Saturday, March 21, 2009

All about Batteries for the Lenovo S10

Here are some snippet of information that are from the two popular Lenovo Ideapad S series forums, one official, and the other unofficial. These are all about the batteries put together here for easy reference.

When the S10 was first released, it came with the 3 cell battery as the standard but it could last on the average for only 1.5 to 2 hours and this was a big disappointment to many who are always on the move and a great disadvantage when compared to other netbooks like the Asus EEE and Acer One that had longer lasting batteries, about twice that of the Lenovo 3 cell battery. Below is how the 3 cell battery looks when fitted into the rear of a S10. (Pic from NotebookReview.com)

Soon came the news of a 6 cell battery that first made its appearance with the S10e in the European market towards the latter part of 2008 and this 6 cell battery became a standard with the S10 in some Asian market. Pic below shows the extra load of the 6 cell hanging down. Refer to my post in this Blog that is all about the 6 cell battery
here.


Since man is never satisfied and always wanting more and more, early this year saw the debut of the 9 cell battery. As this has three times the number of cells (of the 3 cells), it will last 3 times as long and also weighs roughly three times as heavy and is 3 times the size. Not to mention it takes three times longer to be fully charged. You cannot have your cake and eat it, you know. Pic below shows the bulk of the 9 cell, courtesy of nickrg3 in the unofficial Lenovo S series forum.


Below is a rough comparison of the 3 types of battery currently available. How long it lasts depends a lot on the activities of the netbook.

3 cell weighs 150gm, lasts for 2 hr and takes 2 hr to charge
6 cell weighs 300gm, lasts for 4.5 hr and takes 4 hr to charge
9 cell weighs 450gm, lasts for 7 hr and takes 6 hr to charge

Which size of the battery (3, 6 or 9 cells) is the best for you? It all depends on your needs and how you use the S10 most of the time and it really comes down to personal preference. Personally, I feel the 6 cell battery is the best way to go as the 3 cell lasts too short and the 9 cell is too bulky and weighs a bit too much which defeats the main purpose of a netbook which is reduced size and weight for mobility when compared to a normal notebook/laptop.

There is also some confusion as to which battery will fit which model of the S series Ideapad. Here's the good news, all are interchangeable so any battery that you pick will fit whether it is a S9, S9e, S10 or S10e since the external physical size of the current S series Ideapad is the same (only the screen size and configuration are different). There appears to be only two colours currently available for these batteries, i.e. black or white so those of you with S10 of a different colour will have to make do with one of these colors and cannot get a fully color-matched combination.

The battery is held in position by two locking mechanism at the bottom of the machine. The one on the left is spring loaded while the one on the right is manually switched. To unplug the battery, switch the lock on the right to the open position (towards the left) and hold the spring loaded in the open position (towards the left). More important is that after plugging in the battery, ensure that both the locks are secured, especially the spring loaded one or you may find the battery a bit wobbly.

The second LED in the front of the LED is the Battery status indicator. It is orange when the battery is being charged and is blue when the battery is fully charged. There is also a power icon at the task bar that shows the current power status and the life left of the battery if being used.

If you leave your battery plugged in for some time, you will find that it will not reach 100% charge when it stops charging (LED battery status turns blue.) To overcome this, remove the battery and leave it for a while. The next time you charge your battery, it will reach 100% when fully charged. Another key point to remember is never unplug your battery when it is connected to the mains, it will result in weird charging problems such as never ending charging time. You should only remove the battery when everything is off.

For those who intend to travel abroad with your S10, the Adaptor/charger is universally rated at 100-240V and 50-60Hz and thus can be used anywhere in the world; you only need to ensure that you have the correct pin adaptor to connect to the mains. It would be easier to get one of those universal pin adaptor that can be plugged in anywhere.
(The points below are added subsequently.
The battery will not reach its full capacity until it has gone through a number of charging cycles initially just like other lithium-ion batteries. My original Lenovo OEM 6 cell battery will not charge until it falls below 90% so I normally leave it plugged in and not worry that it will get charged unnecessarily, thereby reducing the battery life since it is normally given in the number of charging cycles. But it is good to remove the battery from time to time and also let it be fully discharged every now and then and then fully charged to give it the full works, so to speak even though it does not have that "memory effect" of older generation batteries. Nevertheless, it will looses its capacity over time and will die a natural death eventually as nothing lasts forever.)
Hope you are now fully charged and ready to be on the move with your S10.

27 comments:

  1. I recently picked up the 9 cell for my S10 and I love it! I've only made it through 2 discharged so far but it takes about 5 hours for a recharge and the battery is lasting somewhere between 7 and 9 hours I'm guesstimating.

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  2. Hi Kitch,
    Thanks for the feedback. Good for you. Hope you'll not have any quality issue on your 9 cell since there's some complaints about them on some unknown brands. Cheers.

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  3. I still run on the 3 cell for my s10e. I like how light it is...although a 6 cell would be nice I've never run into a problem with the 3 cell's life since I just use it to shoot off quick emails/look up things. :)

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  4. Hi Kevin,
    That's great as long as you are happy, it's all a personal preference. Hope you are not plagued by the noisy fan that is the major complaint about the S10/S10e. Cheers.

