Power Up for Your Mobile Life

Sony launches bio-battery that recharges itself with glucose

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:50:00 +0000

After using laptop for a while, gradually I find a lot of laptop problems are from the battery itself. For example, Problem With New Battery in Sony Vaio Laptop. When talking about batteries, recently, Sony has found a way to get energy in a way similar to what happens in the human body.

This new battery replaces the ethanol and methanol by glucose - substance found in fruits and sugar, which is used by the human body as a source of energy and metabolic intermediate - and now will also be used to generate energy in batteries!
According to Sony, the bio-battery will be capable of generating up to 70mW of power, which is enough to feed many gadgets that are out there.
During his presentation at the International Hydrogen and Fuel Expo held in February 25, 2009 (Wednesday) in Tokyo - Japan, Sony did a demonstration of its bio-battery powering a Walkman music player with a 3 cell battery and a small fan (fan), generating energy from a drink.

This is the environmental initiative by Sony, that beyond this bio-battery, also made other proposals during the event.

more: Keep the Sony battery in your laptop

Myth or fact: remanufactured cartridges do not pay and ruin the printer?

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:38:00 +0000

We contacted a printer manufacturer to find out a little about these questions.

In ancient times, the printer was considered an expensive item, but with the constant evolution of computer, printer products have gained great discounts. As far as multifunction printers had a startling drop in prices, but supplies for such equipment have become more expensive too.

The significant increase in the price of cartridges has been a major concern of many consumers who use printers daily. The big move was to lower the manufacturers of equipment and expensive supplies, a factor that has forced many people to seek alternative ways to print your documents. Here, then discovered the great savior: the remanufactured cartridge.

The fashion caught on and there were doubts

When the revelry of refill cartridges began, many people did not think twice and took the alternative products. How was the beginning of a new business, some wary of quality, however, the remanufactured surprised many people. In the first instance, most consumers bought the cartridges refilled, because the price was very interesting.

Even today they are cheap, but there are people who insist in quality. Moreover, some argue that the remanufactured cartridges may even ruin the printer. After all, is that quality is much lower? It does not pay at any time to buy a refilled cartridge? Spoil yourself?

To answer these, questions come in contact with Luis Aesthetics (Director of Sales and Marketing for Supplies of Imaging and Printing Group of HP) and even tried to get answers from a company remanufactured, but not successful.

The quality

Consumers who own a printer for home use hardly feel any difference in the quality of the prints.However, to uncover the truth made a crucial question for HP:

"The quality of original cartridges is much higher? The remanufactured products are not able to generate good results for simple documents? "Although a little getaway to the theme, the director of sales just responding to what we wanted:

"There are studies conducted by outside laboratories, which confirm the original HP cartridge as the best option for customers. According to the latest study by BRTUV, the HP original cartridges yield, on average, twice what the alternative cartridges , and hardly fail, while not original have failure rates exceeding 30% (1 in 3 has a fault).

In the case of toner cartridges, recent studies conducted by Quality Logic, indicate that the failure rate of alternative products is about 40%, while the originals hardly fail. Not to mention the print quality and reliability. For this reason, HP is concerned to provide the best quality possible, with maximum reliability at cost-effective for your client. "However, considering the viewpoint of the consumer who just wants to print simple documents, it's nothing complain about the quality. Only one person can claim to look at clinical quality cartridge documents and images easy.

Possible defects

In theory the refilled cartridge should behave as an original, because, in some cases the packaging used is exactly the same. To not get much merit in this, we chose to hear from a professional:

"Cartridges remanufactured (refilled) spoil the printer?" Stressing that the quote above, he replied:

"The carcasses of using remanufactured cartridges used cartridges (empty), which already had their normal wear and tear to which they were designed, and non-original ink or toner. As a result, these products have lower print quality to the original cartridges and high levels of crashes when compared to new cartridges.

These may be print, causing the waste of printed paper (paper, time spent, etc.) or technical failure such as leakage of ink or toner. These leaks can damage the printer since the toner or ink can be spilled on traction, logic circuit or other sensitive parts of the printer, impairing their function or causing more serious damage. "Guarantees

Who is concerned about the life of your product should be aware of some factors when using a remanufactured cartridge. So we made one more question for HP:

"The consumer loses the warranty if you use a cartridge like this?"

The manufacturer responds to that question as follows:

"The loss of the guarantee is given only if there is a problem caused by misuse or by a situation of failure of the cartridge is not original (a leak, for example), duly certified, which damaged equipment within the warranty period."

