Understanding Cell Phone BatteriesUnderstanding Cell Phone BatteriesThere are three types of cell phone batteries currently available and each has their advantages and disadvantages. The first and oldest type of battery is a Nickel Cadmium or NiCad. NiCad batteries have been around a while and you probably have other cordless devices in your house like a dustbuster that use NiCad batteries. Of the three batteries they are the cheapest but offer the shortest lifespan. They also suffer from a recurring problem known as the memory effect. If you only use 70 % of the battery and then recharge it the battery will develop a memory to only charge 70 % of the time. Eventually the battery will only charge 70% of 70% or about 50% of it total power. If left unchecked the battery will become useless. Every one to two weeks you should completely drain the battery before recharging. This will wipe out the batteries "memory". This still the most common type of battery on the market but it is being steadily replaced by newer types of batteriesThe next type of battery is the nickel metal hydride or NIMH. These batteries weigh about as much a nickel cadmium battery but will offer a longer battery life. In addition they don't suffer from the memory effect. They are more expensive than NiCad but offer a good trade off in price versus battery life. This type of battery is becoming more popular and will probably replace NiCad as the most common type of batteryThe most advanced type of cell phone is the Lithium Ion or Li-ion. This type of battery offers the longest life of al the battery types available and has the lightest weight. However these batteries typically cost much more than a comparable NIMH battery. They are commonly used on large phones where weight is an issue or power hungry feature laden phones Cell Phone Offers