V7 Battery for Apple Powerbook G4 12-inch, Replaces M8984 M9324 A1022 A1079 (APL-G412V7)

Incredible, especially the price. The replacement battery from Apple is $130, macsales.com has one for $100 that also boast 20% so thats up to your discretion. The color is slightly off, though not bad at all. the shape doesn't sit perfectly flush. The button you press on the battery to show the green light battery meter is a little too recessed and not as easy to push as the original. in addition the lights don't trill up like the original. They all come on at once, and turn off when you release the button instantly. Overall its been good so far. I would recommend the battery for saving $100 for perfection.Heres a good read that I also found."New Apple batteries, those included with a machine and those bought separately, arrive partially charged and need to be calibrated. This procedure provides a baseline for the processor built into the battery, so the processor can effectively regulate power consumption. To calibrate your battery, first plug in the laptop and charge the battery to 100 percent capacity; the light at the end of the Apple-supplied power cable will go from orange to green when the battery is fully charged. Next, unplug the power adapter and let the battery run down. The machine will put itself to sleep and refuse to wake up. Plug the adapter in again and fully recharge the battery. (You can use the laptop as you normally would during the calibration process.) You need to calibrate the battery only once. Source: Laptop Battery Smarts, Mobile Mac"

For the price (about 1/3rd what Apple charges for the original part), I can't complain. As others have noted, it doesn't cosmetically match to the PowerBook case - the finish is considerably darker, being somewhere between the PowerBook's light silver color and a gun metal. The fit is also iffy - the outer flange is a little large, making an extremely tight fit on my PowerBook. Fortunately, I was able to just barely squeeze it into place so it fit flush like the original battery, but I can see how some may not be so lucky. Anyway, given that my PowerBook is 7 years old and already beat up, I didn't really care so much about how it looked, as long as it did actually fit.As for battery life, it seems ok - I can't tell if it's as good as the original battery when new, as there are a lot of variables (e.g. I'm running Mac OS 10.5 now which seems to be more of a cpu/battery hog), but it seems adequate. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied, and it sure beats having a dead battery or paying full price for the Apple part.

Lets get the cons out of the way first.-Cons--The battery pokes out a bit from the front-It's a darker gray-The LED's are "Sunk in", so they can be difficult to see-The button on the LED is of poor quality-Pros-Fully charged on my Powerbook's G4's lowest settings, with 4200mah, I can squeeze out 4:20 in battery life. My other battery before that, that was 6 years old, could only hold 900mah and 0:25 in battery life.Not hard to install if you know how to do it right, it twists right in just like any other battery---Lets face it, the Powerbook to Apple is dead, and finding parts isn't going to be an easy venture. This battery, though, is a great find to any PPC fanboy. Apple's official battery from other retailers can go as high as $90, this one, with shipping, his more than half the price.If you've got an old Powerbook G4, and you need a new battery to put her to work, I reccomend this is the one.

The G4 Macintosh 12" PowerBooks of were wonderful when they were first released - most of the power of a professional-level laptop in a form factor that was perfect for mobility-minded professionals. I purchased mine in 2003 and after almost nine years it is still going strong. Except for the battery, which has been sinking lower and lower and gives me fifteen to twenty minutes only before I have to shackle myself to that power cable.So I finally broke down and ordered two of these replacement batteries. They arrived yesterday. After calibrating, I am back up to four hours plus of battery time (using Energy Saver to preserve battery life) before I have to either switch batteries or plug in. This is more than enough time for a rendezvous at our favorite coffee shop or a leisurely working lunch.Other reviewers have stated that the color is not precisely the same as the original. That is probably true, but unless one looks very closely indeed, it is unnoticeable. And the fit is excellent - it slid right into place in the PowerBook's battery compartment despite my machine's little corner ding.Overall, if you have one of these little workhorses, i would highly recommend purchasing one of these so that you can once again enjoy the mobility that the 12" PowerBook offers.

I just got the battery, today and it gives me about 3 1/2 hours of battery life. I still need to charge it fully to see, but I'm so much happier not having to cart my charger around. Only downside like some people mentioned is the color is slightly off and it doesn't set so perfectly in the machine. However, my laptop is already pushing 5 years, so I feel it gives it character. Besides, 40 dollars vs. 125 at apple (also apple's reviews of this product weren't that great- at least not 125 great)- I don't really think there is any competition. Even if this only lasts a year, I'll still have saved money compared to buying an apple battery. Also, for anyone who complains about the color- it's on the bottom no one will see, and it looks pretty much the same.