Does the Prius battery discharge rule apply to cell phone batteries?

I never let my battery go too low. My phones last well over the 2 years and my current one shows no signs of having difficulty either. I usually just finally decide to upgrade.

 

The biggest damage you're likely to do with a cell phone battery is charge it too much, from what I've seen. The bottom line is the phone chargers are quite dumb, and don't care how long your battery lasts. They could be made smarter for a few more cents, but what incentive does the phone maker have to protect your battery when they could be selling you a new one? Current cell phone batteries last on average of about two years regardles of how you treat them, so my advice is to just charge them in the way that is most convenient for you, and plan on needing new ones in two or three years.

EVs and the Prius take great pains to protect the battery. You can't buy a new one for $25! We have 10-year-old Rav4EVs on the road with over 160k miles on them... with about 2% loss in capacity! And these are charge-depletion vehicles, unlike the Prius. Quite a bit different from the cell phone experience, eh?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 17 2006, 11:27 PM) [snapback]257374[/snapback]</div>

Right on the money.

Charge your phone whenever you want to. Just unplug the thing when it says it's full.

 

Additonally, litium ion batteries have a shelf life, whether you use them or not. Oxidation inside the battery eventually degrades it's capacity. This aging begins at manufacuring time, regardless as to whether the battery is used or not.

The shelf life is around 1 and 1/2 to 2 years (at least for the notebook batteries I've read about). And like I said, it starts at manufacturing time, not first use. You've had your phone for just over a year, but the battery is probably a couple of months older than that. Still seems a little bit short, but it's approaching the self life.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ May 18 2006, 08:47 AM) [snapback]257419[/snapback]</div>

I sure hope the new lithium Prius batteries manage to last longer than that.

Maybe it's 'planned obsolescence' that kills current batteries, and Toyota's plan is for a longer run...

 

Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium Ion batteries do not exhibit a memory effect, so you can recharge them anytime. I recharge mine after use, and keep them topped off. Nickel Cadmium batteries do exhibit a memory effect, so they need to be completely discharged periodically. Lead-Acid batteries should not be deeply discharged, and should be kept fully charged.

The new battery charging chips do a good job not over-charging, so you should be able to leave a phone plugged in. If you have an old charger, or a crappy phone, then you need to unplug it when it is charged.

Never charge a battery with the wrong type of charger. Not only can you ruin the battery, but there is a risk of fire and explosion.

On that note, there are a lot of counterfeit battery packs on the market these days. They are made to fit phones, cameras, and other high-volume consumer items, but they are not made to the same specs as the OEM battery packs. There have been a number of fires and explosions associated with these cheap knock-off battery packs. The problem has become so wide spread that many of the new charger chips feature systems to validate genuine battery packs and refuse to charge phony ones.

Tom

 

I've had my SE t637 for about 2 years now. I try to avoid going into the "red" zone, and the battery is going pretty strong still (albiet, seems to hold less charge).

I have a charger at home and in the car to keep it topped off especially since the Prius BT drains the life out of the celphone.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Amyshubby @ May 17 2006, 10:35 PM) [snapback]257360[/snapback]</div>

Having had laptops and cellphones (I have a RAZR also), I agree with the other posters. Dont overcharge; the chargers are not smart and will not shut down when they detect the battery is full. I recharge my phone when I get down to 25% charge and am careful not to overcharge (company phone...if I overcharge and battery goes out, I pay for the cost of a new battery!)

 

You may want to take a look at Battery University. It has some charging information.