This article presents important facts about laptop batteries and the various battery technologies available today. The article will help non-technical people in selecting which notebook battery is the right one for them, whether they are just looking for a cheap battery or high-end components such as li-ion rechargeable batteries.

Don't think all laptop batteries are created equal. There is no such things as a generic or universal laptop battery. They are all different and guess what... it is the best interest of the laptop vendors to keep it that way. No, a Dell laptop battery is not the same as an HP laptop battery, and you cannot use the cheap IBM Lion batteries you just bought to replace the Vaio laptop battery of your girlfriend.

The shape, specifications, and size of most laptop batteries differ from one model to another, and I'm not even talking about the well-known exceptions such as the flashy Apple batteries or the heavy duty, water-proof, Panasonic toughbook batteries!

All notebook batteries have, however, a few characteristics that are the same:

- The notebook batteries can be recharged an infinite number of times, especially nowadays because they are generally built of li-ion or Nimh;

- The notebook batteries can be pretty pricey, especially for the higher end models such as the HP, 600e IBM, the Compaq laptop batteries, or the Acer replacement battery;

- The notebook batteries can be pretty delicate electronic components: do not be surprised if your battery suddenly drops voltage or the laptop battery won't charge fully;

- The notebook batterys have to be regularly charged and discharged to maintain their battery life.

Let's discuss about the procedure to use when you want to replace your current laptop battery by a new one. The first step is to turn off your laptop pc and remove the power cable from the back of the machine. Turn the laptop down carefully and remove the battery from its slot. A small switch is usually included and pressing the switch will eject the laptop battery pretty easily on most models.

You should then carefully write down the serial and reference number of the battery. These numbers can be pretty confusing because these are long serial numbers that do not mean a thing to most users: they have strange names such as “HP 1739a”, “Dell w1955.” or “Compaq n1020v”....

Armed with this reference number, the second step for you is to decide on three important factors: (i) your budget (are you looking for a refurbished laptop battery, a new one, or maybe a second-hand laptop battery), (ii) the type of battery life you want, and (iii) the brand. You should buy long-life laptop batteries; it is highly recommended. They are only slightly more expensive. But these models are a good investment because there is nothing more frustrating that running out of battery juice in a place where you cannot user your laptop battery charger such as in many airports.

With these information in hand, you should then visit a laptop battery directory on the Net. They will make it easy for you to find the best notebook batteries offers and you can quickly find the cheapest laptop battery because they have different pages for each top brands. The objectivity of the site is very good because they do not sell the batteries themselves.

Finally, remember the technology for building batteries is a constant evolution. Batteries were invented a long time ago by Benjamin Franklin (1748). But it is the 21st century that will be the most exciting because we are now very close to have access to a new generation of batteries for laptops and notebooks that will include fuel-cell batteries or even solar rechargeable notebook batteries. We will cover the future of these emerging technologies in an upcoming article.