Quote:
Originally Posted by TechniSol
For the last few years most Lithium batteries have been rated for 500+ discharge/recharge cycles. The thing is that to get the "+" part mostly requires shallower discharge cycles and recharge cycles slow enough to limit heating to a minimum. Now, that's not to say your battery will only last 500 cycles, or that capacity will remain anywhere near 100%, but as low as 80% usually makes very little difference for most applications... With shallower discharges one might get nearer 1000 cycles, but overall still probably only ever draw the same amount of power, or a bit more, from the battery over time.
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Actually the 500 refers to full recharge/discharge charge cycles but ironically discharging it completely can shorten its life span. For lithium based batteries it's recommended that you don't really get below 20% too often. And yeah, the number they give refers to how it is before your capacity drops too much. You can keep on charging for a long time after that, just the charging will take longer and won't hold anywhere near as long. But anyways, the issue of battereies is a complicated one with many myths and legends (like charging your device for 24 hours when you first get it which is a carry over from the nickel based batteries). The point is that ereaders should last for years. And yes, the battery is a consumable even if it's not user replaceable since it has a limited shelf life, every time you recharge it you're consuming part of its shelf life (though arguably this can make the entire device a "consumable" as if the battery is not replaceable it too has a limited shelf life).