWhile it’s a bit thick and heavy for a 15-inch laptop, the $1,299 Lenovo ThinkPad T520 offers business users everything they need: good performance, durability, and security. Of course, you also get Lenovo’s trademark fantastic keyboard and accurate pointing stick. Add in wide viewing angles for the matte screen and extra-long battery life and you have a sound investment.

Related Posts

• Full Review Lenovo Thinkpad T420 Eco-Friendly Laptop
• Review Dell Latitude E6410 Business Laptop

In the business notebook category, Lenovo continues to be the company to beat, and it looks to continue its dominance with the ThinkPad T520. Thanks to a Core i5 processor and Nvidia graphics, this 15-inch $1,299 system can handle just about any task. A sturdy chassis, excellent keyboard, and built-in fingerprint reader further sweeten the pot, but is it enough to keep the T520 at the top of the business heap?

Design

Click to EnlargeAs with other ThinkPads, the T520 is as buttoned-down as they come. Its black matte rubberized lid is highly resistant to fingerprints and smudges, and is only accented by a chrome Lenovo emblem and a ThinkPad logo. Following the ThinkPad aesthetic, the deck features the traditional all-black interior with the keyboard nestled between two speakers. The telltale blue Enter key and the bright red TrackPoint located between the G and H keys are also on board. A raised panel above the function keys houses buttons for mute, volume, microphone mute, the ThinkVantage toolbox and Power.

A black latch along the right front lip of the notebook releases the lid, which is held up by two rock-solid metal hinges. An internal magnesium alloy frame, backed up by strong ABS plastic on the outside, means this notebook should stand up to a fair amount of abuse and resist flexing. The extended battery felt slightly loose, though.

Click to EnlargeEven though 15-inch systems aren’t meant to be carried around extensively, the 6.2-pound, 14.7-by-9.7-by-1.3-1.4-inch T520 is on the chunky side compared to other machines we’ve recently reviewed with this size display. For example, the HP Envy 15 weighs 5.8 pounds and measures 14.9-by-9.6-by-1.1 inches, while the 5-pound Samsung Series 7 Chronos has a 0.9-inch profile.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Click to EnlargeThe T520′s classic, spill-resistant keyboard has large keys with firm, springy feedback. Similar to other ThinkPads, the T520′s keyboard features oversized ESC and Delete keys. We scored 55 words per minute with a 1 percent error rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, higher than our usual 50 wpm/1 percent error rate.

Lenovo’s comfortable, textured TrackPoint pointing stick continues to be the gold standard, delivering accurate navigation. There’s also a 2.8-by-1.6-inch touchpad for users accustomed to using the pointing stick. Rubbing our fingers against the textured surface felt good. However, the limited surface area made activating some multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom tricky.

Click to EnlargeBoth sets of discrete mouse buttons offered strong feedback, as did the center trackpoint scroll button.

Lenovo thinkpad r61 battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $46.72 | Australia Post Free Shipping

Lenovo thinkpad t60 battery brand new 6600mAh Only AU $76.07

HP pavilion dv3500 power laptop battery brand new 4400mAh Only AU $53.58

Heat

After streaming a full-screen video on Hulu on 15 minutes, the touchpad, space between the G and H keys and the notebook’s underside measured 82, 85 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. The middle of the notebook’s bottom measured 98 degrees, which is 3 degrees above what we consider to be comfortable, but then this is not a machine that will see a lot of time on your lap.

Ports and Webcam

Click to EnlargeAn ExpressCard/34 reader, a 4-in-1 card reader, a combination headphone/microphone, Gigabit Ethernet, and a tray-loading DVD burner sit on the right side of the T520. Two USB 2.0 ports, a USB/eSATA port, DisplayPort, VGA, Firewire 400 and a wireless switch sit along the left side. A single USB 2.0 port can be found on the notebook’s rear right corner. At this point, we wish the notebook came with USB 3.0, too.

The 720p camera delivered sharp clear images, even in low light settings. During our Skype call, our caller reported a clear image with distinct detail. However, the color appeared to be slightly washed out. Audio came through loud and clear. We experienced some problems with lag on our end, but for the most part, saw a clear image with vivid color and loud audio.

Display and Audio

Click to EnlargeThe T520′s matte 15.6-inch display provided sharp and vivid images thanks to its 1600 x 900p resolution. While watching the 1080p YouTube trailer of “The Hunger Games,” we marveled at how the display rendered Katniss’ brilliant red dress as well as her piercing blue eyes. However, at 155 lux, the T520 isn’t quite as bright as the Series 7 Chronos (167 lux).

Despite the two wide speaker grilles on either side of the keyboard, the T520 doesn’t offer the greatest sound. At full volume, the notebook barely filled a small room, even after tweaking settings in the Smart Audio control panel. Still, Robin Thicke’s soulful tenor were nicely balanced on “Love After War” as were the strings, piano, and crisp snare drums.

Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 comes equipped with a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2540M processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive and switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM). The machine took just about everything we threw at it, including playing video, performing productivity tasks and some light gaming.

On the PCMark07 benchmark, which measures overall performance, the T520 scored 2,177, slightly less than the 2,278 mainstream category average. The HP Envy 15 and its 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-2450M and 6GB of RAM notched 2,385 while the Samsung Series 7 Chronos’ 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-2675QM CPU and 8GB of RAM delivered 2,447.

The T520′s 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive booted the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Professional in 49 seconds. That’s 10 seconds faster than the 0:59 category average. During the LAPTOP File Transfer Test, the ThinkPad T520 duplicated 4.97GB of mixed media files in 3 minutes and 1 second, a transfer rate of 28.1MBps. That’s slightly slower than the 31 MBps mainstream average.

On the OpenOffice Spreadsheet test, the T520 took 4 minutes and 54 seconds to match 20,000 names to their corresponding addresses, 1:32 seconds ahead of the 6:26 average. The Series 7 Chronos was a close second with 4:56 while the Envy 15 lagged with a time of 6:31.

Graphics Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad T520 comes equipped with Nvidia’s Optimus technology, allowing it to automatically switch between its integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 and its discrete Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM for optimal performance and battery life.

On 3DMark06, which measures graphics performance, the T520 scored 5,627. That’s 678 points above the 4,949 mainstream category average. During the “World of Warcraft” benchmark, the T520 delivered a frame rate of 38 fps on autodetect at 1600 x 900. While that fails to match the 58 fps mainstream category average, most notebooks in this category sport lower resolutions. When we cranked the settings to maximum, the T520′s frame rate dropped slightly to a still-playable 33 fps. That’s enough to defeat the category average and the Envy 15 (28 fps).

Battery Life

Click to EnlargeLenovo sent us a big 9-cell battery with the ThinkPad T520, and it didn’t disappoint. During the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi) the business laptop lasted a whopping 9 hours and 4 minutes. That’s 4 hours and 8 minutes longer than the 4:56 mainstream category average. If you’re constantly dashing from one meeting to the next, you’ll appreciate the 9-cell battery’s endurance; if you do most of your work at your desk, the smaller 6-cell battery will probably suffice.

Security and Software

Click to EnlargeLenovo keeps things pretty light on the software front, choosing to outfit the T520 with not much more than the standard ThinkVantage utilities. We found the powered fingerprint reader to be the most helpful utility. In addition to adding a layer of security, we also could use it to turn on the T520 by simply swiping our finger.

We especially liked the Power Manager, which gave us the ability to schedule when the notebook went to sleep and check remaining battery power. Our favorite feature is Instant Resume, which keeps the Wi-Fi active for up to 99 minutes after the notebook is in sleep, eliminating the need to wait to reconnect.

Also included is Rescue and Recovery to make backups of important system information, Password Manager and Access Connections to manage wireless connections.

Third-party applications include Skype, Adobe Reader 9, Microsoft Office Starter, Windows Live, a 30-day free trial of Norton Internet Security 2011 and a basic version of Business-in-a-Box, a business document template software.

Configurations

Our $1,299 review unit of the T520 came equipped with a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2540M CPU with 4GB of RAM, 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive, switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM) and a 15.6-inch 1600 x 900 display. The $899 base model features a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i3-2350M processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB 5,400-rpm hard drive, an Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU and a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 display.

The $1,319 top-of-the-line model includes an Intel Core i5-2520M CPU with 4GB of RAM, a 160GB SSD, switchable graphics (Intel HD Graphics 3000, Nvidia NVS 4200M GPU with 1GB of VRAM) and a 15.6-inch 1600 x 900 display. For an additional $200, shoppers can upgrade to a 1920 x 1080 display.

Verdict

Click to EnlargeWhile it’s a bit thick and heavy for a 15-inch laptop, the $1,299 Lenovo ThinkPad T520 offers business users everything they need: good performance, durability, and security. Of course, you also get Lenovo’s trademark fantastic keyboard and accurate pointing stick. Add in wide viewing angles for the matte screen and extra-long battery life and you have a sound investment.

Related Posts

• Full Review Lenovo Thinkpad T420 Eco-Friendly Laptop
• Review Dell Latitude E6410 Business Laptop

Like!1 [Continue]

Business travellers expect a lot from their laptop but a trio of tightly-connected features tops the list. The ideal notebook should be thin, it should be light and it should have enough battery life to last a whole day and then some.

The first two traits naturally go together and they’re ideal for maximising space in your carry-on bag as well as taking from one client meeting to the next meeting.

And being able to use the laptop at your airline’s departure lounge, during an international flight and still being able to do a quick email session at the airport while waiting for your bags to hit the carousel? That seals the deal.

So when will you be able to get a laptop that’s made for the long haul? When can you hit the road but leave the AC adapter at home?

