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There are several things to
know and consider when buying a replacement cell phone battery for your phone. Here
is some quick information to help with your buying decision.
 Capacity
Size
Weight
Battery Type
Battery Life
Freshness
Find
Cell Phone Battery
 Capacity
is measured in mAh (milliamp-hour). The higher the capacity, the longer
the standby and talk time. The first impulse is to get the cell phone battery with
the highest capacity. However, keep in mind that the capacity has to fit
somewhere. The highest capacity cell phone battery is generally heavier and bulkier
than lower capacity batteries. You may still need the highest capacity
cell if you want to use your phone longer between recharges. Most people
are happy with a standard capacity cell phone battery. 
Size,
or more generally, thickness, is determined by the battery type and capacity
(see above). Extra capacity will make a battery larger. You can
offset this by selecting a battery made from lithium ion or lithium polymer
since these newer type cells have a higher power density (they pack more power
in the same amount of space). You will see terms like slim, ultra slim,
main, and extended used by different vendors. This is not a good indicator
of the size as everyone's idea of slim is different. Size is usually
measured in mm (millimeter).
Weight
is closely related to the size of the battery. The higher the capacity,
the thicker the battery, the heavier it will be. Weight can be offset by
selecting lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries as they have a higher power
density (they pack more power in the same amount of weight). Keep in mind
that a few extra grams or ounces is not very noticeable. You will
generally not notice a difference until the difference is 50-100%.
Battery
type is one the most misrepresented characteristics. Most vendors seem
to claim that each type is the latest and greatest. In general, there are
four battery types used in cell phone batteries. They are listed below
from newest to oldest. Whenever possible, you DO want the newest
type.
 Lithium
Polymer - This the newest battery type being used in cell phones.
They have a higher power density than the other types. This allows
manufacturers to provide either a thinner or lighter battery, or some
combination of both. They are often hard to find. Factory
Direct Cellular is one of the few stores that carry lithium polymer
batteries. We currently have them for Nokia 5100/6100/7100 and several
Samsung phones. Lithium Polymer batteries do not suffer from the dreaded
memory effect and can be recharged anytime.
Lithium
Ion (Li-Ion) - This was the latest battery technology before lithium
polymer. They have a higher power density than NiMh and NiCd batteries.
Li-Ion batteries generally come standard with most phones. For most
people, this battery technology represents the best combination of size,
capacity, and value. Lithium Ion batteries do not suffer from the
dreaded memory effect and can be recharged anytime.
Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMh) - This was the most popular standard battery just
12-24 months ago. They are lighter than Nickel Cadmium batteries, but
heavier than Lithium batteries. While NiMh batteries are not as susceptible
to the dreaded memory effect as NiCd batteries, they must still be cycled once
in a while for optimum performance.
Nickel
Cadmium (NiCd) - This was the oldest battery type used in cell
phones. They are the heaviest and lowest capacity battery type.
NiCd batteries pretty much started the notion of the memory effect. We
don't carry this type of battery.
Battery
life is a factor of battery capacity and battery drain. Any quotes
that you see for standby and talk time assume ideal conditions. Most of us
will never use a battery full under ideal conditions the whole time. Using
a phone in analog mode drains a battery really quick. So does leaving a
phone on when there is no coverage. This can happen when you are in a
building, tunnel, underground, or in a plane. In these cases, the phone
will spend a lot of power trying to reestablish a connection to the tower.
Battery
freshness is often overlooked. Make sure that you purchase a fresh
battery. The batteries' ability to hold a charge is reduced over
time. Be wary of clearance items that have been sitting on a shelf for a
long time. The vast majority of the batteries at Factory Direct
Cellular were built within the last 60 days.
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