What would you do without them? Seriously, if every single battery of every single type were suddenly zapped out of every single thing that it operated, what would any of us do?

The basic rule of getting a replacement battery is that it should have the same voltage as the original. An 18V drill cannot run on a 12V battery. It can only run on a 18V battery. The other thing is that the physical packaging of a battery can be different from company to company. A 12V Ryobi battery may not fit into a 12V Makita cordless drill unless the battery has the right physical dimensions. So make sure the replacement battery looks the same as the old one before you order it. Also, if you are looking for a replacement battery of the same voltage rating and by the same company, know that battery technology is changing rapidly. An 18V lithium-ion battery has a different physical packaging than a NiCad 18V battery.

Using your mobile phone cobalt mine in G or Dual Mode drains the battery much quicker than just GSM mode. Somewhere in the manual for your phone will be listed the battery times separately for GSM and 3G. On modern mobile phones, the GSM only life-cycle can be up to 50% more efficient.

When it's time to buy a new lithium ion battery, be sure you're buying one that's new (as in recently produced). Just like fruit has a shelf-life, so do batteries and just like you want to buy fresh produce, you also want to invest in "fresh" lithium ion cells. Check the date-code on the battery or packaging to ensure you're not buying a pack that's been degrading for a year on some shelf.

Another thing to remember is not to store those batteries in the charger as well. This will draw energy away too, and cause your battery to die off sooner than you expect. Keep it away from high heat or extreme coldness. Heat tends to cause damage to your Lithium battery stocks while exposing it to low temperatures over a period of time will draw its charging capacity.

Now yes, it depends on how you're using it. But the Apple creators say it will play movies solidly for hours for example before the Lithium mines Ontario iPad battery says feed me".

Most automakers would like to see Lithium-Ion battery packs (you probably have a Li-Ion battery in your cell phone) which can store more energy. But as of right now, they are still too volatile/unreliable when placed in large packs for major carmakers to use. But that should be changing in the next few years. Both GM (with their Plug-In Saturn Vue) and Toyota (next generation Prius/ Hybrid Systems) believe the next generation of hybrids will come with Li-Ion battery packs.

There are a couple of more considerations about choosing your cell phone battery which we cover with a later post. And don't forget the holidays are coming up so make sure you take a look at various face plates and extra batteries to enhance your gifts!