So you may well use remanufactured cartridges, but if you unlucky enough to ruin the printer just the fault of a cartridge problem, know that your warranty has big chances to be annulled.Furthermore, it is important to remember that a company rarely remanufactured will give refund or pay for the repair of your printer.

Cost-benefit

The consumer has to buy ink every single month is impressed with the amount of money you spend to replenish your printer that uses five or six cartridges. Building on the theme, we launched one more question for the manufacturer HP:

"The decision to create up to six printers Ordering cartridges or pyramiding cheapened products for the consumer?"

The answer is obviously related to the different user profiles:

"All the technological development of HP over the years, designed to provide maximum quality, speed, yield the most cost-effective manner possible. The investments made by HP enabled the consumer to have access to high quality products, with prices starting at U.S. $ 24.90 (ink cartridges for use every day - Everyday).

The fact that a printer take 2, 4 or 6 cartridges is related to equipment technology and type of use they are intended and not to an increase or reduction of product cost. One example is some of the OfficeJet Pro line of printers that are suitable for professional use and offer the lowest cost per page available today.

The OJ PRO 8500, which uses four separate cartridges (1 Black and 3 Color), arrives to offer 50% reduction in cost per page, when loaded with high-capacity cartridges for HP (XL line), compared to some printers color laser. "

Buy or not buy? That is the question ...

We have made other inquiries to the Director of Sales at HP, but the responses cited in the text are sufficient for you to decide soon the best cartridge to use in your printer. The first of the answers is important: for those who prize quality assurance and above all must surely opt for the original cartridge.

Who wants to save and use the printer to print ordinary documents, which do not require an absurdly high quality, may well buy a remanufactured cartridge because the results are not disappointing. However, the user of remanufactured cartridges should always be aware of possible defects that void the warranty.

And you, dear user? Using original cartridges or refilled? Have you had any problems with your printer supplies?

Battery4Life - How is the battery of your laptop?

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:19:00 +0000

This weekend I got to a USB flash drive to test the Internet and decided to do some testing at some sites. As needed for mobility, I left the charger in the car and only got support from the energy level of the battery. I turned on the laptop and within minutes turned off ... awesome!!Little or nothing I could do. In conversation with a colleague told me that he once had found an application to test my gateway battery, Battery4Life.

Battery4Life is an application designed for laptops that allows you to monitor and control the use of your battery. After some tests I realized that my battery hits a record time of 2min ... that's right 2 min. and the meter seems more of an end of a game.

To get an idea, as did two screens for this article, my battery dropped from 73% to 48% (I had to immediately put the charger, since the application began to give way).

Options

Emits sounds when a certain percentage of battery

Information about time remaining

Big Red Screen "warning

License: Freeware
Operating Systems: Windows XP/Vista/Win7 (32 or 64 bits)
Homepage: Battery4Life

Charge All Your Laptop & Gadgets with the Chargepod V2

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:53:00 +0000

Callpod showcased the Chargepod V2 on Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010. The original Chargepod was one of the best multi-device charger on the market, now they've upgraded it with more power to not only charge your smaller gadgets but now laptops as well. The new multi-charger will let you travel with just one charger.

One side charges your laptop or Macbook, and another will charge up to three devices such as cell phones, MP3 players or Bluetooth headsets. The third side has a powered 3 port USB hub for music & data transfer and can connect peripherals such as keyboards and mice along with other gear to the computer attached to it. You can customize it to fit your device with adapters. It comes with a carrying case and a PC/Mac data cable and some adapters and you can buy others if your device isn’t among the ones included. This is a must have accessory for every power user.

Acer recalls six laptop models due to overheating problem

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:56:00 +0000

Acer, Taiwan's biggest manufacturer of pc & laptops, is having to institute a safety recall on six models of laptop due to an overheating threat under specific conditions. Unlike other recall cases, the problem doesn't comes from the acer laptop battery but from a microphone cable which runs underneath where your left palm would normally sit on the laptops.

The overheating occurs if "extreme pressure" is applied repeatedly to that area of the laptop. We don’t know what classes as extreme pressure, but to have a recall means it can’t be that much force.

You will know it is happening as the laptop case will become deformed and if your palm is touching the laptop then it may get burned.

The affected units are Acer Aspire models AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG manufactured prior to September 15, 2009.

There are thought to be around 22,000 units that carry the overheating risk sold between June and October 2009 across multiple retailers.

To find out if your laptop suffers from this problem visit the Acer Voluntary Safety recall page and enter your 22-digit serial number or 11-digit SNID in the box provided.

