The lads over at NotebookReview.com got their hands on one of the new “long life” Enviro batteries, created by Boston-Power. Now keep in mind that “long life” doesn’t necessarily mean greater capacity or run-time. The long life is more of a green statement, regarding the loss in capacity over time that is associated with traditional batteries. The Enviro batteries are quoted to retain their original capacity for up to three years, whereas most traditional lithium ion battery lose around 10-20% capacity per year of regular usage.

Obviously not even the folks at NBR can just turn the clock forward three years, but they did give the 3-cell Enviro battery a run against a standard 6-cell; by the way, the 3-cell Enviro has the same capacity as the standard 6-cell. The initial results are promising and hopefully this can drive down long-term ownership costs and keep more batteries out of the landfill.

With impeccable timing, Lenovo blogger Matt Kohut recently blogged on this subject and had some interesting things to say. Hit the links below for all the details.

“There is not really much magic technology inside these multiple year batteries. If you study the specifications carefully, you’ll notice that they have diminished capacity compared to a standard notebook battery. They use lower charging voltages. In short, the batteries are under less stress than a typical notebook battery. The manufacturers are trading capacity for longevity. This also explains their short recharge times. The fuel tank is smaller.”

NotebookReview.com Enviro battery test

Lenovo Blogs – “3 Year Batteries”