The answer to that question is ‘today’, depending on the price you’re prepared to pay and sometimes the compromises you’re willing to make. Some netbooks easily strut past the 10 hour mark but they lack the muscle, features and capabilities of a fully-fledged laptop.

In some cases you can add a secondary battery which replaces the notebook’s CD/DVD drive or attaches to the notebook’s underside (this type of Acer aspire 5920 battery is sometimes called a ‘travel slice’) so you can hit the road with two full tanks of juice – although this adds to the laptop’s bulk.

But within the next few years that won’t even be an issue. The ever-onwards march of technology in computer chips and other components will make ‘all day computing’ a trait of almost every laptop.

“The challenge for us is to bring all day battery life to the mainstream so that you take the laptop to work and leave the power supply at home” says Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel’s Mobile Platforms group.

“But ‘all day’ means different things to different people” Eden tells Australian Business Traveller. “For me it might be eight hours, for you it might be ten hours. And we need to do even more than that, because as the laptop gets older the battery life will slowly get lower.”

Acer aspire one a150 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $60.81

Dell inspiron 9400 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $62.07

HP pavilion dv5 battery – Brand New 5200mAh Only AU $67.07

Intel’s Mooly Eden showcases a next-gen concept notebook that’s wafer-thin, waif-light but can put in a solid day’s work before you reach for the battery charger.

Making notebooks better is part of Eden’s technical DNA. Through his revolutionary work creating Intel’s Centrino laptop technology, which in turn laid the foundations for today’s entire Core line of processors, the highly animated Israeli-American engineer and self-confessed ‘chip-head’ is widely considered to be the father of modern mobile computing.

And Eden’s goal for Intel? “We need to deliver 10-12 hours without the charger. And we will be able to do that, because all day battery life is not just possible, it is inevitable.”

The foundations are already in place. Intel’s family of Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 chips perform the neat trick of running faster than any previous generation of Intel silicon while drawing less power from the battery.

And even that dollop of extra speed is being channeled into eking out extra battery life. If you divide the laptop’s typical working day into tiny slices of time, most of that day is spent in varying states of idle rather than being actively used.

More processing muscle means the notebook can do the heavy-lifting faster so that it more quickly returns to the low-power idle state – and the more time it spends there, the longer the battery lasts.

Eden calls this feature “hurry up and get idle”, and it’s enhanced by ‘turbo boost’ modes which further accelerate the processor for short but intense bursts.

These can be everyday tasks like opening an email attachment or previewing a PowerPoint deck as a set of thumbnails. Tasks that take six seconds suddenly take three or four: but it’s less about speed than sleep.

“The idea is wake the notebook up, do the job and then go to sleep again” Eden explains. “If the chip does the job faster it can go back to sleep sooner, so you get better performance and you also get extended laptop battery life. This is the real secret of energy efficiency.”

Business travellers expect a lot from their laptop but a trio of tightly-connected features tops the list. The ideal notebook should be thin, it should be light and it should have enough battery life to last a whole day and then some.

The first two traits naturally go together and they’re ideal for maximising space in your carry-on bag as well as taking from one client meeting to the next meeting.

And being able to use the laptop at your airline’s departure lounge, during an international flight and still being able to do a quick email session at the airport while waiting for your bags to hit the carousel? That seals the deal.

So when will you be able to get a laptop that’s made for the long haul? When can you hit the road but leave the AC adapter at home?

The answer to that question is ‘today’, depending on the price you’re prepared to pay and sometimes the compromises you’re willing to make. Some netbooks easily strut past the 10 hour mark but they lack the muscle, features and capabilities of a fully-fledged laptop.

In some cases you can add a secondary battery which replaces the notebook’s CD/DVD drive or attaches to the notebook’s underside (this type of Acer aspire 5920 battery is sometimes called a ‘travel slice’) so you can hit the road with two full tanks of juice – although this adds to the laptop’s bulk.

But within the next few years that won’t even be an issue. The ever-onwards march of technology in computer chips and other components will make ‘all day computing’ a trait of almost every laptop.

“The challenge for us is to bring all day battery life to the mainstream so that you take the laptop to work and leave the power supply at home” says Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel’s Mobile Platforms group.

“But ‘all day’ means different things to different people” Eden tells Australian Business Traveller. “For me it might be eight hours, for you it might be ten hours. And we need to do even more than that, because as the laptop gets older the battery life will slowly get lower.”

Acer aspire one a150 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $60.81

Dell inspiron 9400 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $62.07

HP pavilion dv5 battery – Brand New 5200mAh Only AU $67.07

Intel’s Mooly Eden showcases a next-gen concept notebook that’s wafer-thin, waif-light but can put in a solid day’s work before you reach for the battery charger.