HP add USB 3.0 in new EliteBook business laptops

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:00:00 +0000

1/6/2010, HP announced that they will add up to three USB 3.0 ports in the latest EliteBook business laptops "EliteBook 8540p" & "EliteBook 8540w workstation" to connect to external devices and peripherals. HP might be the earliest PC vendor to integrate USB 3.0 ports into laptops.

In practice, the bandwidth to transfer data is about 40 MiB/s for USB 2.0 and perhaps potentially 400 MiB/s or more for USB 3.0. This means the USB 3.0 technology will help laptops communicate at a much faster rate with high-speed external devices. For example, it will take about 3.3 secs for moving 1GB of data from a USB 3.0 flash drive to a laptop compared to 33 secs for USB 2.0.

Once we have new update for the battery for HP EliteBook 8540p & HP EliteBook 8540w, we will post it here. For any needs of HP laptop batteries, visit laptoptraveller.com and find a quality one for you!

Toshiba mini NB305 netbook for 11 hours of battery life

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:14:00 +0000

Following the NB205 series of 10-inch netbooks, Toshiba now sports a new look, a full-size keyboard and 11 hours of battery life - mini NB305. For simple build quality and usability, the NB305 might be hard to beat.

In the netbook market, this mini NB305 distinguishes itself from competitors with a full-size keyboard and touchpad. With a 10.1-inch diagonal LED display and Intel Atom N450 processor, the battery life of Toshiba mini NB305 can achieve up to 11 hours.

Another thing worth to be noticed is that the mini NB305 offers a USB port with "sleep-and-charge" tech, which provide another way to charge your smart phone, MP3 player or other portable electronics, even when your laptop is turned off.

The detail spec rundown:

10.1-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite™ backlit LED display (WSVGA)
Windows 7 Starter operating system
Intel Atom N450 processor
1GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, upgradeable to 2GB
Up to 250GB HDD
802.11b/g/n wireless and 10/100 Ethernet
Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR (available on select models)
TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor
Toshiba Bulletin Board
Toshiba ReelTime
Toshiba PC Health Monitor
Weight: 2.6 lbs.
6-cell battery rated for up to 11 hours
One USB port with Sleep-and-Charge4and two USB 2.0 ports
Memory Card Reader Slot
Built-in Webcam, speaker and microphone
One-year international limited warranty, service and support

The Toshiba mini NB305 netbooks will be available on January 12. They’re available from $349.99 to $399.99.

For any needs of Toshiba laptop batteries, you can always find quality parts on www.laptoptraveller.com

IBAM - The Intelligent Laptop Battery Monitor (in Ubuntu)

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:49:00 +0000

IBAM is an advanced battery monitor for laptops, which uses statistical and adaptive linear methods to provide accurate estimations of minutes of battery left or of the time needed until full recharge. This software relies on either APM, ACPI, SYSFS or PMU kernel support to access the battery status.

IBAM solves this problem by creating a battery and charge profile (as seen on the right for my old laptop) from which it can compute the actual times remaining. The red graph represents the battery cycle (where the laptop is running on battery), the x-axis represents the bios-minutes (now bios-percentage), the y-axis the actual average lengths of that minute (percentage) in seconds. As you can see the bios minute was about 50 seconds long from 200 minutes to 60 minutes, and only 10 seconds long from 40 minutes to 20 minutes. No wonder I was surprised that the battery was empty so soon…

The green graph shows the charge cycle, which seems to be a bit more useful, still the same technique can be used to give the user an idea how long the charge process will need.
As soon you created initial profiles you can get the similar graphs for your computer by using the option "--plot".

Of course the computer will consume more energy on a high load and IBAM does take this into account by determining a linear adaptive method for the current cycle.

Install IBAM in Ubuntu
-----------------------------------
sudo apt-get install ibam
-----------------------------------
This will install all the required packages

Using IBAM

Charging batteries:

Laptop is running on batteries

For more available options

Usage
-----------------------------------
ibam [options]
-----------------------------------
Options:

-h, --help displays this message
-v, --version displays software version
-b, --bios show bios apm guesses
-s, --seconds displays times in seconds
-c, --correctseconds displays changes in seconds
-r, --readonly no files will be updated
-a, --all show ALL information
--battery show battery time
--batteryadaptive show adaptive battery time
--batterybios show bios battery time guess
--percentbattery show battery percentage
--percentbios show bios percentage
--charge show charge time
--chargeadaptive show adaptive charge time
--percentcharge show charge percentage
--totalbattery show total battery time
--totalbatteryadaptive show adaptive total battery
--totalcharge show total charge time
--totalchargeadaptive show adaptive total charge
--hardlowlimit[=lim] show user defined hard lower percentage limit
[and set it to value or disable <0> it]
--softlowlimit[=lim] show automatic lower percentage limit
[and lower it to value or diable <0> it]
--plot[=profiles] use gnuplot to plot battery and charge graphs
and plot the last additional profiles
--plotderivations[=profiles] same as above plus standard derivations
--import import V0.1 data from current directory
--profile enable additional yet unused profiling
--noprofile disable additional profiling
--credits to everyone contributing to ibam

Lenovo ThinkPad W510 with 18-Hr Battery Life

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:52:00 +0000

Lenovo will bring their latest ThinkPad notebooks at upcoming CES 2010 in Las Vegas and one of the model is ThinkPad W510.

