by: Eric Comforth

There are several cell phone replacement battery choices on the market, some better than others. Here we will explore a few of the options out there.

Basically, there are four different types of cell phone battery:

• Nickel Cadmium Batteries (NiCd): These are the oldest type of cell phone battery. To counter the problem of "memory effect" which lessens the life of the battery, they must be fully discharged before being recharged. This is obviously more time consuming and lessens the efficiency of the cell phone.

• Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries (NiMH): Developed in the 1990s. These batteries are more efficient than the NiCd type. Although prone to some memory effect, they are quicker to recharge than the NiCd and have a battery life up to twice as long.

• Lithium Ion Batteries (Li-Ion): Lithium Ion Batteries are the most popular cell phone batteries today. They are lighter than the NiMH, do not suffer from memory effect and have a 30% longer life.

• Lithium Polymer Battery (Li-Poly): This is the newest cell phone battery technology on the market. Li-Poly batteries enable the most compact of cell phones and their lifespan is more than twice that of Lithium Ion batteries.

It is important that the battery you choose is compatible with your cell phone. This should always be the one recommended by the cell phone's manufacturer and is the best way to ensure that both battery and phone are operating at their optimum performance level.

There have, unfortunately, been incidents where cell phones exploded and caused injury due to overheating and poor quality batteries. Many inferior quality batteries are, in fact, fraudulent copies of brand name cell phone batteries.

Companies such as Nokia, Samsung and Motorola are among the many brands that these cheap cell phone batteries have sought to copy.

Nokia, in its 2003 article entitled "Battery Safety – Issues and Prevention" discusses the growing market in fraudulent batteries. It notes thirty to forty battery explosions reported by Nokia customers. In each of these cases, the battery involved was found to be a non-original battery or fraudulent copy of a Nokia cell phone battery.

Nokia goes on to inform the reader of some signs to look out for when buying a replacement cell phone battery. Look at the label. Is it crooked? Are any words misspelled? Are the words: "Made in China" on the label? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes" the battery is almost certainly a forgery.

The safest way to purchase a replacement cell phone battery is to do so through the manufacturer or an authorised dealer. To do otherwise is to put yourself and, indeed, anyone else who may have access to your cell phone, at the mercy of an inferior battery with possibly dangerous consequences.

So, the time has come for your faithful Communications Assistant to get a new lease of life – or at least a replacement cell phone battery.

To keep the lines of communication open, choose wisely.