It is important to know the battery type of battery is your laptop equipped with. Their maintenance and ways to maximize their efficiency and lifespan varies according to the technology used for that battery.

What you need to know about the different types of batteries
Most laptops use lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries or nickel metal hydrure (NiMH). The latter ones are older and more and more frequently replaced with lithium-ion batteries because of their good performances / price ratio. These batteries also have the benefit of not to suffering from the memory degradation effect (degradation of performances if a charge cycle is launched on a battery that was not fully discharged). In a close future, this technology should yield its place to Ion Polymere batteries. The chemical combination of this new type of battery offers the best compromise weight/power, but these batteries are also more expensive (that should decrease over time). To obtain the best possible efficiency and delay their wear, it is highly recommended to follow the guidelines listed below.

Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries
• To obtain the best performances, when the battery is new (and only then), carry out two to three complete cycles of charge/discharge.
• Avoid using or to leave your computer in an environment that is too cold (less than 45F/10°) or too hot (more of 85F/35°).
• While in a regular use, avoid discharging your battery totally.
• Withdraw the battery if the computer is not used for an extended period.
• If you use constantly your laptop while the plugged in, withdraw the battery (after it has been fully charged).
• It is useless to wait for the battery to be totally discharged to launch a charge cycle.
• Carry out a minimum of one complete charge every month.
• These batteries do not suffer from memory degradation.

Nickel hydrure (NiMH) batteries
• Before starting a charge cycle, the battery must be totally emptied.
• Space to the maximum the frequency of charges.
• After a certain amount of time, memory degradation is going to happen.
• Every other month, it is best to discharge completely the battery, then to refill it totally.

Cadmium (NiCd) batteries
• This technology is the oldest one. It is being used less and less these days.
• These batteries suffer from the memory degradation.
• Before starting a charge, the battery will have to be emptied totally.
• Never leave this battery in your laptop when your laptop is plugged in.

Lithium-polymere (Li-po) batteries
• These batteries have the best performance but they are also the most expensive ones.
• These batteries offer an excellent compromise weight/power.
• The charging time is long compared to the other types of batteries.
• It is essential to respect to follow the manufacturer recommendations to avoid battery overheating.
• These batteries do not suffer from memory degradation.
• Do not refill a lithium-polymere battery immediately after usage; it is best to wait at least fifteen minutes.
• Avoid completely emptying the battery or you run the risk to damage the battery.
• The length of life of a battery Li-po is relatively short.

Click here to read part one of extending your laptop autonomy.

Year after year, the performances of our laptops continue to make extraordinary leaps forward. The capacities of calculation and of storage evolve in a phenomenal manner. Yet their autonomy while improving does not progress the same manner. In five years, average autonomy of our portable machines was multiplied by two. Despite these advances, the nomadic user wants more. Is it possible to extend the autonomy of his portable PC? Which components do have the biggest influence on performances? What can you do to extend to extend your laptop autonomy?

In contrast to what one could sometime think, the battery builders do their best to maximize autonomy. It’s a consistent fight in between autonomy progress and more energy demanding laptops. Despite the manufacturers’ efforts, it is presently difficult to obtain autonomy any higher than four hours on a standard notebook. This value remains comparatively weak facing the current needs. It is therefore important to maximize all avenues to ensure that your laptop autonomy is at its best. To guide you in this venture, we will approach the different solutions of economy of energy. To start, we will enumerate the basic principles that it is important to respect. In other articles we will review other important elements tied to your laptop battery, how you can adjust Windows, special software and additional peripherals.

First things first, let’s review some basic autonomy savers.

1) Make sure that your laptop doesn’t overheat
When in use, the ventilation orifices must not be obstructed. An overheating would induce inevitably a growth of the electric consumption. If the laptop is old, it will be able to be wise to clean these gates. Remove papers and other items that maybe on the laptop keyboards (if you are using a separate keyboard). At last, note that to obtain an optimum autonomy, it will be necessary to avoid using or to store your laptop in a surrounding too cold (less than 45F/10°C) or too hot (more of 85F/35°C).

