HP laptops get new battery that charges quicker, lasts longer

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- HP plans to offer as an optional upgrade for some consumer notebooks a new kind of lithium ion battery that charges faster than regular batteries and lasts three times longer.

The battery is made by Boston-Power, which announced iut as the Sonata battery. HP will re-brand the battery as the HP Enviro battery, and start offering them early next year.

Conventional batteries offer roughly 300 charge cycles before becoming useless. The Sonata, or Enviro, promises 1,000. HP will sell the Enviro with a three-year warranty.

The new battery should allow an 80-percent charge in thirty minutes, which is better performance compared with conventional lithium ion batteries.

HP has not announced pricing.

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