Replacement battery: damned if it's Apple's; damned if it's not?

Question

Greetings.
Posts requesting ideas for replacing a battery get replies warning folks away from any battery not sold in an Apple store,_ and yet_ the batteries bought from Apple get horrendous reviews (2 out of 5 stars based on 749 reviews).
So... why should I lay out CDN$159 for a battery that will be lousy and will be bringing me repeatedly back to an Apple store? So what if it has a one-year warranty? Is this just Apple's way of provoking us into buying a new notebook?
I've also noticed that, among batteries bought at Apple by people posting to this forum, some are Sony and some are SMP, and some people have had bad experiences with Sony and some with SMP. And if one is better than the other, but Apple sells both, how do I make sure I get the better one? Which is the better one? How does Apple choose which to sell? Why does it choose lousy batteries? Are the batteries lousy, or are they not being charged or cycled or calibrated properly? Can so many people be so bad at calibrating their batteries?
So, if Apple's replacement is rubbish, why not use a replacement battery from elsewhere? Has anyone on this forum bought and used a replacement battery from somewhere other than Apple? If so, what has your experience been like? Are the warranties honoured, or difficult to get honoured? Will any of these damage the computer? And, will using any of these void my Apple Care warranty, which will expire in July?
Here, for your comments or criticisms, are what I've found listed for the MA896LL outside of the Apple site:
1) www.canada-batteries.ca: Apple A1175 Lithium-Ion, website claims it's compatible with MA896LL [even though the MA896LL came with a lithium-polymer battery], 1-yr warranty, 30 days money back, brand new, "manufactured by High-Capacity power products" (is that a description or a company name?), 5800mAh, 11.1V, CDN$119.00
2) www.pcwith.com: li-poly, 11.1 V, 60-watt-hour, brand new, 24-month warranty "100% New original battery . NOT Refurbished ,NOT Replacement ,NOT Used ,NOT COPY ! Tested Fine !", for MA896LL, US$78.99
3) "Battery Heads" via amazon.com: TechFuel® 6 Cell, Battery for Apple MacBook Pro 15 inch MA896LL Laptop, "Battery Storage Capacity: 5600 mAh / 60 Wh, Voltage: 10.8 volts, Chemistry: Li-polymer; This TechFuel® battery has a one-year limited warranty and a thirty-day money back guarantee when purchased from Batteryheads", US$69.95.
4)www.attuu.com: Li-polymer, 10.80Volts, 5600mAh, compatible with MA896LL, 1 year warranty, 30 days money back, US$105
5) www.power-battery.org: MA896LL replacement battery, brand new, 10.8V, Li-Polymer 1 yr warranty, 15 days money back, US$114.62.
6) www.bestezonlinestore.com: battery for Apple MacBook Pro 15" MA896LL [3rd Party OEM Compatible[ (CS-AM1175NB), 10.8V, 12-month warranty, 5800mAh, no info on whether lithium-ion or li-poly, US$62.00
7) Blue Nook via amazon.com: Wasabi Power Laptop Battery for MA896LL, "Ultra High 5600mAh Lithium-Ion power rating 10.8V; CE safety certification, UL listed, meets or exceeds OEM standards" 1 yr warranty, US$104.99.
What's the significance of the Voltage difference: 11.2 vs 10.8?
My MacBook Pro came with a lithium-polymer battery. Can the battery be replaced only with another Li-Poly, or can I put in a lithium-ion battery? Apple's offering is li-poly.
[BTW: For those provoked into buying a new notebook, how do people with MBs and MBPs without removable batteries deal with dying batteries? Yet another new notebook?]
I contemplate all this, and the phrase "mug's game" comes to mind.
Thanks for any input you can offer.

