Laptops with long battery life

[Esther]

I'm looking to buy a laptop with a very long battery life (nothing under 6 hours). I've found that many times this is only possible with an extra battery that causes that laptop to be very bulky. I'm also looking into netbooks where long battery life seems to be a common feature. Anyone know of any for a good price? Thanks.

[Chaikel]

I'm looking to buy a laptop with a very long battery life (nothing under 6 hours). I've found that many times this is only possible with an extra battery that causes that laptop to be very bulky. I'm also looking into netbooks where long battery life seems to be a common feature. Anyone know of any for a good price? Thanks.

Shutting off wifi and bluetooth, and dimming the screen will get most new laptops to about 6 hours

[MarkS]

I have a 9 cell battery. it only sticks out a little and extends my life alot

[elikay]

Btw many laptops will work while plugged in, even if you take out the battery. That makes the battery last longer as it will not get a charge nor will it heat up.

[Dan]

Btw many laptops will work while plugged in, even if you take out the battery. That makes the battery last longer as it will not get a charge nor will it heat up.

Good strategy in theory, but just wait until the plug gets knocked out when you're in middle of a big project that you didn't save yet...

[AsherO]

I'm looking to buy a laptop with a very long battery life (nothing under 6 hours). I've found that many times this is only possible with an extra battery that causes that laptop to be very bulky. I'm also looking into netbooks where long battery life seems to be a common feature. Anyone know of any for a good price? Thanks.

What are you looking to do on the computer for 6 hours? If you're looking to watch 3 DVDs back to back you'll need a ton of power (how much depends a lot on the screen size) to get that.

If you're using MS word to edit word documents, and you don't need wireless, get a netbook with a 4/6 cell battery, turn wireless and bluetooth off, and dim the screen and you should get close to 6 hours on a full charge. While bigger batteries may be bulky relative to the laptop size, on a netbook it won't be so noticeable since they aren't that big in the first place.

Good strategy in theory, but just wait until the plug gets knocked out when you're in middle of a big project that you didn't save yet...

Or you'll get stuck with a battery that isn't completely charged.

[mordys]

Btw many laptops will work while plugged in, even if you take out the battery. That makes the battery last longer as it will not get a charge nor will it heat up.

According to the owner's manual of the new Lenovo i got, the new computers are smart to not start charging to the battery when they are full so leaving it plugged in does not decrease battery life.
http://consumerdl.lenovo.com.cn/UserFiles/UserGuide/en/User's%20guides%20and%20manuals/G455G555/Lenovo%20G455G555%20UserGuide%20V1.0.pdf  page 19

[AsherO]

According to the owner's manual of the new Lenovo i got, the new computers are smart to not start charging to the battery when they are full so leaving it plugged in does not decrease battery life.
http://consumerdl.lenovo.com.cn/UserFiles/UserGuide/en/User's%20guides%20and%20manuals/G455G555/Lenovo%20G455G555%20UserGuide%20V1.0.pdf  page 19

Virtually every battery charger these days is officially 'smart'  in that it has an IC that is supposed to prevent overcharging.

In reality however I'd guess most batteries get charged as they lose their charge over time. Besides, just the heat from the laptop is sufficient to lower a battery's performance.

[Esther]

Turning off wifi isn't an option since I use the internet a lot. Netbooks are starting to appeal to me more than a regular laptop so I'll probably go with that. What's a good one? It's too bad I missed Black Friday sales...oh well...

[AsherO]

Turning off wifi isn't an option since I use the internet a lot. Netbooks are starting to appeal to me more than a regular laptop so I'll probably go with that. What's a good one? It's too bad I missed Black Friday sales...oh well...

Perhaps your best bet is to buy a laptop/netbook with multiple batteries and have them charged and ready to go. That's probably the only way to ensure you'll have 6+ hours of use with wifi.

[Esther]

Perhaps your best bet is to buy a laptop/netbook with multiple batteries and have them charged and ready to go. That's probably the only way to ensure you'll have 6+ hours of use with wifi.

I guess I'll have to give up on the battery life. There's no way I'm carrying around extra batteries with me!

[SuperFlyer]

try the EEE netbooks, but dont get the cheapest ones, using wifi, I get a good 4.5 hours out of it.

no heavy programs though, and use this as a secondary pc, unless you are not very demanding.