Making notebooks better is part of Eden’s technical DNA. Through his revolutionary work creating Intel’s Centrino laptop technology, which in turn laid the foundations for today’s entire Core line of processors, the highly animated Israeli-American engineer and self-confessed ‘chip-head’ is widely considered to be the father of modern mobile computing.

And Eden’s goal for Intel? “We need to deliver 10-12 hours without the charger. And we will be able to do that, because all day battery life is not just possible, it is inevitable.”

The foundations are already in place. Intel’s family of Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 chips perform the neat trick of running faster than any previous generation of Intel silicon while drawing less power from the battery.

And even that dollop of extra speed is being channeled into eking out extra battery life. If you divide the laptop’s typical working day into tiny slices of time, most of that day is spent in varying states of idle rather than being actively used.

More processing muscle means the notebook can do the heavy-lifting faster so that it more quickly returns to the low-power idle state – and the more time it spends there, the longer the battery lasts.

Eden calls this feature “hurry up and get idle”, and it’s enhanced by ‘turbo boost’ modes which further accelerate the processor for short but intense bursts.

These can be everyday tasks like opening an email attachment or previewing a PowerPoint deck as a set of thumbnails. Tasks that take six seconds suddenly take three or four: but it’s less about speed than sleep.

“The idea is wake the notebook up, do the job and then go to sleep again” Eden explains. “If the chip does the job faster it can go back to sleep sooner, so you get better performance and you also get extended laptop battery life. This is the real secret of energy efficiency.”

Like!16 [Continue]

Laptop battery wearing down? In this week’s episode of Upgrade Your Life,  batteries-company.com and aussiebattery.com shows us how to help batteries last longer … and what to do when they run out!

First, the basics

Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop’s battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it’ll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.

If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. First, you have to correctly gauge how much capacity has been lost. There are free downloads to do this job, like Battery Bar (for Windows PCs) or Coconut Battery (for Macs). These will compare your battery’s current maximum capacity to how long it lasted when it was new.
(UPDATE- we originally recommended Battery Eater and while the program works great, their download site has been compromised and we are recommending an alternate program, Battery Bar downloadable from CNET.)

Calibrating your Laptop Battery

You can’t miraculously reconstitute your battery’s capacity. It loses power over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, as it chugs along powering your laptop. You can’t undo those changes, but there is one common HP Pavilion DV2000 Battery issue you can fix: In many laptops, the operating system’s battery meter gets out of sync with how much juice the battery actually has.

Imagine if the gas gauge on your car dashboard was misreading how much gas you actually had in the tank. You’d either run out of gas when you thought you had a quarter of a tank left, or you’d be filling up too frequently. In your laptop, this can mean your laptop shuts down abruptly when the meter says you have 30 minutes left. Or else the meter might warn that you only have five minutes of battery life left and shut your laptop down, when it really has another 20 minutes remaining.

Recalibrating gets the battery meter to correctly read the current state of the battery, so you and the operating system know where you stand with existing laptop battery life.

Dell Vostro 1520 Battery
Li-ion, 4400 mAh, 11.1 V only AU $ 71.95

How to recalibrate

First, charge your laptop’s battery to full, and leave it that way for at least two hours. Then unplug your laptop, and set its power management settings to never turn off or lower the monitor brightness. (HP has instructions for how do to this on Windows 7 and Vista, as well as Windows XP, while Apple has instructions for Mac laptops on their site.)

You want to drain the battery completely, then let your laptop sit for at least five hours this way — like, say, overnight. (Just be careful and mute the volume, since some laptops make a warning sound when they’re about to run out.) Afterwards, charge it up again, and you should notice a more accurate portrayal of your Toshiba PA3356U-3BAS Battery capacity. In some cases, you may even get more life out of it.

Best practices to maintain battery life

You’d think that the best way to keep your laptop’s battery from wearing out is to not use it. Right?

As it turns out, notebook batteries are like muscles; they need to be worked out regularly to stay healthy. Ideally, you’d use your laptop unplugged at least once a day, like on a train or bus commute or on the couch in front of the TV. If you’re not going to use it, constantly charging your battery is a bad idea; HP recommends on their website that if you’re going to leave your laptop plugged in or put up in storage for more than two weeks, you should take the battery out of your laptop.

Past the expiration date

So when is it time to throw out that old battery? The answer, surprisingly, is “never.” Laptop batteries contain lots of toxic chemicals, and should never end up in landfills. Fortunately, e-stewards.org has a list of environmentally responsible recyclers that will take your old battery with no fuss.

When is it time to replace your battery, then? Use the free utility apps Becky mentioned, and when they say that your battery can only hold around 25% of its original capacity it’s probably time for a new one. You can buy a replacement laptop battery from the original laptop manufacturer, and there are plenty of places online that sell discount laptop batteries, like aussiebattery and Batteries-company.com. Owners of newer Mac laptops can get their laptop’s non-removable battery swapped out at any Apple store, with a scheduled appointment.

