Cell Phone Battery Information

CellPhone Battery History

Cellular phone battery design is continually being improved to provide more capacity and performance, to reduce the size and weight of the battery, and to be more environmentally friendly.  Early cellular phones were powered by heavy, bulky Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries which were environmentally unfriendly and required special maintenance to avoid developing "the memory effect," a condition which significantly reduces performance of the cellular phone battery.  Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries were later introduced and provided much improved performance with less maintenance than NiCad batteries.  Occasionally allowing a NiMH cellphone battery to fully discharge before fully recharging it will keep the battery conditioned and free from "the memory effect".  The newest and most widely-used battery chemistries today are Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer.  Lithium batteries weigh much less and offer superior performance compared to older NiMH and NiCad batteries. Lithium batteries are completely free from "the memory effect," and in addition to being smaller and lighter, they are powerful enough to power today's cellular phones for up to a week or more.

Cell Phone Battery Information -- Capacity

The capacity of a cell phone battery is an indication of how much "power" the battery can hold.  It is typically measured in milli-Ampere hours (mAh).  For example, a 900 mAh capacity rating for a battery means that if a load of 900 milli-amps were applied to it, the battery would fully discharge in one hour.  The higher the mAh rating of a battery, the more talk time and standby time you can expect to get.  Higher capacity batteries will also take longer to charge than lower capacity batteries.

Batteries are often categorized by capacity using naming conventions like "Standard", "Extended", "Extra Capacity", "High Performance", "Slim", etc.

Select your phone model to view, compare,
and buy batteries for your phone:

Battery Life Expectancy

With proper care, a typcial cell phone battery will last between 300-400 charge/discharge cycles.  People who normally charge their phone each night can expect their battery to last 12-15 months, whereas others who recharge their phone battery every 2-3 days may be able to use a battery for 2-3 years.  To extend the effective life of your cell phone battery, be sure to follow the manufacturer's charging instructions - especially for the initial conditioning of the battery when it is new.  These instructions are available on our Battery Tips page.  Do not leave the phone in the car on days when the weather is very hot or very cold.  If you do need to leave the phone in extreme temperatures, turn it off.  Don't leave the phone plugged into the car charger continuously because each time the car is shut off and started, a "charge cycle" will occur on the battery - regardless of the battery's charge level at the time.  This is one of the most common causes of shortened battery life.  If a battery becomes completely discharged, recharge it as soon as you can.  Avoid leaving a battery unused for long periods of time (more than 3 months).  Even if not in use, a battery will self-discharge at a rate of about 1% each day, and if it becomes "deeply discharged," it may not be able to be recharged without special equipment.

Charging Recommendations

Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer batteries can be recharged at any time without any negative effects on the battery.

If you are using a NiMH battery, you should occasionally allow the battery to fully discharge (until the phone shows a low battery indication), and then, within a short period of time, recharge the battery overnight or for an extended period of time of up to 12 hours.  This makes sure that the full cell capacity of the battery is being discharged/recharged, and it will help ensure that the battery stays in top condition.

All batteries, regardless of their chemistry, will benefit from an initial conditioning when they are new.  (Go to our Battery Tips page for instructions.)  Only use a charger that is specifically designed for your phone.  If using a car charger, it is best to not leave the phone on this charger continuously because the voltage output from the car can fluctuate significantly during startup and shutdown of the engine.

Talk Time and Standby Time

Cell phone battery talk time and standby time ratings are manufacturer specficiations that provide a "best case" indication for how you can expect a battery to perform.  For example, you should read a rating of 200 minutes of talk time and 150 hours of standby time to mean you can expect to achieve  either  up to 200 minutes of talk time  or  up to 150 hours of standby time, but not both.  200 minutes of talk time would be equivalent of talking on the phone constantly for that length of time, and 150 hours of standby time would be like turning the phone on and leaving it on the desk, without using it to make or receive calls, for 150 hours.  In practical use, of course, people typically use both talk time and standby time on each battery charge.  Talk time and standby time ratings are usually expressed as performance under optimal conditions, meaning no conditions exist that require extra use of power.  Conditions such as low signal strength, operating in analog mode rather than digital, and extreme temperatures (either hot or cold) will all consume extra power and lower your talk time and standby time.  Time spent playing games, composing text messages, listening to music, recording and replaying sound bites, taking pictures, and other functions will also reduce talk time and standby time.

Choosing the Right Cell Phone Battery

There are several factors you should consider when deciding which cell phone battery is right for you.

• Capacity:    Higher capacity batteries will give you more talk time and standby time between charges, but with the better performance comes larger size and greater weight.  Some high-capacity batteries are too thick to fit into standard holsters, desktop chargers or car kits.  Depending on the phone model, a high-capacity battery may require a larger battery door/cover.  Slim batteries are lower-capacity batteries that reduce the weight and size of the phone so it fits nicely in a shirt pocket or purse, but the battery will need to be recharged more often and may not provide enough power for a whole day's use. If you don't normally leave your phone on continuously and like the smaller profile, the slim battery may be the best way to go.  Standard batteries fall between high-capacity and slim, and they are a good compromise to give you a little of the advantages of both high-capacity and slim sizes.  Most new phones are shipped with a standard capacity battery.
  
  
• OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or Aftermarket:    Nearly all cellular phone batteries can be purchased either as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer, meaning they are manufactured by the same company who made the phone) or Aftermarket (manufactured by a company other than the manufacturer of the phone).  OEM batteries will almost always be priced higher than their aftermarket counterparts partly because of the perceived value of buying the "name brand" and, in some cases, because the OEM manufacturers have more stringent material, component, and assembly quality standards.  Many aftermarket batteries are of equal or better quality then their OEM couterparts, and they can provide significant value for your dollar.  Often available in capacities higher than that offered by the OEM manufacturer, aftermarket batteries are often much less expensive and carry the same one-year manufacturer's warranty as their OEM equivalent.  In general, the performance of quality aftermarket batteries is equivalent to the OEM batteries.
  
  
• Getting the Best Deal:    As with any product, the lowest priced cell phone battery may not be the best deal.  Beware of batteries priced very "cheap"; they may be reclaimed or refurbished rather than being new and never used.  They may have inferior components (particularly the battery cells), or they may also have a very old manufacture date, greatly reducing their value.
  
  Know who you are buying from.  How long have they been in business?  Do they offer a warranty and a satisfaction guarantee?  Can you contact them in the future if needed?
  
  All batteries offered on this website are always new, never refurbished, and we offer them at a competitive price.  We have been in business on the web since 1998, and you can contact us via phone, email or FAX.  All our products come with a manufacturer's limited one-year warranty and our CellPower 30-Day money-back Satisfaction Guarantee - if for any reason you are not satisfied with a battery purchased from CellPower, you have 30 days from the date of purchase to return it for an exchange, credit, or a full refund.

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