So, I got 3 years out of a laptop battery, but it finally failed. Not bad.

[HopeHoops]

The laptop is a 17" HP (dv9000) and a total power hog. I love the thing and use it constantly, on and off the cord. I had noticed the battery life dwindling from its original whopping 2 1/2 hours down to under an hour, but over the last couple of weeks it couldn't get the battery over a 17% charge even when it was plugged in 24x7. So, I bit the bullet and ordered a new one. FORTUNATELY, they were on sale at $35 off the regular price! Free shipping, too (which is always nice). It showed up with a 58% charge less than an hour ago and it is already at 89%. I'm happier now.

I think the longest I've gotten from a laptop battery was about 5 years. How about everyone else?

[Warpy]

1. My HP is also a power hog

and I rarely use it off the cord, only during thunderstorms. Other than that, it's off the cord when I'm taking it with me.

The POS I had that I was going to give to charity before a burglar took it off my hands still managed to charge its battery fully after 6 years. It was a POS and I only used it during my trips to Florida to care for ailing parents. I have no idea how long that battery lasted at the end. I'd only turned it on every couple of weeks to make sure the software was updated.

[HopeHoops]

2. We've got 4 HP dv6000's and an HP netbook that all do GREAT on battery life.

For some reason, the dv9000 is just a power-a-holic. I haven't tried the new battery for any length of time off-cord, but I used to be able to watch a 2+ hour movie with no problem. My wife's dv6000 has a double-size battery so we can squeeze off two full-length movies on it with one charge. The mini has a double-size also, but it also doesn't have a hard drive to suck juice (all solid state). I can get a good 6 1/2 to 7 hours out of one charge. It runs Linux, too (came installed that way).