Laptop Battery Care Related Articles

Laptop’s motherboard was at fault could affect battery life

How To Make Dell Laptop Battery For An Optimal Runtime

Laptop battery and ac adapter issues troubleshooting instructions

How to get the most out of your Lenovo ThinkPad Battery

Useful laptop battery troubleshooting tips

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

Improve laptop battery life and performance ultimate instructions

Top 10 Batteries Usage Tips, Hacks and Tricks

Dell latitude d620 battery buying tips

6 Tips for buying a new laptop battery

Replacement Laptop Battery Value

How To Maximize Laptop Battery Life Of Your Windows Laptop

How to Boost Your Toshiba Laptop Battery

How to choose the right laptop battery and AC adapter for your laptop

Laptop battery wearing down? In this week’s episode of Upgrade Your Life,  batteries-company.com and aussiebattery.com shows us how to help batteries last longer … and what to do when they run out!

First, the basics

Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop’s battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it’ll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.

If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. First, you have to correctly gauge how much capacity has been lost. There are free downloads to do this job, like Battery Bar (for Windows PCs) or Coconut Battery (for Macs). These will compare your battery’s current maximum capacity to how long it lasted when it was new.
(UPDATE- we originally recommended Battery Eater and while the program works great, their download site has been compromised and we are recommending an alternate program, Battery Bar downloadable from CNET.)

Calibrating your Laptop Battery

You can’t miraculously reconstitute your battery’s capacity. It loses power over time due to chemical reactions taking place in the battery, as it chugs along powering your laptop. You can’t undo those changes, but there is one common HP Pavilion DV2000 Battery issue you can fix: In many laptops, the operating system’s battery meter gets out of sync with how much juice the battery actually has.

Imagine if the gas gauge on your car dashboard was misreading how much gas you actually had in the tank. You’d either run out of gas when you thought you had a quarter of a tank left, or you’d be filling up too frequently. In your laptop, this can mean your laptop shuts down abruptly when the meter says you have 30 minutes left. Or else the meter might warn that you only have five minutes of battery life left and shut your laptop down, when it really has another 20 minutes remaining.

Recalibrating gets the battery meter to correctly read the current state of the battery, so you and the operating system know where you stand with existing laptop battery life.

Dell Vostro 1520 Battery
Li-ion, 4400 mAh, 11.1 V only AU $ 71.95

How to recalibrate

First, charge your laptop’s battery to full, and leave it that way for at least two hours. Then unplug your laptop, and set its power management settings to never turn off or lower the monitor brightness. (HP has instructions for how do to this on Windows 7 and Vista, as well as Windows XP, while Apple has instructions for Mac laptops on their site.)

You want to drain the battery completely, then let your laptop sit for at least five hours this way — like, say, overnight. (Just be careful and mute the volume, since some laptops make a warning sound when they’re about to run out.) Afterwards, charge it up again, and you should notice a more accurate portrayal of your Toshiba PA3356U-3BAS Battery capacity. In some cases, you may even get more life out of it.

Best practices to maintain battery life

You’d think that the best way to keep your laptop’s battery from wearing out is to not use it. Right?

As it turns out, notebook batteries are like muscles; they need to be worked out regularly to stay healthy. Ideally, you’d use your laptop unplugged at least once a day, like on a train or bus commute or on the couch in front of the TV. If you’re not going to use it, constantly charging your battery is a bad idea; HP recommends on their website that if you’re going to leave your laptop plugged in or put up in storage for more than two weeks, you should take the battery out of your laptop.

Past the expiration date

So when is it time to throw out that old battery? The answer, surprisingly, is “never.” Laptop batteries contain lots of toxic chemicals, and should never end up in landfills. Fortunately, e-stewards.org has a list of environmentally responsible recyclers that will take your old battery with no fuss.

When is it time to replace your battery, then? Use the free utility apps Becky mentioned, and when they say that your battery can only hold around 25% of its original capacity it’s probably time for a new one. You can buy a replacement laptop battery from the original laptop manufacturer, and there are plenty of places online that sell discount laptop batteries, like aussiebattery and Batteries-company.com. Owners of newer Mac laptops can get their laptop’s non-removable battery swapped out at any Apple store, with a scheduled appointment.

Laptop Battery Care Related Articles

Laptop’s motherboard was at fault could affect battery life

How To Make Dell Laptop Battery For An Optimal Runtime

Laptop battery and ac adapter issues troubleshooting instructions

How to get the most out of your Lenovo ThinkPad Battery

Useful laptop battery troubleshooting tips

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

Improve laptop battery life and performance ultimate instructions

Top 10 Batteries Usage Tips, Hacks and Tricks

Dell latitude d620 battery buying tips

6 Tips for buying a new laptop battery

Replacement Laptop Battery Value

How To Maximize Laptop Battery Life Of Your Windows Laptop

How to Boost Your Toshiba Laptop Battery

How to choose the right laptop battery and AC adapter for your laptop

Like!17 [Continue]

While laptop battery life diminishes over time from excessive use, there are others factors that can expend the Acer aspire 6935g battery. Loading software, watching videos, listening to music, interacting with media-rich websites, and dealing with viruses can slow down any computer. The performance of all of these processes can lead to the shortened lifespan of a laptop regardless of its Acer as07a72 battery’s freshness. In addition to performing regular maintenance on a laptop with virus scans and removing unused programs, there is another task often overlooked by the average PC user: disk defragmentation. Degragmenting the hard disk can improve the performance of a laptop as well as a desktop PC.

