I own a MacBook Pro 15″ that was manufactured in January of 2006. Lately, the battery that came with my notebook has simply run out of its juice. The problem started around the one year mark and I was getting about 30 minutes to a charge and it was even worse if I was lifecasting on Justin.TV. When the camera was on, I was getting 10 minutes and that was with wi-fi, bluetooth and the monitor turned off.

Sad times for me when my very portable notebook wasn’t portable anymore. I did some research and while at Macworld, looked at FastMac’s battery offerings. Apple charges a huge price for their batteries but it won’t screw up your warranty. However, my warranty expired a long time ago so that wasn’t a concern for me.

FastMac’s Battery Page touts how much more powerful their batteries are to Apple’s and how safe they are AKA (explosion safe). Like all third party batteries, FastMac’s option does not fit as snug as Apple’s battery. It hangs low compared to the included battery and the first week, I had some problems with the battery just not charging. I’ve reseated the unit a couple of times and it appears to have resolved itself.

The battery itself matches the Apple unit perfectly and even has a charge indicator. It’s even lighter than Apple’s battery and easily shaved .2 pounds off the weight of my notebook. The run time is awesome! I can have the display brightness up and watch a full movie without any issues. I get about 4 hours with the display turned down and reading email or about 3 hours with the display up and surfing the web.

The price is only $99 dollars compared to Apple’s exorbitant prices.