2) Use the right drivers, and to update them
As each knows it, to manage an interface (generally material) or a peripheral, an operating system needs a software called drivers. With a laptop, the usage of optimized drivers is particularly important. Without that, Windows could be incapable to manage the variable frequency of a processor (central processor or graphic processor) or all other method of economy of energy. To find recent drivers, go to the manufacturer website for your laptop.

3) Defragment your hard drive regularly
The fragmentation means that the data of a same file (a picture or a document text for example) find themselves disseminated to several places of a hard disc. At the time of the opening of a fragmented file, the head of reading of the disc will have therefore to do many movements to collect the “pieces” of shed files on the disc surface. This phenomenon induces an excess use of the hard drive that therefore decreases autonomy. To avoid this problem, think about to defragment your disc when your computer is plugged in to a power outlet.

4) Operating System updates
Operating systems bugs are consistently being fixed as well as improvements are being made. There are some well known cases were computers where affected by issues due to the OS. Therefore, as a general rule updating the operating system must not be neglected. Verify regularly that your operating system has the latest updates.

Click here to read part two of extending your laptop
autonomy, understand and pamper your laptop battery

Image Source: mynewcheap.co.uk

Gone are the days of bulky computers. Technicians reinvented this devices and turned them and compacted them into smaller works of art. Thus the birth of Laptops. Laptops completely changed the computing industry. It offers several benefits you wont get from desktops. It provides mobility, portability and flexibility. Acer laptops were bulky and usually heavy. They were efficient anyhow. Through time and much spending for research, extensive advancement in its technology has produced one of the finest laptop computers available in the market today. They come in slim, attractive, lightweight packages. Performance never compromised. Battery capacity and screen memory has all been updated. So you can be sure that you get the highest quality products on hand. These smart laptops have made their presence felt, Acer laptops are widely used in every part of the world.

The ambitions of Lenovo are clear, create the best ultraportable in the market. Building on the prestigious ThinkPad family, the X300 is an impressive computer which does not compromise ultraportable and functionalities.

The Lenovo X300 versus MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is definitively a beautiful design (some will say sexy) and is ultra thin and light. In order to look that way, the Mac book has made some sacrifices in ways of functionalities, battery life and power. X 300 has a more conventional (old fashion) look, thicker and a bit heavier but it gains in functionality, power, has a DVD burner and yet has the dimensions and weight of an ultraportable. To complete the comparison The MacBook Air is beautiful extra light, trendy and will satisfy light users; the X300 looks conventional, is powerful and functional and will satisfy medium and some heavy users.

ThinkPad style
At first look, you can see a lot of similarities from previous generation of ThinkPads. The lines are straight (most competitors have rounded their laptops) and the min-joystick is still there. The keyboard has a the usual soft touch and comes with a retro light if needed. The finish is clean, robust, only the screen maybe sensitive to scratches.

Inside the X300
The processor used for the X300 laptop is new, it is a Core two duo L7100 this processor has an ultra compact chip similar to MacBook Air; it has a speed of 1.2 GHz and belong to the family of the Intel-based low voltage processors. The L7100 runs at 800 MHz and has 4 Mo of cash memory. This laptop comes with 2 GB of RAM which is enough to run Vista. That ThinkPad works very well in most situations and unless you are a graphic artist, big database user or heaver gamer, you will be very happy with its performances.

Lenovo X300 equipment
Despite its small size, The X300 focuses on maximum integration. No wasted space here, it comes with a DVD burner and webcam, you will also find three USB and one Ethernet connection. The wireless is equally well represented with Bluetooth 2.0 WiFi, 802.11 and 3G HSDPA. This one is also in charge of the video output for VGA.

Screen for professional
With a 13.3 inches the screen is big enough to view wide spreadsheet such as Excel, it is built up with a high quality definition of 1440 by 900 pixels. The graphic card is the classic Intel GMA X3100 with 368 Mo of shared memory.