With laptops, it is very important that defragmentation is done regularly to lengthen the life of the system, to make programs run at optimum speed, and to save power while on the go. Going without disk defragmentation for long periods of time can decrease the computer’s efficiency and, therefore, the battery lifetime as well.By design, disk defragmentation rearranges frequently used files. This allows the computer to find the files more easily. Many of these files are used by the system to run programs. The more programs are executed, the longer it takes for the program or file to run. People who regularly use desktop PCs may be familiar with defragmentation. Users who prefer to use a laptop for their PC needs and have not used disk defragmentation before can run the tool on a Windows-based system.

Acer um08a73 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $60.81

Acer Aspire 6930 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $65.29

Acer aspire one zg5 battery – Brand New 5200mAh Only AU $71.71

Windows includes this tool with their operating system, but there are third-party options available as well. Disk Defragmentation in Windows 7The tool can be accessed by going to the Control Panel’s Administrative Tools menu and selecting Defragment Hard Drive. To see if a defragmentation is needed, click Analyze Disk to run a quick scan on the drive. If so, click Defragment Disk to execute. Depending on the size of the drive, the number of files, and the overall performance of the laptop, it can take from 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete.After the operation is complete, programs should load and operate significantly faster than before.

This increase in efficiency means the computer consumes less power, and, thus, spares the Acer as07a32 battery. To perform regular defragmentation on a drive, select the scheduling tool and run it at a specific time as often as needed.Defragmentation in Vista and Windows XP. In Windows Vista, the defragmenter can be located in Laptop Accessories under System Tools. In Windows XP, the tool can be found by visiting the My Computer folder and right-clicking the hard drive. The scheduling tool is only available in Vista and Windows 7, and not in Windows XP.Using the defragmenter regularly lets the user get more done and extends the life of the laptop battery. For heavy PC users that deal with a lot of files, the tool should be run once every week; casual users should run it every month, or according to their usage.

Read More

How To Increase Your Laptop Battery Lifetime

Dell updates Vostro laptop for better laptop battery life

Professional Battery Knowledge Tips & FAQ

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

Dell latitude d620 battery buying tips

How to Charge a Dell Latitude D620 Laptop Battery

6 Tips for buying new laptop battery

How to maximize your Apple laptop battery charge

Top Tips for Longer-Lasting Laptop Batteries

How to Check Mac Laptop battery to see if it needs to be replaced

Laptop battery and laptop power adapter issues troubleshooting tips

While laptop battery life diminishes over time from excessive use, there are others factors that can expend the Acer aspire 6935g battery. Loading software, watching videos, listening to music, interacting with media-rich websites, and dealing with viruses can slow down any computer. The performance of all of these processes can lead to the shortened lifespan of a laptop regardless of its Acer as07a72 battery’s freshness. In addition to performing regular maintenance on a laptop with virus scans and removing unused programs, there is another task often overlooked by the average PC user: disk defragmentation. Degragmenting the hard disk can improve the performance of a laptop as well as a desktop PC.

With laptops, it is very important that defragmentation is done regularly to lengthen the life of the system, to make programs run at optimum speed, and to save power while on the go. Going without disk defragmentation for long periods of time can decrease the computer’s efficiency and, therefore, the battery lifetime as well.By design, disk defragmentation rearranges frequently used files. This allows the computer to find the files more easily. Many of these files are used by the system to run programs. The more programs are executed, the longer it takes for the program or file to run. People who regularly use desktop PCs may be familiar with defragmentation. Users who prefer to use a laptop for their PC needs and have not used disk defragmentation before can run the tool on a Windows-based system.

Acer um08a73 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $60.81

Acer Aspire 6930 battery – Brand New 4400mAh Only AU $65.29

Acer aspire one zg5 battery – Brand New 5200mAh Only AU $71.71

Windows includes this tool with their operating system, but there are third-party options available as well. Disk Defragmentation in Windows 7The tool can be accessed by going to the Control Panel’s Administrative Tools menu and selecting Defragment Hard Drive. To see if a defragmentation is needed, click Analyze Disk to run a quick scan on the drive. If so, click Defragment Disk to execute. Depending on the size of the drive, the number of files, and the overall performance of the laptop, it can take from 45 minutes to 2 hours to complete.After the operation is complete, programs should load and operate significantly faster than before.

