On 2006-08-05, jOn <
[email protected]> wrote:
> from http://www.ipaqrepair.co.uk/ipaq_battery.php
>
> 9. How frequently can you recharge the battery?
>
> Due to the nature of the batteries used in all iPAQ models you can recharge
> as often and for as long as you like. Your battery will not be damaged by
> this practice nor can it be overcharged, constant charging of the iPAQ's
> battery will actually improve the battery's life span.
Lithium Ion batteries get hot if left on charge and can be damaged and
even explode, either the FAQ above is wrong or the ipaq isn't using
lithium ion batteries. Devices like laptops have a charger built-in
which keeps them topped up, and the batteries themselves have in-built
intelligence which uses a protocol called smbus or something like that
to keep them within spec. Smaller devices like PDAs and phones don't
tend to do that so much due to size. Perhaps the ipaq has more
battery smarts but I'd tread that FAQ entry with caution. In general,
if a lithium-ion battery gets warm or hot, it's being screwed by the
charger.
As for improving the lifespan, lithium-ion batteries have a shelf life
that drops with age, which is why laptop batteries and mobile phone
batteries don't tend to be much use after 4-5 years or so. Quite how
the ipaq faq thinks that keeping it on constant charge makes it better
I don't know, absolutely no other battery FAQ of any kind I've ever
seen has said anything like that regarding Li-Ion. That part for
certain is total rubbish.
Here's one link that's from a fairly reliable source, there's others
out there too if you care to do a bit of googling.
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
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