Quote:
Originally Posted by cybmole
...PS from what I read of lithium battery technology - sittting on a shelf for a year does no harm at all. batteries are good for x thousand recharges.
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Li-Ion batteries have a low discharge rate when unused (i.e. they lose their charge much more slowly than NiCd or NiMH, for example) as Phil_C says.
BUT they do deteriorate by losing capacity with age, even when sitting unused. I don't have any right up to date data from battery manufacturers but that a few years ago stated around 20% loss in capacity per year. So after one year the capacity of a 1,000mAh would reduce to 800mAh, to 640mAh after the second, etc.
I suspect that they may have improved over the last couple of years, including with the introduction of Li-Poly (which is the same chemistry) in some devices, but the loss of capacity with age is a significant disadvantage and it is unwise to buy old stock.