Z series aftermarket battery

Hi everyone !

I'm willing to buy a large capacity battery for my new Z series, but I don't want to pay much, as I will be carrying it around only for emergency situations.

I want to buy an aftermarket one, but I couldn't find any. Where should I look for it?

Any suggestions?

 

Try go to Uk sony page, if your from Uk. They sell it here in UK around £220. It's realy expensive. model is VGP-BPL12. http://www.sony.co.uk/product/batteries

 

Unless you have the new VPCZ1, in which case the extended battery is BPL20 at £179 inc VAT. (I ordered one last week, and although they've charged my credit card, I have yet to see it... )

 

From my experience with aftermarket batteries is that you get what you paid for: crap.
Not only do they dont hold as much, you risk the danger of damaging your expensive new sony and exploding batteries is a real danger to yourself.

I say save a bit and get the geniune sony.

 

I got mine from ebay - delivered all the way from Hong Kong (£99 original) - I paid less than half the price of a new one at the sony website

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=...pBatteries&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

 

^ that is for the extended battery of the old Z series, i.e. VGP-BPL12

 

I just ordered the extra capacity battery from Newegg. Lowest price I've found (from a reputable reseller).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834996648

As for 3rd party or after market batteries go, they scare me. Not including the risk to the laptop's internals, I prefer getting the supported part to avoid fires.

It is a small risk, but these batteries have a massive amount of stored energy. I only put things I trust near my crotch area

 

to me, I'll purchase Tekkeon's mp3450 from amazon, it is cheap, charges multiple devices. For 200 bucks, you will get 100Wh of battery juice(2x batteries). I have been using them for several months, and it is very convenient. This way, you maintain the light weight of z11, whenever you need juice, plug it in and charge! Simple as that.

 

I have one of these:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wootsaleima...18000_mAh_Portable_Battery_Back_eooDetail.jpg

Works ok

 

@joseph_lin:

The difference is lagging around another piece of hardware and cables vs. just plugging in extended battery. Also, extended battery adds a convenient tilt to keyboard and improves airflow at the bottom of laptop. But it makes access to MS/SD card slots and audio sockets slightly (after all, it's not that hard to lift front of the laptop for a moment) more difficult.

 

Actually, you can leave the Sony charger at home if you have one of the external charger batteries. Just take the battery unit and its AC adapter.

These units are highly recommended if you travel. I sometimes allow the laptop to recharge inside my bag. It's also nice to charge your phone at the same time.

The energizer unit would recharge a completely dead standard battery in my old Z about 1.5 times. I haven't done it with the Z1 yet, but I expect about the same thing.

 

I agree with ZugZug. If I decided to go through all the trouble carrying around another piece of hardware aside from the laptop itself, I'd carry the adapter. I travel as light as possible, while maximizing the battery life.

I might consider getting a second VGP-BPS20. That will boost the battery life up to 14 hours. There is enough room in my BuiltNY backpack for a second normal size battery.

 

First off, how are you getting 7 hours per standard battery? I get 4.5 to 5.5 which is typical.

Anyhoo... I'm pretty neutral on this issue, but you would get more life with the external chargers and the same number of pieces. You don't need the Sony AC adapter.

Option 1:
Laptop + 1 standard capacity battery
Sony AC adapter
Second Sony battery

Option 2:
Laptop + 1 standard capacity battery
External battery charger AC adapter
External charger battery

There would be one more cable (from the charger to the laptop), but that's nothing.

The added benefits of the external charger:
Charge the laptop as you walk around/board/taxi
Charge a MP3 player and/or your phone
No need to hibernate/shutdown to change batteries
It also conditions the incoming power since it is effectively a portable UPS

Like I said earlier, I also ordered an extended battery because I'm a bit nutty that way.

 

Which external battery did you get?

 

Urr...I have the large battery, I don't find it convenient because of the extended part of the battery. It make Z much heavier too. I regret to have large battery as it does not really extend much battery life (1.5 hour or so) but makes z heavier.

The external battery is not heavy at all, you don't need to carry it all the time unlike the large battery, you will plug it in only when you need it.

 

There are situations you cannot even plug your power like on a plane!

 

I did not insist on you using extended battery. When comparing weight, compare difference between extended and standard battery to the external one - you are going to have at least standard battery in the laptop, right?

I used older Z with extended battery on transatlantic flights, took Cooler Master slim 95W adapter with me instead of standard Sony. Worked wonderfully. Hauled it all in Targus 13.3" Radius vertical messenger bag.

