Who remembers the PowerBook 5300?

We do.

That was the first time Apple introduced a laptop that utilized lithium ion battery technology and there were some bumps in the road, to say the least. A couple of batteries caught fire just as Apple was shipping units to consumers. Only a few made it to endusers’ hands and none caught fire. But Apple was forced to recall the entire line and replace the li-ion batteries with older nickel metal hydride technology. The 5300 line never really recovered from this PR nightmare and it’s generally regarded as one of the worst PowerBooks ever shipped by Apple.

Moral of the story? Batteries are a boring, but hugely important part of mobile technology. And when they fail, bad headlines follow. Witness the deja vu experience of last year’s 1.8 million unit recall of Apple-branded batteries using Sony-sourced technology (the 5300’s units were also Sony-made, ironically). While just a handful of units were known to cause difficulty, it still prompted a massive and costly recall, highlighting how much these pretty and powerful machines are dependent on little chunks of high-density chemicals to provide the juice to keep them running.

We were never impressed with the battery life of the first MacBook Pro battery we had, or the one that Apple sent to replace it. So when FastMac sent their TruePower battery for the 15″ MacBook Pro, we were interested to see if it did last longer than Apple’s stock battery.

There’s not much to a review of a battery. What everyone wants to know is “did it last awhile?” And we’re happy to report that while we couldn’t figure out the right combination of settings to achieve FastMac’s “up to 68% more” claim, we did note a healthy bump in battery life between the two models while doing roughly the same activities on the machine.

Next question: does it look as good as the original battery? The very short answer to that is yes. It looks more or less identical to the OEM battery from Apple, with the silver finish and usual LED indicators. FastMac also uses the “interior” side of the battery to advertise their other products (iPod batteries and processor upgrades), but they balance this with some amusing warning labels (”do not use as camping firewood” and “this battery includes no Mercury, Mars, or Venus). Also, this would be a good spot to point out that this battery doesn’t use Sony technology.

And last, and really, most importantly, price. If you’re in the market for a additional battery, Apple will set you back $129.99. The TruePower is $99.95. Since the appearance is identical and the performance is superior, the choice is pretty clear when making a decision on which battery to buy.

While we can’t vouch for all the rest of their line of batteries for Apple’s portables from the last five years with a hands-on opinion, the price advantage is similarly attractive. Overall, we’re pleased to see a third-party vendor challenging Apple’s pricing and performance on a necessary component and providing a quality alternative for MacBook Pro users.

Filed under: Reviews, MacBook Pro News