Disappointing autonomy
During a testing the laptop battery never lasted more than 2 hours and 30 minutes, which is a bit disappointing with the SSD, LED screen and low-voltage processor. After we “played” with the numerous internal management tools we were able to extend the autonomy to 4 hours with light use such as Word. Additionally, the DVD can be replaced by an additional 3 cell battery.

Conclusion
All in all, a ThinkPad X300 is a wonderful ultraportable, light, compact and robust. Professional travelers will be very happy to use that notebook. There is a price for excellence and that price is $3,000. Final note, the X300 comes with three years manufacturer warranty.

7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Buy an Ultraportable Netbook Laptop

By Patrick Rielly

Whether they are called netbooks, ultramobiles, or ultraportable PCs, these small, sleek computers are all the rave in the world of personal computing. Here’s why you shouldn’t succumb to the hype surrounding this emerging market:

1. Don’t Expect to Do More Than Surf The Web

When you’re buying a netbook, do your research. If it’s portable internet browsing that you’re after, netbooks might be your best bet. But beware: many are designed to be internet browsers and e-mail checkers—and nothing more. Some cannot perform even basic computing tasks (e.g. word processing). Some companies have souped up these mini-internet browsers so that they are essentially laptops, but that just means more money out of your pocket.

2. Miniscule Memory

When you buy a netbook, don’t necessarily expect to be getting a small computer on the cheap. Many netbooks are capable of nothing more than internet browsing. In order to minimize size, netbook manufacturers have scrimped on basic computing commodities—including memory. Many netbooks have a pitiful internal memory while others rely on external flash drives that have to be purchased separately.

3. Terrible Typing on Tiny Keyboards

Let’s be honest; laptop keyboards are a difficult bunch. Sometimes the keys are too sensitive; sometimes they have bizarre layouts; and sometimes the keys are just too small. The small size of netbooks intensifies this problem. For those with large hands, typing might already be an issue, and, on a netbook, it may be a nightmare.

4. Screens for Squinters

With screens ranging from 5″ to 8.9,” netbooks are not for the far-sighted. Have you ever squinted to read diminutive text on your 15″ laptop screen? If you have, then prepare to spend a good deal of time hunching over your netbook. Size is a selling point for netbooks, but size can also have limitations. Since web surfing and e-mail checking are primary functions of netbooks, you may want to get your eyes checked before purchasing one.

5. Power Problems

If the draw is portability, then battery life better be stellar. When you’re on a plane, you can’t afford to have your computer bite the dust halfway into the flight. Netbook manufacturers, however, have sliced down battery size—and power—to achieve such compactness. Not only that, some netbooks come equipped with heavy external batteries that you’ll have to lug around with you and your “ultraportable” computer.

6. Price

The advertised prices for netbooks are just as small as the actual computers, but do they really go for under $400? After all the add-ons and accessories, the price you’ll pay for a netbook might not be as advertised. Netbooks perform only the most basic tasks, and if you’re spending upwards of $500 for internet browsing, why not spring for a little more and get a basic laptop—or take home a few more bills and get a fancy cell phone?

7. Netbooks Do What Cell Phones Do But Bigger

With technology getting increasingly smaller and sleeker, cell phones have acquired a variety of advanced functions including internet browsing and e-mail capabilities. Apple pushed the envelope with the new iPhone 3G by improving memory, internet accessibility, and usability on their already successful smartphone model. With a chic design and plenty of room for music, photographs, and videos, the iPhone 3G combines performance and style. Oh yeah, and you can call people with it.

Other manufacturers are taking Apple’s cue. In addition the variety of its organizational tools, BlackBerry is jumping on the touch-screen bandwagon in an effort to challenge iPhone supremacy. With internet access in demand, many basic phones come equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. Everyone from Samsung to Sony to Nokia is competing to provide the best features for users on the go. Cell phone technology is advancing so rapidly and smartphones are becoming so capable that you have to ask yourself: why bother with a netbook?