New Battery or Battery Conditoner?

[AppleDuck]

I have an iBook G4 that I bought refurbished about two years ago. When I first got it, the battery would last for about six hours of average use.

A few months ago, I noticed that it was only lasting four or five hours. Then, within the past month or so, it has only been lasting two or two and a half hours.

I figure I will need a new battery soon. My dad said that two years of life out of one battery is pretty good, especially since it was used when I bought it.

I downloaded Coconut Battery and it says I've used 314 battery cycles and my battery has 45% of its original capacity.

So, within the next few months, I'll have to get a new battery. My dad sent me a link to a 'Battery Conditioner' which claims to restore an old battery to its factory capacity. It's more expensive than a new battery from the Apple store. But, it would be worth it if it actually works, since I plan on keeping my iBook for a long time.

Here's a link to the 'Battery Conditioner'.
Click Here!

Has anyone used one of these before? Does it work? Or is it just a scam? Would it be better to buy this thing or just buy a new battery?

 

[misterredman]

I haven't tried the conditioner, but I would get a new battery. It's normal for a battery to lose it's capacity with the use. I don't think the conditioner may really restore it completely, epsecially if you followed the basic guidelines from Apple about the battery. On the other side if you have more than one battery a conditioner may be useful to keep all the batteries at their best.
It's important to use the battery power from time to time and calibrate it to have the mac display the true capacity. Use the AC adapter when you don't need the portability, to save on the cycles count.

If the conditioner price was much lower than a new battery I would give it a try but it's not the case.

Also check this battery recall program from Apple:

https://support.apple.com/ibook_powerbook/batteryexchange/main?id=qp

And Fastmac batteries for mac. I read good reviews about those batteries:

http://store.fastmac.com/advanced_s...d=4&manufacturers_id=2&pfrom=99.95&pto=129.95

 

[AppleDuck]

Thanks!

My iBook is a 14 inch, so it's not eligible for the battery exchange thing.

Anyone ever buy a battery from http://www.freshbattery.com/ ? Their batteries are even cheaper than Fast Mac.