good laptop battery supplier?

Any online source recommended for 3rd party laptop batteries that last longer on a charge and/or cost less than OEM? In my case, it's for a Sony Vaio.

 

You'd be much better off using one from the same make as the manufacturer, in this case Sony. You'd get better technical support should something go wrong and in some cases you get an extended warranty for the laptop, not just the battery.

 

I'm surprised, usually 3rd party manufacturers offer lots of good accessories and parts for popular electronics.

 

Yes but that doesn't stop them offering a good-as customer service and from what I've seen, they'd be more likely to go wrong.

 

ebay. just bought an authentic (albeit used) apple battery for $16 shipped.

 

Avoid the aftermarket batteries made in China. I have 4 customers who have bought them(not at my suggestion) and all 4 of them get down to 20 -26%, start beeping and about 2 seconds later the machine goes dead. We have tried reconditioning the batteries but they still do the same thing. I generally recommend OEM Batteries for the best quality.

 

OK, Sony just happens to have a battery rebate now. They claim the long-life battery gets 1.5 use on a charge vs the standard one. Is this kind of claim usually realistic?

 

Sony batteries are probably made in China.

Anyway, Targus makes aftermarket laptop batteries.

 

The Sony battery may be made in China but is is made to Sony specs, unlike the generic China batteries

 

I don't believe Sony is any better than a decent brand battery, especially considering they like to charge a LOT more.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Sony fan at all, in fact I avoid them like the plague because I don't like the fact that everything they make is so propriatary and then they did that RootKit stuff with CD's. However their spec on batteries for their equipment would exceed the spec on generic batteries. I only run ThinkPads and have over the course of the last 4 years determined that the Genuine IBM batteries perform better and last longer then any generic battery I have tried.

 

I forgot to mention that I never pay IBM's price for batteries. I buy them new on eBay, usually for half the IBM price with warrantee.

 

It's almost impossible to find a real Sony battery on Ebay, despite the auction titles. Clicking through on any of them shows that they're generics. But with the rebate, I can get within about $40 of the generics on a real Sony from a good dealer.

 

When I look on eBay I probably look at 25 or 30 auctions before I find one I want to bid on but I usually save quite a bit of money. I think IBM parts are a little more popular on eBay though.