I did mention mAh; not actual usage times ... afaik mAh don't vary from manufacturer's sales specs (ok - they do within certain tolerances, ages, temperatures, etc) whereas usage times do vary depending on whether the machines are crunching numbers or sat idle

So yeah - "up to" pretty much sums it up imho.

The actual specs do vary a bit. There was (is) a _huge_ thread about replacement batteries for the Palm Tungsten T3 over at Brighthand, last I checked (a year or more ago) it was some 90 pages.

Because of little available room in the T3 (not to mention that the original battery is hardwired in), after lots of research we ended up with a very small selection of possible replacement batteries. And because of the huge interest and that a few enterprising individuals went ahead and procured and prepared lots of batteries we had the possibility to compare performances. A standardized battery measurement test was developed, and the net result was that the actual capacity seemed to vary up to some 20% or more, IIRC. Some people would measure nearly 6 hours, for example, others just above 4. The battery I tested was around 4.5 hours. And this was from a big batch of batteries bought directly from the Korean vendor.

(Something else: We found that the same battery that our resident mod'ders procured was sold from different resellers, sometimes under different brand names, and it was advertised from everything between 1100mAh to 1500mAh. From what we could figure the real capacity would be something between 1050mAh and 1250-1300 mAh or thereabouts. Certainly 1500mAh was greatly exaggerated.)

(My memory may not be entirely accurate though, so for those who want to check the gargantum thread about batteries for themselves, here's a link: http://forum.brighthand.com/showthread.php?t=74036
110 pages.. with my configuration.)

Aye +nods+

I'd imagine the tolerances were/are MUCH higher with cheaper HK manufacturing processes that aren't under (more?) stringent Nokia QA tests.

Most OEM batteries are sold as being XXmAh capacity which to me implies a minimum target of XXmAh. Most HK batteries are sold up-to XXmAh which to me implies a maximal XXmAh [more than likely - they'll work out theoretical maximums given battery volumes and don't actually test the real capacity at all!] with no minimal capacity at all!


My qualitative experience of replacement HK mobile phone batteries for the Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones wasn't good in _all_ cases - they simply didn't stack up to the original equipment at all.


That's not to say they weren't good value for money though they were just not as good capacity wise! For the best bang-to-buck ratio you'll need to compare capacity vs cost.

I have 2 original Nokia BP-5L's, one in the device and the other on charge. On long trips when I need more than 2 I use the Sido's that came with the charger. They are fine, do the job and last almost as long as the Nokia's

I also have some fake Nokia lookalikes which seem ok too. I just don't like the subterfuge; at least Sido put their name on theirs.

Some of the HK dealers are excellent and replace goods if they are unsatisfactory. Others ignore correspondence and don't. But, overall, they provide us with an excellent facility and great value for money. I have a pile of batteries, chargers, cables, adapters, that I bought cheaply and which perform perfectly.

Just because the Nokia logo is on something doesn't mean it won't explode or break in the first month and yet costs 6 times that of the HK items. The Nokia wall charger that came with my N800 failed after 3 weeks - list price £25. I bought a HK item for £5 and that hasn't failed yet.

What's the moral? Just because it is expensive doesn't guarantee it to be good. Just because it is cheap doesn't necessarily mean it is rubbish.

TA-t3, Thanks for the informative post. The battery scenario is not all cut and dried.

I've found a possible intermediate alternative:

Some BP-4L replacements are being sold on eBay under the brand name Lenmar for about $17 - $18 including shipping. The spec is 1200 mAh and sellers are in the US and Canada. Looks like Lenmar makes a lot of other battery types too, including BP-5L.

Where do you think the 'official' batteries are made? China, of course, in the same factories where those sold from Hong Kong are made. The only difference is the label on the outside.

Actually the label on the outside is not the difference. The one I bought looks like a genuine Nokia battery. (I haven't scraped the hologram to check the serial number because I may yet have discussions with the seller.)

There is a 2005 date on the back, so it might be an old QA reject (a connector pin was crooked) or overrun. Or it could just be a bad counterfeit.

The relevant difference is whether it went through QA (and passed).