For mobile warriors who are constantly on the go and for those who
love the Macintosh, the one laptop that comes to mind that screams
durability is none other than the Powerbook G3 Series, most
notably the WallStreet.
With a tough casing, more than capable power, and the option of
having two batteries installed, how can you not love the WallStreet?
But if your WallStreet is suffering from less mobile time and more time
plugged in, then it's time for a new battery!
Today I review the FastMac
TruePower Battery for the WallStreet.
The TruePower battery has been highly regarded for its long-life
when compared to other batteries. FastMac claims one can get up to 68%
more battery life depending on the model of Macintosh used.
Does it live up to its reputation?
The packaging is minimal but sufficient. Inside the box you'll find
the battery, as well as instructions on how to get the most from it.
It's important that you let it fully charge when you first charge up
the battery, which takes a while. For the first few times, let it
completely discharge, then charge it again. This calibrates the battery
and helps you start out on a prosperous, long-lasting relationship
between you and your battery.
I conducted a simple test after a few charge cycles when the battery
was calibrated. Running Mac OS 9.2.2 with processor cycling on,
brightness turned down to its lowest level, WiFi off, no CD-ROM or
floppy module inserted in the secondary bay, and spinning down the hard
drive after a minute of inactivity, I found that I could not only get
the claimed 5 hours, but also an extra 15-20 minutes out of it. Truly
outstanding!
With WiFi enabled, the time was more like 4 hours and 30 minutes,
maybe a little less. But that's still impressive.
It's fair to say that I don't do a lot of processor intensive tasks
or run demanding programs that tax the processor and result in more
battery consumption. Your mileage may vary if you use OS X or use
more CPU hungry applications, such as Photoshop or visit websites such
as YouTube.
The TruePower Battery is designed just like the standard Apple
battery that shipped with the WallStreet. If you press the button on
the front of the battery, you'll see green status LEDs light up telling
you how much charge is left. 4 lights means a full charge, 1 means not
much is left.
What will this kind of battery life set you back? $109.95! It
includes a 1 year warranty.
It's a very good bargain if you can't seem to let go of one of the
last PowerBook's that were durable enough to be considered true road
warriors machines. (I'm also partial to the WallStreet because it's the
last Macintosh ever stamped with the rainbow Apple logo.)
FastMac makes a whole range of
batteries for G3 and G4 PowerBooks and iBooks, as well as the
MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. 
