Review: FastMac’s replacement battery a TruePower
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 17, 2006 at 4:30am
If you’re looking for a replacement and/or extra battery for your 15-inch MacBook Pro, give FastMac’s 62 Whr battery a shot. It uses Lithium-Polymer cells (with integrated charge indicatorLEDs) and offers longer life-per-charge than Apple’s included battery. FastMac says it offers “up to 68 percent” longer battery life. I never got that much, but did get an impressive 50-55 percent more.
That’s due to the utilization of TruePower technology, according to the folks at FastMac. This technology incorporates sensors in the integrated circuit inside the battery that detect undesirable levels of swelling or a short circuit that will power off the battery in certain extreme conditions.
FastMac recommends that you calibrate the internal control chip to get the best possible performance from the TruePower battery. First, fully charge the battery after installation. Once it’s fully charged, unplug the AC power adapter and use the MacBook Pro until it’s drained. Then plug the power adapter back in and recharge the battery. You may have to run two or three battery calibration cycles to hit peak performance, FastMac says. The company also recommends that you recalibrate the battery every month or so.
Fastmac’s TruePower battery for the 15-inch MacBook Pro costs US$99.95. It carries a one-year warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee. FastMac also makes TruePower batteries for other Apple laptops and iPods.
Macsimum rating: 8 out of 10.
Igor Says:
Hey, finally we got a smart guy here. Can someone explain how’s 2Wh makes someone Macbook Pro work “...FastMac says it offers “up to 68 percent” longer battery life. I never got that much, but did get an impressive 50-55 percent more[.]”? Can you also tell us what the indicator showes you on full charge. Thanks
Posted on January 17, 2007
Linda Says:
http://www.replacement-battery.eu.com/laptop-battery.htm
This is an online shop for compaq and HP laptop batteries!I find it really so good!
Posted on March 18, 2007
hkim Says:
I have the TruePower Battery and in comparison to Apple Original Battery the performance of the Fastmac’s battery (life-per-charge in real time) is comparable or actually worse than Apple’s. Actually, according to battery indicator programs (coconut and Hardware Monitor) the maximum battery capacity is only 5300 mAh compared to 5500 mAh for Apple’s original battery… :(
Posted on March 19, 2007
Rick Says:
Same here! Got a blazing 5254 mAh with the Fastmac Battery instead of 5500 mAh with Apple´s.
Instead of 68% increase a whopping 5% DECREASE!...:(
Posted on April 30, 2007
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
JC Says:
The original Apple battery is 60WHr, the FastMac one is 62WHr. I’m wondering if someone can clarify how this would perform up to 68% better? Maybe the “up to” part is referring to a Pismo battery or something. It just doesn’t seem like an additional 2WHr would give you much beyond a 3% improvement, but I’m not an electrical guy.
Posted on November 20, 2006