If the businessmen and women were getting nervous that the latest ThinkPads are getting a bit to consumer looking in design(such as ThinkPad Edge or ThinkPad X100e), not to worry since the ThinkPad W510 features to be the ultimate performance mobile workstation.

It's equipped with the latest Intel dual Core i7 processors to help speed up your workflow. The ThinkPad W510 sports a 15.6-inch "LED" display(and that's why the battery can last for up to 18 hrs) with resolution of 1440×900 pixel (16:10 aspect ratio), up to 16GB of ram, an optional NVIDIA Quadro FX 880m card, 4 USB ports, a choice of quad-core Core i7-720QM, Core i7-820Q or Core 2 Extreme i7-920XM processors. All in a chassis that weighs 5.89lbs and it can manage up to 18 hours of battery life with a 9 cell battery. The new laptops extend individual productivity with never before seen ThinkPad long battery life. Lenovo ThinkPad W510 notebook has priced at $1,599.

10 million Apple's iSlate to be shipped in first year

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:21:00 +0000

According to the reliable sources, an ex-China executive Lee Kai-fu has confirmed as many as 10 million units of Apple tablet computer which is apparently to be shipped in the first year of the release of the device.

"iSlate" which is the codename given to the iPhone-like Apple tablet computer is likely to be tagged below $1,000 with the physical dimension of the multitouch screen of 10.1 inch with three dimensional graphics.

It is rumoured to compete with the Amazon Kindle e-readers and low priced netbooks manufactured from Acer, Hewlett-Packard and Asustek. But its high price can act as deterrent for digital lovers. Also, the shipment of 10 million sales units seems to be quite high figure. It is almost two times the iPhone’s first year sales—which was 5.4 million units.

Since the product is yet not established, the figure seems pretty large but Apple’s a company that make unexpected occasionally happen.

Acer Aspire One 532h Netbook Sports Pine Trail Processor with 10-hour Battery Life

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:59:00 +0000

Acer, the Taiwanese manufacturer, plans to roll out (surprise!) another new netbook, Acer Aspire One 532h, which sports Intel’s latest "Pine trail" Atom N450 processor and Windows 7. Comparing to the previous version, the battery for Acer Aspire One 531h stands for six hours, the Acer Aspire One 532h battery can stand for up to 10 hours for those on-the-go users.

As the Acer’s first netbook with Intel's Pine Trail platform, the new Aspire One netbooks offer mobile users some of the features and performance of a larger notebook, while providing a highly portable, compact design that's easy to take anywhere. Another interesting feature of the Acer Aspire One 532H is its more stylized exterior and a larger keyboard and trackpad.

The Aspire One 532h will be available in a variety of configurations. In red, black, blue, and white colors, but all will feature a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and a 10.1-inch LED-backlight display. Will be available with two types of six-cell batteries: a 5600 mAh unit gives up to 10 hours of use, while a 4400 mAh offers up to 8 hours of usability.
Acer expects the Aspire One 532h’s will be available with MSPR from the $299 to $349 range. Perhaps, we expect to hear more on upcoming CES 2010.

OLPC XO-3 Laptop Concept Design Released

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 06:35:00 +0000

Good folks working on the One Laptop Per Child Project announced that the OLPC XO-2 concept had been shelved and in what appears to be bowing to the hype of tablet form factors, they’ve announced the new XO-3.

OLPC shows off absurdly thin XO-3 concept tablet for 2012 (update: XO-1.5 and XO-1.75 coming first). It’s designed to be thin, sleek, and touch, while continuing to lower power, cost, and material waste. We’ve been anticipating the new designs for a while, and now they’ve arrived! Here are the latest images from the Fuse design team.

Testing a Laptop AC Power Adapter

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:46:00 +0000

This post is going to show you how to verify that an Laptop AC power adapter is working properly for you. If your laptop computer shows any of the following symptoms then you should test your AC adapter to make sure if there is any problem of it.

a. The laptop will not turn on when it is connected to the AC adapter .
b. The monitor does not turn on when the laptop is connected to the AC adapter .
c. The power LED of the adapter is off when the laptop is connected to the AC adapter .

