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ChumsGum · 02-24-2009, 08:26 PM

HK sellers have flooded eBay with Storm 9500 batts (same batt as 8900) and was wondering if you guys have tried them yet? They're as cheap as $12 with a wall charger.

Cory Scheuer · 02-24-2009, 08:31 PM

DONT!

Thats all i'm going to say... you buy cheap yours going to get cheap... stick with a good company that makes good batteries... either get another OEM battery from RIM or get the seidio ones... battery power is something you dont want to mess with...

david9962000 · 02-24-2009, 10:24 PM

Get it from here: BlackBerry Curve 8900 Batteries - ShopCrackBerry

ChumsGum · 02-24-2009, 10:39 PM

OEM? where's the adventure in that?

well for $12 shipped with the travel charger, i bought it. pray for me.

astevens83 · 02-24-2009, 11:09 PM

I bought one. I think it was 13.50 with free shipping or something. I can provide an item number if someone wants it.

It came from hong kong or china and took forever. when I received it it would not power the phone. I charged it all night but never got anything more than a battery icon with a lightning bolt through it. I contacted the seller and he wanted me to ship it back to him and he would send a replacement, I told him it was not worth it for a 14 dollar battery, and I would leave negative feedback. he didn't want that. so he sent me a new one. I received the new one and it works great. its a slight bit thicker than the stock battery and it eliminates and looseness in the battery cover. over all it compares very well to the stock battery. have not had any issues with this one at all.

recondo · 03-11-2009, 02:28 AM

Chums...any update on your $12 adventure?

Does the battery work? Any noticeable problems with your berry using the generic ebay battery?

Any input is appreciated...need a battery charger for my two (2) OEM batteries and debating on whether I should pick up an OEM charger or take a chance with one of these generic ones...

Thanks...

dasunst3r · 03-11-2009, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Scheuer

DONT!

Thats all i'm going to say... you buy cheap yours going to get cheap... stick with a good company that makes good batteries... either get another OEM battery from RIM or get the seidio ones... battery power is something you dont want to mess with...

Agreed, and here's why: Lithium-ion batteries have a relatively unstable chemistry and must be manufactured correctly with various types of protection. One way these batteries fail is to release a lot of energy in very short order (i.e. explode).

Example: My Curve's OEM battery: 3.7V * 1Ah * 3,600s/h = 13,320 joules of energy. It's no stick of dynamite, but ten bucks says that amount of energy released in less than a second could blow your hand off.

Point is: Lithium-ion batteries are pretty dangerous things. Only buy from trusted sources (not eBay).

raja_3012 · 03-11-2009, 09:50 AM

I would never get a battery from eBay. A faulty battery can literally destroy the circuitry of me precious device.

ChumsGum · 03-11-2009, 11:27 AM

yes, i got my batt/charger. expect to wait 2 weeks for your battery.

first of all, i'd understand the concerns buying li-ion batteries from untrusted sources. i'd like to say i've bought 3 3rd party ebay li-ion batts for different digital cameras and put them through many charges and have never been a problem. maybe i've just been lucky, i don't know. before this i've raced electric rc cars, soldered my own ni-cad ni-mh battery cells into packs using various cells from different sources and brands. imo, the myth of exploding batteries is overblown. heat, extreme heat, correction, severe heat, is the only thing that would cause batteries to "explode."

now on to my impressions. the charger is great, it's the travel style which means no cord, just plug the charger directly to a wall outlet, pop the battery in there, and wait a couple hours for the led light to turn green. what i have noticed is that the charger, whether it's the 3rd party batt or the oem batt, will only charge to 95%. when the batt is in the phone and you charge via micro-usb i always get a 100%. this probably has something to do with the peak detection in the phone being far superior to the peak detection in the travel charger. the battery so far is great. had it for 2 days and just finished it's first charge. so far, not much different from the oem battery though i have a feeling it does have a bit more capacity just because it does take longer to charge. i'll know more as the weeks go by.

i have very happy with my $12 batt and charger purchase and would recommend the items to others. before the 8900 i put heavy use into my pearl and the battery lost performance in about 15 months. i plan to switch off between this 3rd party batt and the oem to extend their lives. best of luck.

dcjoe662 · 03-12-2009, 01:57 AM

I would be safe and spend the extra money. The pricing on eBay is very tempting but who knows were that battery has been before and where it was actually made?

