How To Buy Cheaper Laptop Batteries -- and Why

For more than decade, I've been an IBM ThinkPad user. Period. When I try to use another brand of laptop/notebook, I get annoyed immediately at the poor keyboard and lack of TrackPoint.

Another reason is IBM's legendary support of ThinkPads. Eh, make that "was". Now, ThinkPads are owned by Lenovo, and I see the reputation slipping away. Or maybe it's racing away, based on an annoying experience trying to meet a fundamental laptop need: replace a battery.

I use several ThinkPads. One is a model X31 bought in May 2003. Two-and-a-half years later, the main battery was beyond its expected life, and barely kept a charge. No problem. In December 2005 I went to http://Lenovo.com to buy a new battery. WRONG!

It appears that Lenovo no longer sells batteries for ThinkPad X31. I found a Lenovo page that listed the battery, and the various part numbers assigned to it (Lenovo adopted the bizarre IBM system of giving a part several numbers -- I found two on the battery and six on Lenovo's page about the battery). But when I entered any of these numbers on Lenovo's "Part order" page, it told me the part number is wrong or there's no such part.

Digging further, I found the original battery's spec sheet, which declares the battery was discontinued in August 2005. Discontinued?!? How can Lenovo stop providing a laptop's main battery just two years after the machine was sold? In fact, I think the X31 was offered by Lenovo.com until just a few months ago.

But here's the final proof Lenovo has at least one foot on a banana peel: My ThinkPad X31 is still within its original three year warranty! That's right -- Lenovo is obligated to repair a failed drive or screen or whatever for many months to come. But what good is keeping these parts going if the ThinkPad doesn't have a usable battery?

There's good news at the end of my story. Forced to look beyond Lenovo, I found several sources of ThinkPad batteries for much less than Lenovo's typical prices.

I chose ShenTech.com, and ordered a ThinkPad X31 battery at $58 that would probably be twice that much from Lenovo, if it was available at all. Also, I removed a $135 ThinkPad T30 battery from a pending Lenovo order and bought it from ShenTech for $62.

The batteries I received from ShenTech are literally no-name -- they don't have any identification of brand or maker, but say they were made in China, same as Lenovo. I was 75% satisfied, because the T30 battery would only charge to 75% of its rated capacity. After a variety of tests, and attempts to condition the battery, ShenTech agreed to a swap. The new battery is a better; it charges to almost 100%, but the total capacity is a tad less than the original IBM battery. Since this particular ThinkPad is rarely used on battery, less capacity is not a user problem, and at less than half the price, the brandless battery is a good value.

I don't know how the structure and chemistry of the batteries from ShenTech compare to batteries from Lenovo. Right now they are not holding as much charge as I'd expect from a "real" Lenovo battery, but I don't have a new one to compare; all I can say is the original IBM battery eventually died, as all batteries do. But the price difference is substantial, and at two-for-the-price-of-one, I can live with the risk of lesser life. Or, if I have a Lenovo-level battery budget, I can buy two, keep them both charged, and have close to double the battery life for the money.

What's your experience with non-original, off-brand, and no-name laptop batteries?