Lithium Ion Batteries:
Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) has become the new standard for portable power in consumer devices. Li-Ion batterys produce the same energy as NiMH battery but weighs approximately 20%-35% less. This is can make a noticeable difference in devices such as cellular phones, camcorders or notebook computers where the battery makes up a significant portion of the total weight. Another reason Li-Ion batteries have become so popular is that they do not suffer from the "memory effect" at all. They are also environmentally friendly because they don't contain toxic materials such as Cadmium or Mercury.

Your New Battery
When charging the battery for the first time, your charger may indicate that the charge is complete after just 10 or 15 minutes. This is normal with rechargeable batteries. New batteries are difficult for the adapter to charge because they have never been fully charged (they're not “broken in”). Sometimes the adapter will stop charging a new battery before it is fully charged. If this happens, remove the battery from the laptop and then reinsert it. The charge cycle should begin again. This may happen several times during the first battery charge. Don't worry; it's perfectly normal.

Maximize the Performance of Your Battery
There are several steps you can take to help you get maximum performance from your battery...

Clean the Battery - It's a good idea to clean dirty battery contacts with a cotton swab and alcohol. This helps maintain a good connection between the battery and the portable device.

Exercise the Battery - Do not leave the battery dormant for long periods of time. We recommend using the battery at least once every two to three weeks. If a battery has not been used for a long period of time, perform the new battery break in procedure described above.

Battery Storage - If you don't plan on using the battery for a month or more, store it in a clean, dry, cool place away from heat and metal objects. Li-Ion batteries will self-discharge during storage; remember to recharge the batteries before use.

Volts and Milliamp-hours (mAH)
Every battery has two ratings which are volts and amp-hours (AH). Ah hours are a rating of the amount of energy that a battery can store. The Ah rating may also be given as milliamp-hours (mAH), which are one-thousandth of an amp-hour. Typically, the mAH rating is also a measure of the number of hours a battery may last. For example, a 7200mAh battery will last at least 7.2 hours. The higher a battery's amp hour rating is, the longer the battery's run-time will be. It is not uncommon for some of our batteries to have higher or lower amp ratings. This will not cause any incompatibilities.

However, voltage ratings must be within a reasonable range. For instance, your original battery may say 10.8v, but you purchase a battery that is 11.1v. This is still acceptable. The rule of thumb when dealing with voltage is to never exceed one volt higher than your original rating. So if your original battery is rated at 10.8v, then you would be able to use a replacement battery up to 11.8v and nothing higher.

Battery Do's:
Fully charge/discharge battery up to 4 cycles before achieving full capacity of a new battery

Fully discharge and then fully charge the battery every two to three weeks for battery conditions.

Run the laptop under the battery's power until it shuts down or until you get a low battery warning. Then recharge the battery as instructed in the user's manual.

Remove from the laptop and stored in a cool, dry, clean place if the battery will not be in use for a month or longer,

Recharge the battery after a storage period

Ensure maximum performance of the battery by optimizing the device's power management features. Refer to the manual for further instructions.

Battery Don'ts:
Do not short-circuit. A short-circuit may cause severe damage to the battery.

Do not drop, hit or otherwise abuse the battery. This may result in the exposure of the cell contents, which are corrosive.

Do not expose the battery to moisture or rain.

Keep battery away from fire or other sources of extreme heat. Do not incinerate. Exposure of battery to extreme heat may result in an explosion.