[HTC Sensation] rhd-android:
This process started in another thread, where I was interested in finding decent inexpensive, but not "totally crappy" cells for my Sensation 4G / EVO 3D. In my case, it wasn't the single-cell price that I was cost-sensitive to, but rather the price to stock up on ~10 cells to take with me on my travels. At $20 each, really highly rated cells just weren't feasible.

So - I decided to actually measure the capacity of various cells, ordered from various sources. I'll update this thread as I get ahold of new cells, and I'll provide photos along with the quantitative data. I find data a lot easier to digest than qualitative assessments like "Got a day's worth of runtime with moderate usage on this cell". So I'll stick with quantitative data about the claimed versus measured mAh of each cell. I'm testing the cells with tracking V/A/Ah meter, as they discharge at an average rate of 350mA into a 10 ohm chasis mount resistor as the "test load".

Original HTC Sensation 4G Cell

Test date: July 05, 2012

Source (cost): OEM ($49.99 if ordered from HTC)

Claimed / Measured: 1520 / 1410 mAh

Original HTC EVO 3D Cell

Test date: July 05, 2012

Source (cost): OEM ($49.99 estimated, no longer sold by HTC)

Claimed / Measured: 1730 / 1530 (mAh)

Generic Clone #1

Test date: July 04, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($3)

Claimed / Measured: 1800 / 970 (mAh)

"Long Lasting High Capacity Li-Ion Battery"

Test date: July 05, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($4)

Claimed / Measured: 1850 / 570 (mAh)

"High Capacity Gold Battery"

Test date: July 17, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($6.45)

Claimed / Measured: 2450 / 1420 (mAh) *** Note that there also appear to be "2430mAh" Gold batteries available. That isn't a typo, the ones tested here are indeed labelled "2450mAh", not "2430mAh". ***

Generic Clone #2 (Serial: 21YD114J004803) *** See my note about "serial numbers" at the bottom of this post. ***

Test date: July 18, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($3.45)

Claimed / Measured: 1520 / 1710 (mAh)

Anker

Test date: July 19, 2012

Source (cost): amazon ($9.00)

Claimed / Measured: 1900 / 1750 (mAh) *** Purchased and tested two cells. Results were 1710 and 1790 mAh. Using the mean capacity of the two cells. ***

Aoonen

Test date: July 19, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($6.99)

Claimed / Measured: 1800 / 1610 (mAh)

Feipusi

Test date: July 20, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($6.59)

Claimed / Measured: 2200 / 1250 (mAh)

"Business Edition 2800"

Test date: July 25, 2012

Source (cost): eBay ($4.75)

Claimed / Measured: 2800 / 1300 (mAh)

"Max Power"

Test date: Aug 14, 2012

Source (cost): DealExtreme ($5.80)

Claimed / Measured: 2100 / 1320 (mAh)

...more to come!

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QUESTIONS:

Why are you listing "serial numbers" for some of the cells?

The serial numbers listed on most generic Chinese cells are fake and that's actually helpful to us. By fake, I mean that they aren't actually unique to the individual cells. Purchase two cells from the same source, and you'll quickly notice that the serials are the same. Generally, the same label is just duplicated onto each cell that gets made. Thus, for our purposes, the "serial numbers" are actually a lot more akin to "model numbers". They don't identify unique cells within a batch, but they will often distinguish batches of labels, and potentially batches of cells that were manufactured under similar conditions.

Is it a foolproof way to distinguish cell models / versions / revisions? Nope, far from it. It's highly game-able. If the Chinese read this thread and saw a particular serial number gain praise, they'd just tack that number onto all of their future labels. Even further, the same batch of labels might be used for a long period of time, even amidst various changes in the underlying lipo packs used, and their capacities. But, it's still a whole heck of a lot more useful than referring to test subjects as "Generic Black Battery #1" and "Generic Black Battery #2", etc.

What is your testing process?

The cells are all tested new (with the exception of the factory original HTC Sensation and EVO 3D cells, which had been used prior to testing). Each cell is fully charged, discharged, and then charged again. The cell is then connected to a device that monitors voltage, amperage, and total mAh as the cell discharges into a 10 Ohm chassis-mount heatsinked resistor. This results in a conservative discharge rate of between 300 and 400mA, which takes an average of 3 to 5 hours for a complete discharge.