Would you buy a notebook with a battery you wouldn't replace?

http://technologizer.com/2009/01/07/is-the-world-ready-for-sealed-notebook-batteries-are-you/

by technologizer • 18 years ago

21 30 18 years ago

bprater• 18 years ago

For years now, I haven't traveled with a spare battery. As battery times are extended, the need for spares decrease.

Apple appears to have squeezed a ton of run-time out of this new configuration. If this gets you from New York to San Francisco while being able to watch 2 feature films, are you good?

whatusername3• 18 years ago

I've got the extended battery in my thinkpad, but it's the only one.

I try not to use my laptop on the plane; - and anywhere else - I'm usually in range of a desk / powerpoint.

stcredzero• 18 years ago

"powerpoint" and not Powerpoint?

jpcx01• 18 years ago

I currently have 3 batteries on my macbook pro (17 inch). It's nice to be able to go unplugged for 8 hours, but keeping them all charged and swapping them around is a pain in the ass.

I'd personally trade multiple swappable batteries for a nice integrated solution. Especially if it lasted twice as long, and had 3x the lifespan.

And if it goes bad after 3-5 years, $179 for a battery replacement doesn't seem like a huge deal to me.

So, yeah, count me in.

michaelneale• 18 years ago

For 3 years - guaranteed, yes, that would be nice.

If you can replace it - what is the big deal? just not user replacable?

brk• 18 years ago

I've used laptops as my primary machine for about 17 years now (since whenever the FIRST Thinkpad 700's were introduced). I can only think of 1 or 2 laptops that I've had spare batteries for, and those were usually the ones with horrible runtimes (like an hour). 1 other (a Thinkpad X20 maybe) I bought a replacement battery for when the original died.

I've had 3 Intel-Mac laptops now. The only time I ever swapped a battery was on my first 17" MBP when the battery started physically expanding (there was a warranty replacement for it).

The internal battery thing is really no issue for me personally.

lallysingh• 18 years ago

Ditto here. 17" MBP (the immediate predecessor of this new one), and the battery's essentially permanent in there for me. 8 hours of text editing, iTunes, and compiling sounds fantastic.

Only thing I picked up was a second power adapter. Now one's at my desk, and another's in my bag.

Note that batteries for these things usually cost $129ish, so $179 for the swap isn't out of line.

tptacek• 18 years ago

You can't swap batteries in an iPhone either, but you can still carry a "spare"; it just acts as a charger.

zhyder• 18 years ago

You won't have this option with the 17" MBP though coz Apple doesn't license the Magsafe connector. It's the same reason you don't find 3rd party adaptors connecting via Magsafe.

whatusername3• 18 years ago

There's a product that acts as an external battery for the iphone (my brother has one - can't think of the name) Bulkier when in use - but less extra to carry around than a spare...

Tichy• 18 years ago

I don't want to bother with spare batteries anyway. By the time the original battery is dead, the laptop is outdated enough to warrant replacement anyway.

I am a bit worried about exploding batteries, though, therefore them being removable is a plus.

wvenable• 18 years ago

Batteries are probably safer enclosed in a unibody design than attached externally.

iigs• 18 years ago

As my equipment (phones and PC) ages I like to combine parts to maintain them and replace key components that age (drives and batteries). I am not afraid to disassemble my stuff but I take care of it over time and don't want to take a hit on fit and finish. I've seen macs that had been improperly disassembled and reassembled, and they just don't look right -- edges roughed up, rubber/plastic parts misfitting, seams not aligning properly. I would hesitate for this reason.

In short, yes, I would buy a laptop that had no user serviceable battery. I would not refuse to purchase a laptop because of something like this, but for my purposes it's a misfeature. It would compare unfavorably to another machine that had a removable battery, insofar as this specific feature is concerned, but perhaps not overall.

apsurd• 18 years ago

I'm having such a hard time getting over the title to this post. I think the appropriate word here is "couldn't" rather than "wouldn't".

somnambulist• 18 years ago

Same here!

If it's couldn't.. then no way.. I am buying such a laptop; because at times my laptop freezes and I am left with no option than to take out the battery and reboot....

timcederman• 18 years ago

I have never travelled with a spare battery, however on every single laptop I have owned, I have purchased replacement batteries due to battery life reduction. My last Macbook and Dell both went from 1.5-2 hours per charge to 20-30 minutes per charge in a matter of weeks (after owning them for 18 months first of course).

riobard• 18 years ago

If the original battery works well before I replace the notebook, yes.

tdavis• 18 years ago

I have never swapped a battery out of a laptop, ever. So... yes.

Devilboy• 18 years ago

Same here - and cellphones too.

raamdev• 18 years ago

I too almost never have, and when I do it's usually a rare occurrence. For that reason, yes, I'd happily buy a laptop with a built-in battery, especially if the battery gives a 17" laptop 8 hours of charge!

And I'm sure it won't be long before ifixit.com has a guide explaining how to replace the battery yourself.

Zak• 18 years ago

Yes. The improvement in chassis rigidity alone would be worth it. I never carry spare laptop batteries, and I'm not afraid to take apart a laptop to replace one of those non-user-serviceable parts.

danw• 18 years ago

I've just spent £97 to buy a replacement battery for my MBP which became useless after about 200 cycles, so 1000 cycles with 8 hours battery life instead of 2 hours for a similar cost in swapping battery seems like a fair deal. So long as the swapping of the battery can be done over the counter whilst I wait.

sh1mmer• 18 years ago

That's exactly the point. Apple are catering to the vast majority of people rather than the smaller minority of power users. Even among power users those people who regularly hotswap must be pretty slim.

I travel a fair amount for work and I have a second battery for my MBP which I almost never use. Airports mostly have somewhere to plug laptops in these days even if you aren't in the lounge.

As long as people can easily have a dying battery replaced (especially one which last 1000 cycles) at a service center I can't imagine that many ruffled feathers.

Worst case you can always get an external battery.

rfunduk• 18 years ago

I think I once took the battery out of my MacBook, but it was because I was adding memory.

So, yes, definitely.

mattmaroon• 18 years ago

I've never had a laptop battery that I haven't replaced in a year, which reminds me, I need to order one. (I traveled a lot though until recently, maybe that will change.) I've never seen a laptop's battery life claim that was anywhere close to reality either. If Apple (or any OEM) says 8 hours for 5 years, it means 4-5 hours at first sloping down to about one hour in a year. There's sort of a nuclear arms race there that forces all OEMs to lie similarly, because if they didn't the other guy would sell better, though I guess if one were in a position to break the standoff, it might be Apple.

However if I liked the laptop enough, and if I were able to find out via the internet that the battery held up in the real world for a couple years, and really got good life, and was replaceable with a trip to the Apple store, then yeah, it wouldn't be a huge deterrent.

Still, overall I'd consider a user-replaceable battery similar to cruise control on a car. Not 100% necessary, but really nice when it's usable and would I really want to buy one without it?

andygeers• 18 years ago

1000 charges on a $3000 laptop doesn't sound like very many to me...

evgen• 18 years ago

1000 charges on a long-life battery is pretty good, maybe you just need to use a laptop for an extended period of time to understand how batteries work. Assuming this battery does get the advertised 8-hour lifespan and it is used five days a week (for 1.5 charges per day) then this battery will last through two and a half years of constant use. That is actually quite exceptional.

rbarooah• 18 years ago

I already have one, although it took me a little while to even remember that fact.

Anjin• 18 years ago

I own a MacBook Air and I absolutely love it. I'd like 4gb of RAM but besides that I couldn't possibly be any happier. The battery issue never comes up for me.

Would you buy a notebook with a battery you wouldn't replace?

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