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  5. I just gotten my S10. Just wondering, to charge the battery to 100%, do you mean to take out the battery for a while (a few minutes or hours?) before plugging it back into the laptop and then start charging? Or should I start doing this only after a few cycles of charging?
    How many charging cycles does the battery life of a 6-cell have?
    Thanks for any advice.

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  6. Hi,
    This is just my experience so it may vary with individuals and the brand of battery. You can just charge your battery straightaway and it should reach 100% but may take some time once you reach 99%. It would not reach 100% only after some recharging cycles and that's when you need to remove the battery for a few minutes. I have seen some battery quoted with 1,000 charging cycles but a battery also has a shelf life of 2-3 years so it will become useless after that. In any case, you may have got a new netbook by then so you need not worry too much about the battery life; just enjoy your S10! Cheers.

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  7. Very useful article. I just purchased a 9-cell replacement battery. Now I do not need to carry the adaptor with me if I have to stay out for the whole day. Thanks.

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  8. Hi Zee,
    I find the 9 cell a bit bulky but if you are happy, good for you!

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  9. Ronald,
    I had the same point of view as yours when I first purchsed the 9 cell. However, it fits perfectly in my 10" laptop sleeve. Now that I do not need carry additional power adaptor, I should say no complaints.

    The battery needs to be removed from the laptop at least once in order to get 100% charge. (I think the purpose is to make sure there is no current going through the cells, which is like reset). Otherwise, I found it could only reach 95%. Now the standby time is 8 hours, tested 3 times already. If I run programs, it could last up to 7 hours, pretty amazing already.
    Thanks for all of your information.

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  10. Thank you for the great breakdown of these battery types and benefits. Chalk one more Lenovo lover up for your blog feeds! Since I travel a decent amount, I am considering going middle of the road...can't hurt to have two batteries on the go. Best. Jason

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  11. Hi Jason, choose the battery size that is best for your application. I believe the 6-cell is a good compromise between mobility and usefulness but only you can decide which is the best for your needs. Cheers.

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  12. hi Ronald
    what if i keep my s10-2 always plugged in to ac, ii mean is it better to keep it always plugged in or shall i charge it, take out adapter pin use it till it is discharged and then charge it again, what is the better way of maintaining battery?

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  13. I am no expert on this but I read that it is better to charge and discharge a battery every now and then, sort of keeping it "exercised". Some even said to keep the battey in the fridge if not in use for a long time to prolong the life. Whatever it is, the battery has its lifetime and will deteriote over time so don't worry too much about it. You may probably buy a new netbook before the battery dies!

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  14. Thank you for the great post. I was looking for info on the different sizes and weights for the batteries as I have to order a new one. Thanks again!

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  15. Hi k2carlos,
    glad it is useful; hope you'll get the right one!

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  16. Got a 9 cell off ebay and my s10 will not recognize it, It won't start when on batt power but will run when ac adapt. unplugged??
    Also no batt icon and when refresh it still shows ac power. have you run into this problem before?

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  17. Hi,

    I would like to buy an extra 6 Cells/9Cells battery. I tried to search from Lenovo Singapore website but couldnt find it. May i know where I can buy the extra batt in Singapore?

    Also, any idea what is the price range for S10 6 Cell/9 cells battery?

    Thanks

    Rebecca

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  18. Hi Rebecca,the best would be to call the local Lenovo Customer Support or maybe visit Sim Lim Tower or other electronic/IT malls in Singapore. If you are game, you can always get one from ebay or from some reputable sellers online.

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  19. hi mr. kwok..im just having trouble charging my battery, it won't reach a 100% or full charge. when the light goes blue it is only 70% available. why is this so? what can I do? plis help.. im using 3 cell only.thanks.cheng

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  20. Hi cheng, how old is your battery? It is normal for rechargeable battery to lose its capacity over time. You can try removing it and put it back again but if there is no improvement, your battery is probably ageing. Same thing with handphone batteries where charging gets more frequent over time.

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  21. Lenovo seriously sucks. Customer service is bad and the product quality (Made in China - no offence intended) is terrible. I'm regretting going for this brand for my recent purchase.

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  22. Recently i purchased a lenovo laptop and am regretting my decision. Its battery conked in the first month itself and they are not replacing it.

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  23. Hi, Thanks for the useful advice. Which website offers good reliable batteries. I intend to buy a 6 cell based on the recommendations.

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  24. Hi,my battery just broke, eventhough the indicator showa orange sign, but it never truns blue, and if u unplug it, it will shutdown right away. The battery was not detected in control panel-battery. can i still rely on this battery or should i buy the new one?

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  25. Hi, im felix from cebu, Philippines, the battery of my lenovo s10 is already defective, it will only last for 15 minutes, my question is where can i buy the said battery the model of it is L08S3B21, i tried asking in lenovo store in sm but they dont have the stock. can anybody help me with my problem. you can email my at felix.gspicebu@gmail.com

    thank you very much

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  26. Hi there,

    I have a lenovo s10 and it just won't work on the battery, I have tried changing the battery but it would only run on the mains. Also, it won't charge the new batteries. What could be the problem?

    Thanks

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  27. Have the same issue with Karan's, please advice

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