Cell Phone Battery Types

If you are replacing your cell phone battery, there are some battery types to choose from. Each of these have their own advantages and disadvantages. In most instances, you would consider using the original type (also called “genuine” or OEM) battery. Of course, there are some who would want to upgrade to a battery with more power allowing for extended use. By the same logic, there are those who would want a slim type battery, or use a slimmer battery than that used by the cell phone.

Whatever type of battery you would want to use, consider the battery type carefully, as it would impact on the way you use your cell phone. These are some of the basic types of batteries for cell phone use:

• Lithium Polymer. For all intents and purposes, the Lithium Polymer, or more correctly the Lithium Ion Polymer, is a lithium Ion battery in a pouch format. Also called LiPo, the concept was first discovered in the 1970s. At the time, the LiPo battery required heating to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) to enable the flow of power. The LiPo battery became a viable option when gelled electrolyte was used. These also used some form of micro porous substance as separator, along with a little moisure. Although Li-phosphate and Li-manganese batteries also exist, the most common LiPo are cobalt-based (Li-cobalt).

There is very little difference between a LiPo and a Lithium Ion battery. In terms of manufacture, the difference is that LiPo uses laminated sheets that do not need compression, while Li-ion batteries make use of a rigid case pressing on the electrodes to keep these tight together. In terms of form factor and power, the LiPo can be made thinner than the Li-Ion battery, including credit card sized batteries.

The Dexim BluePack S2 Battery Backup for iPod/iPhone 3/4 is an example of Lithium Polymer battery.

• Lithium Ion. Lithium ion batteries are relatively new technology for rechargeable batteries. They first became widely available in the 1990s, although the concept was discovered in 1912 by Gilber Lewis, an American chemist. The main ingredient of the lithium ion batteries is lithium iron phosphate (chemical symbol LiFePO₄) which makes up the positive electrode. The negative electrode is usually carbon (in the form of graphite). The electrolyte varies between different batteries, according to the manufacturer or model.

Among the advantages of the lithium ion battery is that it is lighter than most batteries. It also has more power for any given weight. For another, unlike earlier rechargeable batteries like NiCad or NiMH, it does not have a “memory effect.” In terms of usability, it is suggested that it should be recharged before it completely runs dry of power.

The biggest problems for lithium ion batteries is that they produce gas while charging, This has to be dissipated, otherwise, the battery casing will bulge. For another, the battery can catch fire if there is a short circuit, or if the battery is overcharged. These problems are solved with the use of a current interrupt device (CID) which stops the charging when the battery is too hot, it has reached the limit of charging, or there is an excess of gas buildup.

The Technocel Lithium Ion Standard Battery model no. LG565BLI is compatible with LG cell phone models UX565, AX565, UX830, AX830 and LX570.

• Nickel Cadmium. The nickel-cadmium battery (NiCad) battery is a battery with nickel oxide hydride and cadmium electrodes with alkaline potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolytes. These batteries were primarily used in cell phones up to the late 1990s and early 2000s. The use of NiCad batteries have decreased giving way to better battery types like Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Ion batteries. Their major shortcoming is that these have a “memory effect.”

Memory effect happens when a battery is not completely discharged prior to being recharged. The battery remembers the last levels before it was recharged, and can only be used up to that level. This makes the NiCad battery a high maintenance battery and the user should watch over it while it recharges. Later model NiCad batteries have solved this problem to some extent. Overcharging the batteries will also damage them. The use of cadmium has made this type of battery a danger to the environment.

Smaller electronic devices still use NiCad batteries. UnlimitedCellular.com has NiCad batteries available like the Minitor III or IV battery replacement for the Motorola NYM8345A.

• Nickel Metal Hydride. The Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery is an improvement over the Nickel-hydrogen battery developed from research started in the late 1960s. The current form of the NiMH battery came about in the 1980s. By then stability issues have been resolved. Admittedly, it provides enormous advantages over the NiCad battery, however, NiMH batteries suffer from bad self-discharge rates. However, because of its durability, and low-cost it is one of the most popular rechargeable batteries. Motorola Solutions provides a 2-Way Radio Rechargeable Battery Upgrade Kit using NiMH batteries.

• OEM / Non-OEM. If a cell phone company does not make a certain part for their phone, they contract this out to an original equipment manufacture (OEM). In most instances, the OEM is a specialist manufacturer which only has one product or product line. In the case of cell phones, the most common OEM parts are the screen, processor and the battery. As an OEM, they can also sell these parts for independent repair shops, or electronic parts suppliers. In contrast, a non-OEM is usually not the official parts manufacturer for a cell phone company. However, they also manufacture batteries or other other parts, and have been able to reverse engineer specific parts.

In terms of the battery quality, it is expected that the OEM has better quality products, and these are also more expensively priced. They have higher quality standards and may discard or throw individual units which are not up to the standards specified by the phone manufacturer. This results in better performance compared to non-OEM products. The LG Standard Battery for LG Glance VX7100 battery is an OEM part from LG.

• Extended Cell Phone Batteries. There are some cell phones which have a relatively short battery use time. For these cell phones, it might be necessary to recharge twice a day. There also heavy users who push their cell phones to the point that the power is used up after only a few hours of use. Either way, the first thing to do is to recharge the cell phone at the soonest possible time. Another alternative is to have an extended cell phone battery. There are extended cell phone batteries which can last up to three times longer than the original battery. One example of an extended cell phone battery is the Samsung Extended 1550mAh Lithium Ion Battery, AB923446BABSTD. This battery fits the Samsung SCH-A645, SCH-A870, SCH-U340, SPH-M320 and the SPH-M500.

• Standard Cell Phone Batteries. In most cases, when a phone battery gets damaged, users would want to have these replaced by the exact same battery models. If these are not available, they would choose standard cell phone batteries. One reason for this is that the standard cell phone batteries are the same size and weight. They fit the cell phone, and the heft and feel of the cell phone is no different from the original. Standard cell phone batteries are usually the only option when it comes to some specifically designed cell phones. For instance, the iPhone 4 has space carved out of the electronics package specifically for the battery. The fit was designed to ensure that the battery does not come in contact with any other cell phone electronics. In contrast, due to the larger battery of extended cell batteries, the resulting case has a bulge at the back for the extra battery size. If you are looking for a standard cell phone battery for the Nokia Lumia 830, you can find this on this page: https://www.unlimitedcellular.com/Nokia–Standard-Battery-for-Nokia-Lumia-830_p_363270.html

• Slim Cell Phone Batteries. Cell phone designs keep getting thinner and thinner. This trend has ridden on the sexy design concept of bezel-less screens as well as ultra-thin bodies. However, the limiting factor for the cell phone size is the battery. It is important for phones designed to use slim batteries to keep on using the same size batteries. For one, the battery does not fit the case. For another, the cell phone was not designed for standard-sized cell phone batteries. For another, if you use a slim cell phone battery instead of the standard size, you would be losing power. With less power to draw from, you would have to recharge more often. If you have a Motorola RAZR2 V8, V9, V9m or a U9 PICO, you can use the Motorola Slim Battery BX40 SNN5805A.

The above are the basic types of batteries you can use for your cell phone battery replacement. If you have any doubts, or for safety considerations, please refer the matter to a reputable cell phone repair shop. Cell phone repair professionals are in the best position to advice you about these matters. You can also go to unlimitedcellular.com for the required replacement parts.