Most new gadgets, including laptops and cellphones, use lithium ion (LiON) batteries. While these batteries are far lighter and far more powerful that the previous generation of nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, they do suffer their own unique set of problems. Iron Cook at Spicy Gadget Roll recently published a quick list of tips for overcoming or avoiding these problems. I've condensed the list below; follow the link for full details.
Avoid frequent full drains of your battery. With older NiMH batteries, the recommendation was to drain them occasionally to avoid the "memory effect." With LiON batteries, this is no longer the case. Frequent full drains of the battery can actually damage the battery and reduce it's performance. So try not to let your battery go completely to empty. Except...
If you see your battery meter becoming inaccurate, drain the battery all the way. These two hints seem contradictory, but they're really complementary. The key is to avoid full drains until you notice your battery meter becoming inaccurate (about every 30 full charges or so). If you're not getting as much time out of your remaining battery charge as the meter says you should, try draining and recharging.
Avoid heat! For LiON batteries, heat is death. This obviously means that using the device in a hot attic is a bad idea, but a less obvious ramification is that constantly leaving the device plugged into an AC power source (i.e. "the wall outlet") is a bad idea. Constant charging generates heat, and heat reduces overall battery life and performance. You'll keep more life in your battery if you unplug the device from the wall regularly. For cellphone users, this means not automatically plugging the phone into the charger when you get into the car. For laptop users, it means working unplugged for long stretches, even if you're at your desk, or popping the battery out when you need to be tethered.
Iron Cook offers more tips, including expansion on the items mentioned above, and hints for long-term battery storage. As always, if you have questions, please don't hesistate to contact ITS.