This increase in efficiency means the computer consumes less power, and, thus, spares the Acer as07a32 battery. To perform regular defragmentation on a drive, select the scheduling tool and run it at a specific time as often as needed.Defragmentation in Vista and Windows XP. In Windows Vista, the defragmenter can be located in Laptop Accessories under System Tools. In Windows XP, the tool can be found by visiting the My Computer folder and right-clicking the hard drive. The scheduling tool is only available in Vista and Windows 7, and not in Windows XP.Using the defragmenter regularly lets the user get more done and extends the life of the laptop battery. For heavy PC users that deal with a lot of files, the tool should be run once every week; casual users should run it every month, or according to their usage.

Read More

How To Increase Your Laptop Battery Lifetime

Dell updates Vostro laptop for better laptop battery life

Professional Battery Knowledge Tips & FAQ

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

Dell latitude d620 battery buying tips

How to Charge a Dell Latitude D620 Laptop Battery

6 Tips for buying new laptop battery

How to maximize your Apple laptop battery charge

Top Tips for Longer-Lasting Laptop Batteries

How to Check Mac Laptop battery to see if it needs to be replaced

Laptop battery and laptop power adapter issues troubleshooting tips

Like!16 [Continue]

A laptop with a short  battery life is a nuisance, especially when you’re on the road and nowhere close to a power socket. To make each individual charge of your battery last longer, learn about the 20 Ways To Increase A Laptop’s Battery Life. What is even more annoying than a drained battery however, is a dying battery.

Battery lifetime not only depends on the type of battery and its quality, it also depends on how the laptop computer battery is cared for. In this article I will explain what determines the lifetime of Lithium-Ion laptop batteries, the type of rechargeable battery found in most if not all modern laptops, and what you can do to increase your battery lifetime.

Introduction To Lithium-Ion Batteries (Li-Ion)

Modern laptops are almost exclusively delivered with Li-Ion batteries. They are lighter, offer a higher performance, maintain their charger longer, and are less susceptible to the dreaded memory effect than previous types of rechargeable batteries.

In the US, Li-Ion batteries are classified as non-hazardous for the environment as they do not contain free toxic metals. In the EU however, vendors are required to recycle at least 25% of the batteries they produce. After all, Li-Ion batteries do contain material worth recycling, although the cost of doing so is rather high.

Priming Li-Ion Batteries

The predominant statement you will find is that new Li-Ion batteries do not require priming. Nevertheless, you should fully charge your Li-Ion battery before using it for the first time.

Cycling Li-Ion Batteries

Li-Ion batteries have a lifetime of 300 to 500 full charging cycles or up to 2000 partial cycles. There are reports that cycling a Li-Ion Dell Latitude D620 Battery   after long storage periods, i.e. fully discharging and re-charging it for two or three cycles, leads to to capacity gains. Other sources recommend cycling Li-Ion batteries every couple of weeks. Generally, you should not fully discharge your Li-Ion battery.

Caring For Your Li-Ion Battery

While Li-Ion batteries do not have a memory effect and don’t need to be primed or cycled to maintain full capacity, their lifetime can still be shortened dramatically, if not cared for right. Two things can damage Li-Ion batteries: deep discharges and heat. All of the following battery DOs and DON’Ts are derived from these two major factors.

Li-Ion Battery DOs

• partially discharge and recharge (no memory effect).
• charge at lower voltage.
• take out battery when laptop is running with AC adapter connected.
• store Toshiba pa3534u-1brs battery in refrigerator with a 40-50% charge.
• cycle the battery every few weeks or after every 30 partial charges.

Li-Ion Battery DON’Ts

• deep discharge battery.
• trickle charge.
• ultra-fast charge.
• leave fully charged battery in laptop while running on AC power (heat damage).
• freeze battery.
• buy old Li-Ion or spare laptop batteries (Li-Ion batteries age, see below).

Aging Of Li-Ion Batteries

One more thing to keep in mind is that Li-Ion batteries begin aging the moment they are produced and there is little you can do to prevent this. What causes the aging is that the electrolyte slowly breaks down the positive plate, causing the internal resistance to increase to a point where no energy can be delivered. A partial charge and low temperatures slow down this process and hence increase the lifetime of your Toshiba Pa3285u-3bas Battery.

Summary

Li-Ion batteries are superior to Nickel-Cadmium or Nickel-Metal Hybrid batteries in that they deliver a higher performance, show a much slower self-discharge, and don’t have a memory effect. However, they do age, withstand only a limited amount of charge and discharge cycles, and are damaged by heat. The best thing you can do to preserve battery lifetime, is to store your notebook battery in a cold place whenever you have reliable AC power available. Alternatively, maintain optimal cooling and airflow to decrease heat buildup. In any case you should perform a full discharge and recharge cycle every few weeks and avoid fully discharing your Li-Ion Acer Aspire 4720 laptop battery in the meantime.