Troubleshoot the AC adapter
Use the following steps to verify whether the AC adapter is working:

Step 1. Remove the laptop battery from the battery compartment.
Step 2. Plug the AC adapter directly into a wall outlet (a functioning one). Do not plug into a power strip, surge protector or secondary power source.
Step 3. Connect the other end of the AC adapter into the laptop computer.
Step 4. Ensure all the connections are not loose.
Step 5. Press the Power button on the computer.

If the LED is on , then the AC Adapter is functioning properly.
If the LED is off , the AC adapter needs to be replaced. Check LaptopTraveller.com for information on obtaining a replacement AC power adapter.

Laptop Not Power On?

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:56:00 +0000

There are many people having power on issue with their laptop. If the laptop computer is out of warranty and you do not intend on investing the amount of money for a "board-level" repair, it is recommended that you try the methods below to reassemble the laptop and try to power it on again. If you get power, you are lucky, and it only cost you time!

Please do the following items and/or verify them:

1. Laptop Battery or AC Adapter Problem
Try taking the battery out of the laptop and then power it on with AC power only.
Power on with battery only without AC Adapter.
RESOLUTION: Buy a new laptop battery or power cord.
(Info about How to choose a laptop battery)

2. External Device or PCMCIA/CARDBUS removal
Disconnect all USB devices
Inspect all USB ports to ensure they are not broken and causing a short on the system.
Disconnect all Firewire devices
Disconnect all HDMI devices
Disconnect all external VGA devices
Eject and remove all PCMCIA/CARDBUS adapters
Eject and remove all memory stick cards
Disconnect all parallel printers or parallel devices
Disconnect all serial printers or serial devices
RESOLUTION: Replace device causing the issue or fix port if the port is broken.

3. System Memory
Power off the laptop
Disconnect the AC adapter from the laptop
Remove the battery from the laptop
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
Prevent static charge - preferably using a wristband
Remove the System Memory (RAM) cover
Remove the system memory out of the laptop
Plug the laptop in
Attempt to power on the laptop - listen for system beeps
Unplug the laptop
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
Reinstall the RAM into the laptop
Replace the cover
Plug in the AC adapter
Attempt to power on the laptop
RESOLUTION: Replace the memory if the system powers on with the memory out, but does not power on with the memory in

4. Hard disk drive
Power off the laptop
Disconnect the AC adapter
Remove the battery
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
Ground yourself to prevent static discharge - preferably with a grounding wrist strap
Remove the hard drive screws
Remove the hard drive out of the system
Plug the AC Adapter in
Attempt to power on the laptop - listen for system beeps or watch for BIOS information
Unplug the laptop
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
Reinstall the hard disk drive
Reconnect the AC Adapter
Attempt to power on the laptop
RESOLUTION: Replace the hard disk drive if the system powers on with the drive removed, but does not power on with the drive installed.

If none of the resolutions or tests provide any insight into the issue then you must disassemble the laptop part for part while attempting to regain power to the system. This includes optical drives and all add-in cards, such as WiFi, bluetooth, or any other factory or non-factory installed cards! If you reach the bare motherboard on the system and the system will not power on, you have a "board-level" issue to contend with. In most cases repairing this type of issue is not worth the cost associated.

Panasonic New Battery - Power Your House For a Week

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:11:00 +0000

Panasonic is charging into the green space headlong — first with deals to supply batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles — and now announcing that it will launch a massive lithium-ion storage battery capable of powering an average home for up to a week, the company says.

This is significant for two reasons. First, if home batteries like this one become commonplace, renewable sources of energy like rooftop solar and residential turbines could finally take off. The biggest roadblock to their adoption is that they are intermittent; reliable storage is needed to make them effective. Second, if affordable storage is achieved on the home-level, there might be less need for grid-scale storage, which is pricier and harder to accomplish.

The announcement is hastened by Panasonic’s acquisition of a more than 50 percent stake in Sanyo, making the company a battery manufacturing powerhouse that could trounce almost everyone else in the market, including A123Systems, Johnson Controls-Saft, Valence Technologies, and others. Becoming the earliest entrant into the home storage space would solidify its dominance.

Panasonic, which says it has already thoroughly tested this technology, plans to bundle its storage device with a home energy monitoring system that would allow users to view how much power they are using and how much it is costing them right on their television displays. This could make the company a major player in the smart grid arena as well.

