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How Do PDA Manufacturers Try to Trick You 
into Buying a (Yet Another) Brand New Unit?

ATTN: PDA OWNERS. Did you know manufacturers are trying to trick you into buying new PDA units sooner than you would have wanted? Here’s how they do it.

Not all PDA’s were designed with a rechargeable battery. The reason for that is pretty clear: manufacturers would rather you buy a complete new unit and shell $300-$500 instead of $50 - $100 for a new battery. For what is the use of a PDA if you can not take it on the road? 

But not all manufacturers were created equal so some do include rechargeable batteries with their PDA’s. Not that they’d tell you though. On the contrary, if you call Sony, Handspring or Palm for a battery part number, you will get a very suave customer service representative who will tell you that you can not change the battery in your PDA. They will admit that it is possible but they do not… recommend it. Nor do they carry it. Suffice it to say that it is possible, even advisable.

Rechargeable batteries are great for adding extended life to your device, and their cells are lighter than regular cells; but they also have a limited number of charge-discharge cycles. All recent PDA models use Lithium-Ion or Lithium Polymer cells that have a life of only 300-400 cycles. If you are an avid PDA user you might wear out the battery in a little over a year! That is quite convenient for Palm, or other manufacturers. Now that the warranty is out, if you call them for a battery replacement they will tell you about their new $499 model, since the battery is not available anymore (if it ever was).

Internal batteries are quite sophisticated, bound to confuse Radio Shack employees. Save your time and don’t try it. PDA batteries are custom made to fit the available space the engineers designed for this purpose. They also have built-in protection circuits and proprietary connectors that require substantial tooling investments.

Buying a refurbished battery from small time vendors that dismantle PDAs for parts is also not advisable. These are used batteries that have a few charges left in them, guaranteed to fail.

Laptops for Less sells new, rechargeable PDA batteries, with a 1 year warranty. A complete tool kit and instructions are included with the package, so you have everything you need to replace your PDA battery. The company engineers and manufactures these batteries according to manufacturers’ specifications and they are guaranteed to work.

See our catalog of PDA batteries at www.pdainternalbattery.com

Related articles: 

>> Extend the life of your PDA battery.

>> Five signs that your PDA battery might be dying.

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