Answer 1

Hi Apple Maddened.
Yes, it is frustrating and there is no simple solution, I'm afraid. The Apple batteries for these models themselves seem to be very variable in quality and it is pretty clear that not many of them make the "300 cycle / 80% original capacity" mark that was claimed for them, unfortunatly.
My own reservations about buying or recommending cheap batteries from unknown, or previously unheard of, internet supplies lies primarily in the "safety" area. Bad lithium batteries can be dangerous commodities. They can burn down not just your computer, but your house.
For me, this wipes out most of the cheapest options, but it leaves a number in the "a bit cheaper than Apple but from well regarded , manufacturers / suppliers" range.
Looking at a few of the ones you mention:
1) - "Canada Batteries" sounds like a "reputable" local operation at first glance, but I see when I look at its web site that it is actually simply an internet order company for which the only address given is a supposed warehouse in New York! My bet is that this is simply a more palatable name / front for a SE Asian direct selling organisation. All MBP batteries are Lithium Polymer versions of Lithium Ion batteries. They have to be to fit the case! I wouldn't worry about the difference in name, but I would wonder if I was going to be able to genuinely exercise warranty claims or sales returns if necessary. The fact that it uses different nominal voltage and capacity figures from the original batteries makes me wonder a bit, too. My gut reaction would be to steer clear.
2) pcwith - clearly another S E Asian internet operation - see http://pcwith.com/about_us.html This one at least provides a Canadian contact address as well, but many of the reservations about "Canada Batteries" also apply
3) "TechFuel" - very little real information available. "Battery Heads" seems to simply operate out of an office suite in Utah. Very cheap. (Too cheap to be any good? probably. I'd be wondering about these actually being "seconds" , or perhaps batteries that have been on the shelf for too long and are effectively "past their use by date" - Lithium batteries don't take kindly to being stored for long periods without use)
4) www.attuu.com Not so cheap, may be worth a try. Probably also simply a US "office" for a SE Asian supplier. Require you to pay shipping for any warranty claims etc. Add US $8 charge to cost for shipping = $113US - cheaper than the Apple offering in Canada by $45 but only $16 less than the price in the US Apple stores! If you have any dealings with anyone in the US, given the strength of the Canadian $ at present, you might be better placed simply getting someone to buy you a genuine Apple one there!
(and so the list goes on).
There are at least two better known brands of replacements that are available at prices somewhat cheaper than Apple's Canadian price, and which have known reputable companies behind them, that may be worth considering.
The first are the offerings from "Newer Technologies". These are sold through OWC, who have a very good reputation with Mac users to uphold and aren't going to risk it for the sake of a few dollars. Newer Technologies themselves are also a long standing Mac supplier of things like processor enhancements and the like. The OWC $US price for the Newer battery is $99. Shipping is extra, but you are still talking a similar price to many of the "less known" names that you mention. I see Newer Technology also have dealers in Canada - see http://www.newertech.com/inter_resellers.php
The other "better known" supplier are "FastMac" - see http://store.fastmac.com/productinfo.php?productsid=3
These are claimed to be US made and I have no reason to doubt this. They also cost $99 and I've seen reports from people who have been happy with them (and one from someone who was not) , though I do doubt that their actual capacity is really any greater than the original.
I'd be inclined to think about the Newer or the FastMac battery if you don't want to buy another Apple one. They might not be as cheap as some of the others (though cheaper than your Canadian Apple ones), but in both cases we know they are genuine operations, with genuine reputations to defend.
My own guess, though, is that the performance of these better known batteries may not be much different to the Apple ones either. The fire scare that occurred with Lithium batteries at about the time the MBPs were released, coupled with the huge recall that Sony had to make as a result, means that these batteries were designed conservatively, sacrificing longevity for safety , I suspect.
My own reaction to the underperforming batteries in the pre-unibody MBPs is basically to treat them like a set of car tyres (whoops, "tires" for those in the US). I see them as replaceable commodities that I'll probably have to fork out for replacements for before I get around to buying a new "vehicle" instead. Like tyres, they vary in durability depending on how they are treated to some extent, but even then no two sets ever seem to be quite the same!
Yes, the price is a bit of a kick when it occurs after only 18 months (my own experience with my first MBP battery) . In Australia at present the Apple offering still costs an outrageous $199AU ($185US) despite the increased strength of the Australian dollar against the greenback, but even at this price over eighteen months it runs out at about 35 cents a day - a small price to pay for portability, less than the cost of a single cigarette, and probably less than the difference in the price of the additional electricity needed to run a desktop instead!
As far as your question about the new , non removeable, batteries in the unibody go I have a current model 13" unibody as well as my SantaRosa 15". After 130 cycles and 8 months use it is sitting on 98% of its original capacity, still working beautifully, and with a substantially better "health" rating than the replacement (Apple) battery in the Santa Rosa , purchased at about the same time (which has 92% after 54 cycles over 9 months - still better than my first one was doing at this point in time but far from ideal). The batteries in the new ones are labelled as "non-user replaceable", but in reality they are very easy to change , too. All round they are a vastly better product IMHO.
All up, though, there is no simple answer to your original questions. If I were you, I'd stick with either an Apple battery, or with one from one of the two other better known makers I mentioned, but I wouldn't be expecting any of them to last more than 18 months or so at a "health level" where you can depend on them.
Cheers
Rod