HaTaX · 03-12-2009, 02:08 AM

I've bought lots of batteries that came from china and were cheap knock offs of other OEM or model specific batteries from eBay. Honestly I've never had a problem with them, but I do watch them closer then an OEM battery.

For instance when it's charging for the first few times I do it with the back cover off so I can tell how hot the cell is becoming. If it gets too hot too fast, then I'd throw it away, but I've never had that happen to me.

FWIW I'm using a 1600mah battery that I got for $12 shipped from eBay and it works great! I can make it two days if needed without a charge, or through a VERY busy day with 40% left before bedtime. Not too bad for $12 in my book...........

mariko · 03-12-2009, 10:59 AM

I got one from china
it looked like oem but wasn't
did the job but taking it out was a *****

sold it for same price I bought

TheBigNewt · 03-12-2009, 02:02 PM

For $12 shipped including a charger look at it this way: for shipping you'd pay $4, for the charger I'd figure $4. That leaves $4 for that battery. I pay $4 for a latte at Starbucks with a shot of vanilla in it. The battery is disposable IMO,as long as it doesn't leak into your phone. If it does the price just went way up (and the Chinese ebay seller ain't gonna help ya either, unless negative feedback helps you).

StanMort · 03-12-2009, 06:59 PM

I've bought on eBay from a guy in Quebec. He's almost as cheap as the ones from China but the batteries have been good. I got two for the 8300, one for me and one for my brother in law. Both batteries outlasted the phones that they were in. Maybe the secret is just not to buy the ones from sellers overseas

rambo47 · 03-13-2009, 06:57 AM

I had a Chinese knockoff "official" Nokia battery ruin a phone. I guess I'm just lucky it didn't do worse, like start a fire in my house. I left if charging overnight and the next morning it had leaked all over the phone, bookshelf, and dripped onto the hardwood floor. Lovely. No more of that cheap-o crap for me. Ya get what ya pay for.

The_conductor · 03-13-2009, 10:38 AM

My cousin bought one for his pearl and the battery caught on fire and destroyed his BB

TheBigNewt · 03-13-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambo47

I had a Chinese knockoff "official" Nokia battery ruin a phone. I guess I'm just lucky it didn't do worse, like start a fire in my house. I left if charging overnight and the next morning it had leaked all over the phone, bookshelf, and dripped onto the hardwood floor. Lovely. No more of that cheap-o crap for me. Ya get what ya pay for.

I guess that tells me all I need to know about cheapo Chinese batteries off of ebay. Cheapo cases OK. Batteries no way. Thanks for posting.

DrMoze · 03-14-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasunst3r

Agreed, and here's why: Lithium-ion batteries have a relatively unstable chemistry and must be manufactured correctly with various types of protection. One way these batteries fail is to release a lot of energy in very short order (i.e. explode).

Example: My Curve's OEM battery: 3.7V * 1Ah * 3,600s/h = 13,320 joules of energy. It's no stick of dynamite, but ten bucks says that amount of energy released in less than a second could blow your hand off.

Point is: Lithium-ion batteries are pretty dangerous things. Only buy from trusted sources (not eBay).

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Ten bucks says it is impossible under anything close to normal conditions to release that energy in anywhere close to a second, even in a poorly-manufactured battery. Even if you shorted the battery, terminal-to-terminal. So the 'caution' is way overblown.

FWIW, I bought 2 eBay batteries for my Pearl used them for over a year (rotating occasionally). Normal life, never a problem.

And yeah, sometimes OEM batteries are defective too.

Modeler · 03-15-2009, 02:44 PM

Bought a $13 "OEM" battery from Hong Kong. Looks a lot like the battery that came with my 8900, but not exactly. It provides me with exactly the same 2.5 days of running time as the OEM battery.

I've bought tens of OEM and replacement batteries from E-bay over the last 13-14 years, and NEVER had a problem. YMMV

koleary19067 · 03-15-2009, 02:53 PM

i never had any issues

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eBay batteries? anyone try one yet