How to find "good," Thinkpad T60p, high-capacity batteries?

Ok, my newly-purchased T60p is on order. Time to get set of batteries for road-warrior mode. Questions:

1) Any "battery buying guides" out there?

2) Specs on the highest-capacity battery?

I'm presuming 7200mAh 9-cell battery is going to offer the highest capacity. Is this correct?

3) Will above battery(ies) work in docking station(s)?

4) How to find high-capacity, best-quality batteries for lowest price?

Never have mastered how to search for best combination of "quality" battery and low price (when performing similar searches for my old T41). There seems to be many, many different part numbers for these batteries. Do some part nums (if merchandised legitimately) represent better quality? Are there other ways to flush out better quality from web suppliers?

I'm limited on the premium I'm willing to pay for good/best quality. If a $30 batt gives me 80% performance/life of a $90 batt, the $30 wins, I'll just get more of them. The gray area comes "in the middle." (Of course.) This presumes of course there is an actual difference in battery quality between different certified, new batteries... ?

ebay search for "thinkpad t60 7200mAh 9-Cell" marked as "new"

Should I just "load up" (I'm probably gonna buy 2-4 batts) on the least-expensive 7200mAh batt (supplier looks quite credible, good ebay rating, 30-day money back)? Or be more "careful" and look at some "genuine"/more-expensive batts?

 

The best place to get genuine batteries is the Lenovo Outlet. I think they have the nine-cell now for about $45. They're scratch and dent, but the one's I've bought looked new to me. They've also only got 90 day warranties, but for the price, I think it's worth it.

 

these ebay batteries are knockoffs, i wouldn't use them.

Apparently, Boston Electric or something is producing a high capacity battery (Amazon.com has them) that costs similar to the knock offs, albeit a 6 cells.

They are about 50 USD or so.

 

Here's the link to the Lenovo outlet item:

Lenovo Outlet - Refurbished ThinkPad T/R/W/Z/SL Series 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery

 

Nice tip, thanks. Looks like "Boston Power" is the maker, and laptopcharge.com is the retail brand/channel. This looks like the batt for my T60p: IBM ThinkPad T60p 2007 Notebook Battery (per forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - Boston Power Sonata batteries for ThinkPads.

Seems to me this 4400mAh batt may offer (according to this post ) faster charging and lesser degradation. I don't yet see anywhere about longer life. But still useful.

(And an aside: said Boston battery says it may not work in docking station. Will all the 9-cells work in docking station?)

 

yes the Lenovo battery work in docking station.

 

Thanks also for outlet-store tip. I called Lenovo (1-866-968-4465) about their outlet store, looks like it takes a few days to ship out. I could use an extra battery by Friday (or by the weekend). Any other suggestions welcome. In the meantime, I'll probably put an order in for at least one batt via Lenovo-outlet for later arrival.

(I also hope my experience is better than some reported here: Lenovo Outlet Store - 4 Tips For A Better Experience | Lenovo Outlet Review )

 

I ordered one of the ebay knock-offs (quick shipping, cheaper price) and also a Lenovo outlet batt (both 9-cell, 7800 mAh claimed). We'll see how they compare in short-term performance when they arrive. (If I don't followup to this thread, remind me later if you're interested.)

btw, the estimated ship date for Lenovo-Outlet batt is currently August 9th, quite a ways out. Would be nice if they could pull that in...