Get what you think works best for you.

 

WHAT HE SAID! I like how Sony laptops (and most laptops, for that matter) have the battery by the hinge, far away from that.

Apple laptops tend to have it *right* above that area. Bad if you're sitting in a relaxed position with the front of the computer resting against your torso.

Or worse, imagine if you're laying down and have it on your stomach (watching something), and the battery explodes above your chest.

That'd be freaky. I hate the apple way.

 

How comparable are the weights of options 1 and 2? I've got a CTO on order with the extended battery as I'm often out with the laptop all day with no access to power, but you've got me wondering whether I'd be better off with the external battery and a standard battery. My main concern is weight not number of parts.

Thanks

 

I said "up to" 14 hours

I'd better clarify for what purpose I'm using my laptop. First of all, my intention is to leave my adapter at home, at all times. I don't play games on my computer. I do programming. In most situations, I don't need the external graphics card. I don't use full brightness unless it is plugged in. My windows power schema is set to dim the display after 1 min and turn it off after 3mins. It goes to sleep after 10mins. It hibernates after 30mins. So you can basically say that when I'm not typing, the computer sleeps. It sleeps through lunch breaks.

Under my utilization, the laptop will last even longer than 7 hours per standard battery.

So.

1) Extended battery alone, won't save me. (10 hours won't get me through the work hours)
2) Normal + Extended battery, unnecessary. (I don't need the extra 3 hours on top of 14 hours. I don't work 17 hours
3) Normal + Normal battery will last 9 hours in worst, 14 hours at best cases. Which is quite enough.
4) Normal + External battery will last at least as long. Plus, I won't need to turn off the computer to switch to the external battery. Good. I will have trouble when I'm moving around the office and the factory. Bad. It will look unstylish in Starbucks. Bad. It is not as compact as a normal battery. Bad. Besides, isn't it gonna cost me as much? Then what's the point?

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of external battery. True, you can charge other things on the go, too. But it is useless in my situation.
1) I don't spend more than 24hrs devoid of power jacks.
2) I don't fly intercontinental frequently. Even if I do, I won't need my laptop turned on for more than 2-3 hours.
3) I don't need to charge my blackberry within the day. A single battery gets me through the day.

However, I might buy the external battery on top of the extra battery. Not that I will carry it around, but I will have the option to have unending battery life on overstressed situations.

 

Has anyone actually got good examples of external batteries you could use with the Z?

 

And, the external battery is portable between laptops and devices. You could almost just get just one, and it'll last to your next laptop/device upgrade. Generally cheaper than a Sony-battery + ac-adapter too.

I used to swear by the N-Charge II until that thing failed, but the tip system is now pretty popular in RadioShacks now.

 

Hey ZoinksS2k, I'm very intrigued by the Energizer external battery -- can you tell me if the xp18000 works with the VPC-Z series? Its max current output is rated at 3500mA, lower than the 4700mA from the laptop's AC adapter -- is that sufficient to charge the laptop?

Thanks!

 

Still haven't tried yet.

Edit: Confirmed. The external battery works with my Z1

 

That's great - thanks! Let us know if you're able to get 1.5x standard battery capacity as well when you find yourself in that situation.

 

Oo interesting... I think I may purchase this external battery charger

 

I'm going to run Battery eater on it tonight and see what it will do.

When I'm traveling, I generally leave my Sony charger at home and put the Energizer charger in my carry on or checked luggage. It is somewhat liberating to charge the machine while it is in your laptop bag and the battery is easier to store.

 

Well, not what I expected.

I ran the battery down with battery eater which takes the battery to the critical level then hibernates. Critical level was set at 0%.

I left the Energizer battery on overnight to recharge the laptop. It only took the laptop's charge level to 95%.

Not horrible, but not great either.

 

That not only proves that it is hardly worth the standard battery of the laptop itself, but also a pricier and bulkier solution.

Hmm.

 

Maybe it proves it, maybe not. If I charge my Z to 100% and then let it power off overnight...it's about 95-96% in the am. So it could've charged it 100%, no?

 

That's another story
But, yeah, possible.

 

The Energizer I have is over a year old, so it may have degraded to some point.

That said, I agree. Having two standard or one standard, one extended battery will give longer overall life.

Looks like the standard/extended setup will be the one I use.

 

Try Level 8 Technology