Evilempire1.3JZ-GTE said:
Wrong
NICADS batterys yes like power drills etc have memory some of the newer drills have a third prong to reset the battery memory but is always best to drain nicads 100%
LION batterys are diffrent if you drain them 100% all the time there life is cut short if you read your cell phone directions they recomend to charge them as often as possible and not to drain them completely.
The manufacturer of my Li-Ion battery laptop recommends draining the battery completely at least once a month. (Apple iBook)
My Sprint phone manual makes no mention of either charging often or draining. It also has a Li-Ion battery.
I know this was primarily an issue with the Ni-Cads rather than with the Li-Ions, which is why I said "generally". According to the Wikipedia article on Li-Ions, they have no "memory" but still lose charge capacity over time, particularly when exposed to higher temperature and when the charge is at 100%. When the charge is at 40% the charge capacity will last significantly longer (confirming what I said about leaving unused batteries at half charge). The article also implies that charging a Li-Ion very often will decrease the life of the battery.