Depending on how successful Panasonic is at marketing its household battery (and bringing down the cost), it could become a formidable competitor for fuel-cell makers like Clear Edge Power. Fuel cells also allow for low-emission operations, converting natural gas into electricity and recycled heat. But they don’t store electricity for use later, which is a major need for alternative energies to gain traction.

Panasonic, which scored a deal to supply batteries to Tesla Motors in October, has already successfully pushed automotive battery makers out of the market, like Imara, which shuttered earlier this month. Valence, being kept afloat by a new contract with Smith Electric Vehicles, could be next if it doesn’t move fast. In any case, it will have a head start, with Panasonic’s storage system not hitting stores until 2011.

Gateway 400Sd4 Ac Adapter Charging Problem

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:03:00 +0000

If your Gateway 400Sd4 Ac Adapter is not powering your laptop, here are some simple steps you can do before you get a new AC adapter

1) Check the AC Adapter

Take your battery and ac adapter out and then reseat the Battery and the AC Adapter. Check for any damaged connections or connectors.

2) Update the BIOS (Basic Input-Output System )
A computer’s Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) is embedded software on a motherboard that will control attached hardware. It provides an operating system with information about hardware, and is designed to support a specific range of components. An out of date BIOS can cause Unknown AC Adapter issues. Visit the the your laptop manufacturer’s website to for latest BIOS updates specific to your computer.

The 2 steps above are not limited to Gateway Ac Adapter only. After you have done the above and your power cord is still now working, it is time for you to get a new one. It costs you an arm and leg to get the OEM AC adapters ( Original Equipment Manufacturer, for example,if your laptop is DELL, a DELL AC adapter is OEM adapter). Aftermarket AC adapters are perfect solution to this. They usually cost only 1/2 or 1/3 of the OEM ones and they work the same.
You might notice that PowerUP AC adaptors have a higher mAh rating than the original one supplied with your laptop, this will NOT affect your laptop in any way. It is very important that the voltage is the same however so please do check this before using your new laptop ac adaptor.

Common Questions for Choosing a Laptop Battery

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:53:00 +0000

Here are the most common questions you might ask and you need to know before buying a laptop battery for your notebook computer:

Can I upgrade my Laptop Battery to a newer chemistry?
There are several types of chemistries: Nickel Cadmium (NiCad), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) or Li-Ion Polymer (Li-Polymer). Different battery chemistries cannot be substituted unless the laptop has been pre-configured in the factory to accept more than one type of rechargeable battery. Each chemistry type requires a different charging pattern to be properly energized.

How Are Batteries Rated?
There are two ratings on a battery, Voltage (V) and Milliamp-hours (mAh). Voltage is the rate at which energy is drawn from a battery. Milliamp-hours represents the capacity of the battery. This is a unit of measurement for battery capacity, obtained by multiplying a current flow in amperes by the time in hours of discharge. (Example: A battery which delivers 5 amperes for 20 hours delivers 5 amperes times 20 hours, or 100 ampere-hours.)

What if the "mAh" rating is different to my original battery?
The mAh rating represents the capacity of the battery. The capacity is affected by the number of batteries in the battery pack. The capacity is increased by linking the cells in parallel. If the mAh rating is higher than the original battery, then the replacement battery will run for a longer time, if the rating is lower then the replacement battery will run for a shorter time.

Can I use a battery which has a different voltage rating than my original battery?
No, the voltage rating has to match that of the original battery or as recommended by the computer manual. Using a battery with a different voltage setting can damage the laptop.

Related Reading: Choose a Correct Laptop Battery – How?

HP Mini 311 Review & Battery Accessories

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:05:00 +0000

The HP Mini 311 is the latest and greatest in the carrier-subsidized netbook offerings we've seen, and besides its small size, this netbook comes closest in performance to what we'd expect from a larger, more expensive notebook. The Mini 311 is stylish and easy to use, and since it weighs just 3.22 lb2., it's easy to carry around. With the NVIDIA Ion graphics chipset driving the machine, it was capable of handling higher quality video and even online games better than any other netbook we've seen. Plus, instead of the tired old Windows XP operating system, the HP Mini 311 now runs Windows 7 Home Premium, a full-fledged OS with a great user interface that's more polished and reliable than its predecessor. It still suffers from the problems that plague portable computers this size. With a large screen and 1080p HD video playback, the Mini 311 is great for surfing the Web. There's no optical drive, which makes it difficult to actually load the games that will show off the NVIDIA Ion, though you can buy an external drive from HP. Storage and RAM are a bit anemic, and the trackpad is absolutely tiny. In the end, though, if you were looking for a netbook with a ubiquitous WWAN option, there isn't a better subsidized option than the HP Mini 311. Release: September 2009. Price: $200.

