Mobile devices Toolkit

Power to the people: ZDNet's guide to notebook batteries

Brian Nadel CNET

Published: 14 Apr 2004

Ever wondered why your portable device's battery doesn't last longer? We explain the technology behind battery power, and provide tips on how to maximise it.

The simple fact of notebook life is that systems simply don't run for as long on their batteries as we'd like -- even long-lived notebooks, such as IBM's ThinkPad X31, last only 8 hours on two batteries.

To help you make smart decisions about the notebooks you buy and the way you use them, we demystify today's battery technologies and examine the fuel cell technology that might power your next notebook. We also provide 10 tips for getting the most out of your system's current battery, along with a glossary of key terms.

We can't make a battery last forever, but we can help to make sure that you get the most out of every electron.

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i thought i've read about this "fuel-cell" thing i... Anonymous

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Put simply, what is the compelling reason to pay ~$200 extra for an Eee with Windows XP? A Windows Eee won't come with any useful applications and you'll have to buy anti-virus software to boot. The truth about low cost computing is that nobody really cares whether the machine is running Windows or Linux as long as its cheap, its easy to use and it works.