Have you ever noticed how the expensive Lithium-Ion batteries that power many of today’s gadgets seem to wear out long before the devices themselves? Well, as it turns out that’s by design. Many modern batteries are controlled by a chip that’s programmed to render the battery incapable of properly holding a charge after a certain number of charge/discharge cycles. And of course when that happens, you’re stuck with two choices: either purchase of an expensive replacement battery or replace the device altogether.
I don’t know about you, but I find the practice of designing batteries to fail prematurely to be absolutely appalling. Not only does it waste precious natural resources by sending perfectly good batteries to the landfill (really now, how many people actually recycle old cell phones?), it also forces consumers to shell out their hard-earned money to replace a product that has not actually gone bad – sort of reminiscent of the printer ink catridge scam.
But there is a way to fight back. Instead of replacing a device or paying out the nose for an “authorized” replacement battery from the manufacturer, we can buy cheap third party batteries at a much lower cost. Of course Apple, LG, Nokia et al give dire warnings about “unauthorized” batteries possibly damaging their devices, but that rarely happens. And so what if it does? Thanks to the manufacturer the thing is going to have to be replaced anyway well before its “natural” death, so why not take a chance on a $6 battery purchased online before shelling out hundreds of bucks for a new device?
I realize that profit is the bottom line in the world of retail, but I think it’s just awful for companies to use technological sleight of hand to make a product appear to be defective when it really isn’t. Just my personal opinion of course.
Frustrating!