THE GOOD: Nvidia Ion graphics adds HD video and basic gaming functionality; reasonably priced; high-def display.

THE BAD: Annoying touch pad; streaming Flash video support for new Nvidia Ion graphics is spotty; $20 extra for a white lid, seriously?

THE BOTTOM LINE: HP's Mini 311 adds a larger, high-definition display and advanced graphics to a basic Netbook, while keeping the price very appealing. Once it starts shipping with Windows 7, this could become our favorite Netbook.

Find more netbook power accessories on LaptopTraveller.com:
HP Mini 110 Ac Adapters
HP Mini 1101 Battery
Eee PC 1000HA Battery
Acer Aspire One D150 Power Cords
Aspire One D250 Rechargeable Battery

ThinkPad X60 Tablet 4-Cell Li-Ion Battery 40Y8314

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Carry a spare ThinkPad X60 Tablet Li-Ion Battery so you can stay unplugged longer!
4 Cell Li-Ion Battery: 40Y8314 (3 hours average battery life )
8 Cell Li-Ion Battery: 40Y8318 (7 hours of system run time)
http://www.laptoptraveller.com/battery-ibm-thinkpad-x60-tablet-laptop-notebook-accessories.html

Battery life (and recharge time) depends on many factors including screen brightness, applications, features, power management, battery condition and other customer preferences.

The ThinkPad X60 Tablet 4 Cell Battery features:
• Lithium-Ion technology
• 14.4 V, 2.0 Ah
• Three-hour average battery life
• Notched design to accommodate tablet screen swivel hinge for notebook or convertible tablet operation
• Standard system battery specifications
• Over-discharge protection
• Product approvals/certifications: CE MARK, CUL, C-Tick, UL-1950

http://www5.pc.ibm.com/europe/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_92P1009

Monitoring Laptop Battery Power

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:09:00 +0000

After purchasing a laptop battery, before
using the battery to power the laptop notebook, you must charge the
battery. LaptopTraveller.com gives you some tips about how to check laptop battery power when chariging.

Usually, the laptop’s battery light gives you an indication of
the main battery’s current charge:

Glows amber while the main battery is being charged
(AC adaptor connected)
Glows green when the main battery is fully charged.
Is unlit when the battery has discharged, the battery is not
charging, or the AC adaptor is not plugged into the computer or AC outlet.

Flashes amber when the main battery charge is low and it is time to recharge the main battery or plug in the AC adaptor.

Note: If the AC power light flashes amber during charging, either the
battery pack is malfunctioning, or it is not receiving correct
input from the AC power supply. Disconnect the AC power cord/cable and remove the battery pack.

What to Do When the Main Battery Runs Low

When the main battery runs low you can:

Plug the laptop into an external power source and
recharge the main battery
Place the computer into Hibernation mode and replace
the main battery with a charged spare
Connect the laptop to an optional high capacity
battery. (LaptopTraveller.com provides selections of high capacity laptop batteries for most models of notebooks/laptops)
Save your work and turn off the computer
If you do not manage to do any of these things before the
main battery completely runs out of power, the computer
automatically enters Hibernation mode and turns itself off.
Hibernation mode keeps track of where you were, so that
when you turn on the power again, you can continue where
you left off.

To avoid losing any data, save your files and then either completely shut down your computer or put it into Hibernation mode before changing the main battery. Do not remove the battery pack while the computer is in Standby Mode. Data is stored in RAM, so if the computer loses power it will be lost. When the computer is powered off in Standby Mode, and the AC adaptor is not connected, the main battery pack supplies power to maintain data and programs in memory. If the battery pack is completely discharged, Standby Mode does not function and the laptop pc loses all data in memory.

Toshiba Satellite L500/505 - Affordable Laptop PC

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:28:00 +0000

Toshiba has announced new Satellite notebooks - Toshiba Satellite L500/505 Laptop ,to be positioned in the manufacturer's L-series. Toshiba's student-targeted budget line of laptops, the Satellite L series, comes in three flavors, all with 16x9 TruBrite LED-backlit displays and a large variety of configurations.

Some Pre-configured models:

The Satellite L500/505 (starting at $549.99) - comes with a 15.1-inch screen
The Satellite L510/515 (starting at $649.99) - has a 13.4-inch screen, but a thinner chassis
The Satellite L550/555 (starting at $649.99) - 16.4-inch screen

6-Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack: Part Number: PA3534U-1BRS
High Capacity 12-Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack: Part Number: PA3727U-1BRS
120-Watt AC Adapter : 19V x 6.3A output: PA3717U-1ACA

Toshiba PA3727U-1BRS Primary High Capacity 12-Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:18:00 +0000

The Toshiba Primary High Capacity Battery Pack is a 12-cell, rechargeable, Lithium Ion battery is designed to work with select Toshiba Satellite series portable computers. Used as either a spare or replacement battery, this battery pack meets or exceeds the specifications of the original battery that came with your notebook. It interfaces with the TOSHIBA Power Saver Utility, found on the notebook, which features a charge indicator to help you monitor the available power.

