Does anybody have something bad to say about the HTC Eris for Verizon? I found a good deal and am about to pull the trigger.

Hmm, from what I read on flashlights Li ion actually cannot take any top up charge at all once it's full, but NiMH can.

I would check for reviews cnet amazon ect.

Lee

LiOn and LiPo batteries should not be charged once they're fully charged, however the charge controllers "float" them at that point. That's why you can plug your iPhone, Mophie Juice Pack, laptop or whatever in and leave it plugged in all night. I imagine if you tried you could find a LiOn or a LiPo battery without a charger and then find a charger that didn't know how to deal with them, but I'm assuming that you're not trying to start a fire .

Ah okay, I thought you meant they can be trickle charged once full, like NiMH.

Defiantly can't
and NiMH don't like to be trickle charged, it does reduce their lifetime

Someone above suggested discharging a battery to empty helps with the charge capacity. I say it depends on the type of battery. In my Treo 700, I have a LiOn battery, the original battery for over 6 years now. I plug the phone in whenever I can (while sleeping, driving, sitting around the house, etc.). Over the years, I have rarely let the the charge go below 60%. This battery still holds a charge as good as new.

I have heard that LiOn batteries don't have a memory. In other words, it doesn't matter if you take the battery down to zero. Anyway, because of my experience with how I have treated this LiOn battery, I'll be treating other LiOn batteries the same in the future. Nevertheless, on my next phone, I will probably be thinking, "They sure don't make 'em how they used to."

The cell phone business is tricky in the sense that, by the time a phone is fully tested in the market, it's obsolete or few people care about the reviews anymore. Manufacturers must know this. I'm guessing phone makers design their phones to last a couple years nowadays, or maybe even 12 months. Some people here are all excited about some of the latest phones, but current smart phones answer the original questions about ruggedness pathetically, compared to smart phones from 5+ years ago (e.g., Blackberry, Treo, etc.).

Lithium ion cells area best recharged frequently and not allowed to continue charging when full. Conversely, deep discharge can permanently damage them, although many/most lithium ion cells (or the device that uses them) have a mechanism to cut off the load once the cell drains down to the certain low voltage to prevent that damage.

There must be a device in my Treo 700 that stops charging at the top end. I have left the charger on it every night for the last 6 years. The phone finishes charging after about a half hour or so, and the charger stays on it for another 8 hours or so. Then again, in the morning, the charge is full, not just 95% or whatever it would be for being on standby for those 8 hours.