Read More

How to maximize your Apple laptop battery charge

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

How to Charge a Dell Latitude D620 Laptop Battery

How To Make Dell Laptop Battery For An Optimal Runtime

How to get the most out of your Lenovo ThinkPad Battery

Things to remember before buying Dell Latitude D630 laptop battery

How to Check Apple Mac Battery to see if it needs to be replaced

Improve laptop battery life ultimate instructions

Laptop battery and ac adapter issues troubleshooting guide

Laptop Battery Life Saving Tips & Buy Laptop Batteries Guide

A laptop with a short  battery life is a nuisance, especially when you’re on the road and nowhere close to a power socket. To make each individual charge of your battery last longer, learn about the 20 Ways To Increase A Laptop’s Battery Life. What is even more annoying than a drained battery however, is a dying battery.

Battery lifetime not only depends on the type of battery and its quality, it also depends on how the laptop computer battery is cared for. In this article I will explain what determines the lifetime of Lithium-Ion laptop batteries, the type of rechargeable battery found in most if not all modern laptops, and what you can do to increase your battery lifetime.

Introduction To Lithium-Ion Batteries (Li-Ion)

Modern laptops are almost exclusively delivered with Li-Ion batteries. They are lighter, offer a higher performance, maintain their charger longer, and are less susceptible to the dreaded memory effect than previous types of rechargeable batteries.

In the US, Li-Ion batteries are classified as non-hazardous for the environment as they do not contain free toxic metals. In the EU however, vendors are required to recycle at least 25% of the batteries they produce. After all, Li-Ion batteries do contain material worth recycling, although the cost of doing so is rather high.

Priming Li-Ion Batteries

The predominant statement you will find is that new Li-Ion batteries do not require priming. Nevertheless, you should fully charge your Li-Ion battery before using it for the first time.

Cycling Li-Ion Batteries

Li-Ion batteries have a lifetime of 300 to 500 full charging cycles or up to 2000 partial cycles. There are reports that cycling a Li-Ion Dell Latitude D620 Battery   after long storage periods, i.e. fully discharging and re-charging it for two or three cycles, leads to to capacity gains. Other sources recommend cycling Li-Ion batteries every couple of weeks. Generally, you should not fully discharge your Li-Ion battery.

Caring For Your Li-Ion Battery

While Li-Ion batteries do not have a memory effect and don’t need to be primed or cycled to maintain full capacity, their lifetime can still be shortened dramatically, if not cared for right. Two things can damage Li-Ion batteries: deep discharges and heat. All of the following battery DOs and DON’Ts are derived from these two major factors.

Li-Ion Battery DOs

• partially discharge and recharge (no memory effect).
• charge at lower voltage.
• take out battery when laptop is running with AC adapter connected.
• store Toshiba pa3534u-1brs battery in refrigerator with a 40-50% charge.
• cycle the battery every few weeks or after every 30 partial charges.

Li-Ion Battery DON’Ts

• deep discharge battery.
• trickle charge.
• ultra-fast charge.
• leave fully charged battery in laptop while running on AC power (heat damage).
• freeze battery.
• buy old Li-Ion or spare laptop batteries (Li-Ion batteries age, see below).

Aging Of Li-Ion Batteries

One more thing to keep in mind is that Li-Ion batteries begin aging the moment they are produced and there is little you can do to prevent this. What causes the aging is that the electrolyte slowly breaks down the positive plate, causing the internal resistance to increase to a point where no energy can be delivered. A partial charge and low temperatures slow down this process and hence increase the lifetime of your Toshiba Pa3285u-3bas Battery.

Summary

Li-Ion batteries are superior to Nickel-Cadmium or Nickel-Metal Hybrid batteries in that they deliver a higher performance, show a much slower self-discharge, and don’t have a memory effect. However, they do age, withstand only a limited amount of charge and discharge cycles, and are damaged by heat. The best thing you can do to preserve battery lifetime, is to store your notebook battery in a cold place whenever you have reliable AC power available. Alternatively, maintain optimal cooling and airflow to decrease heat buildup. In any case you should perform a full discharge and recharge cycle every few weeks and avoid fully discharing your Li-Ion Acer Aspire 4720 laptop battery in the meantime.

Read More

How to maximize your Apple laptop battery charge

How to Use and Maintenance of Your Laptop Batteries

How to Charge a Dell Latitude D620 Laptop Battery

How To Make Dell Laptop Battery For An Optimal Runtime

How to get the most out of your Lenovo ThinkPad Battery

Things to remember before buying Dell Latitude D630 laptop battery

How to Check Apple Mac Battery to see if it needs to be replaced

Improve laptop battery life ultimate instructions

Laptop battery and ac adapter issues troubleshooting guide

Laptop Battery Life Saving Tips & Buy Laptop Batteries Guide

Like!20 [Continue]