OK, so you know that it’s a good idea to have an extra laptop battery on hand – but do you know how to find the perfect one? Before you buy any kind of laptop battery, you need to know these 3 things:

1. You need to pay attention to labels

The manufacturer’s name might not mean so much when you buy a pair of jeans or a sweater, but it’s absolutely crucial when you buy a laptop battery. That’s because different manufacturers use different technology. Buy the wrong battery, and your laptop will never get the power it needs – or, worse, you can do some real damage to your system.

When you think about it that way, it’s a pretty simple rule to follow – only buy Dell laptop batteries if you have a Dell sitting at home, and only by IBM laptop batteries if you have an IBM sitting at home. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your money.

2. Don’t assume that a notebook is the same as a laptop

Just because it’s small and portable doesn’t mean that it takes a traditional laptop battery. In fact, there are companies that focus solely on the notebook computer battery industry!

So, what’s the difference?

A notebook comes with fewer features than a laptop. For example, a notebook generally doesn’t come with a DVD or CD player. Plus, laptops are usually bigger – with bigger screens. If you try to use a laptop battery when you really need a notebook computer battery, you’re going to be completely out of luck!

3. Your Dell laptop batteries may live longer

While there’s nothing wrong with IBM laptop batteries, you’ll probably get more bang for your buck out of Dell laptop batteries.

That’s because Dell’s batteries are made with special lithium ion technology – which is a fancy way of saying that it moves ions around, both when it’s powering your computer and when it’s charging. As a result Dell laptop batteries don’t have to be drained all the way down for you to charge them. Thankfully, this means that you can count on your Dell batteries to go for a couple of years before they even start to lose their luster.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for IBM laptop batteries! You’ll wind up buying replacements sooner, so be prepared.

Remember, the laptop battery you buy is going to affect all kinds of important things – like that term paper for your History class and that big report for your business meeting – so shop wisely!