Take your office on the road without sacrificing performance, productivity or convenience with Toshiba Notebook battery packs. Battery power gives you the ability to use your computer around the house, office, on campus and when traveling. Enhanced battery life helps you stay connected and productive wherever your work takes you.

Features:

Snaps in and out of battery slot in seconds
Genuine Toshiba quality and reliability
Meets or exceeds original battery
Additional battery pack provides extended power to work and play without worries

Specification:

Capacity: 10.8V x 9000 mAh
No. of Battery Cell: 12-cell
Dimension & Weight: 1.97” W X 10.87” L x 1.71” H; 1.37 lb
Compatible with Toshiba Satellite A500, A505, A505D, L500, L500D, L505, L505D, L550, L555 and L555D; Satellite Pro L550 series portable computers
RoHS compliant
Battery Life: 3 hours 53 minutes ~ 7 hours 10 minutes* (Normal Mode)
Recharge Time (Main Off/On): 4.5 Hours / 10.5 ~ 21.5 Hours
Battery life may vary considerably depending on product model, configuration, applications, power management settings and features utilized, as well as the natural performance variations produced by the design of individual components. Published battery life numbers are achieved on select models and configurations tested by Toshiba at the time of publication. Recharge time varies depending on usage. Battery may not charge while computer is consuming full power. After a period of time, the battery will lose its ability to perform at maximum capacity and will need to be replaced. This is normal for all batteries.
In the box: Toshiba Li Ion Battery Pack, EU Declaration and Safety Instruction Manual
One-year limited warranty

*Measured by MobileMark™

ASUS G51 Series Gaming Laptop

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:06:00 +0000

ASUS G51VX a gaming powerhouse which snared the 'Best Choice' award in the Digital Entertainment Products category at the recently-concluded COMPUTEX 2009

The G51vx use the same batteries as the G50 series (A32-M50 p/n)
6-cell 53Wh 11.1v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery

ASUS A32-M50 battery Replaces part numbers:
A32-M50 15G10N373800 90-NED1B2100Y

Sony VAIO X Series

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:15:00 +0000

Setting a new standard in battery life, the Sony VAIO X Series’ battery life is good rather than great and a heavy use time of almost four hours is bettered by many much cheaper notebooks. The laptop comes with two interchangeable batteries: a standard VGP-BPL19 battery(3.5-hour) and VGP-BPX19, a larger, heavier, battery-and-stand combo that supposedly lasts for up to 14 hours. The large capacity 20-hour VGP-BPX19 battery that clips to the base, but this adds to the size and weight — defeating the whole point of spending so much on so slim a laptop in the first place.

Series: VAIO X Series
Model:
VPCX118LG/B
VPCX115LG/N
VPCX113KG/B

VGP-BPX19 Battery

Battery Type	Lithium-Ion Sony laptop battery (VGP-BPX19)
Battery Life (min)	480
Battery Charging Time (min)	140
Battery Life Disclaimer	Actual battery life will vary depending on your specific hardware and software configurations. Benchmark: MobileMark 2007
AC Adapter	VGP-AC10V5

VGP-AC10V5 AC Adapter

Output: Voltage (V)	10.5
Output Current (A)	2.9
Power Consumption Without Load (W)	0.3 or less
Number of Pins	3
Supplied Accessories	Operating instructions, Power cord

Amazingly thin and light; great battery life with extended battery; faster than other Netbooks.

Update: Check out the new Sony product just released on 6/8: Sony VAIO J

Dell Inspiron 1545 Laptop

noreply@blogger.com (LaptopTraveller) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:07:00 +0000

"Dell's most popular laptop", the Inspiron 1545 (also known as the Inspiron 15), is a sturdily constructed, affordable, mid-range machine that is extremely customisable so can be configured to be suitable for most needs, though higher spec models can get quite expensive.
Get up to 8 hours and 7 minutes of battery life1 with the 6-cell Dell Inspiron 1545 battery!

Manufacturer Part# C601H
Dell Part# 312-0763
Technology: 6-cell lithium ion

48 WHr capacity lets you work seamlessly while on the move
Offers reliable power for dependable performance
Supported by Dell Technical Support when used with a Dell system

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Power/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=312-0763