[MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 Accessories] leek:
I recently bought a BA battery advertised as 2400 mAh for around $20 US.

However, it only charges up to 58%. I've tried charging it for 8 hours or more, discharging it a little bit, and recharging it, but the indicator never goes above 58%. I am charging it from inside the BA, with USB power.

The battery says:

Replacement for XDA III/MDAIII

Model: PH26B

Rating: 3.7 VDC == 2400 mAh

Rechargeable Li-ion Polymer Battery

...

Made in China

Researching some more, I notice that the "PH26B" part number is used on both 1500 mAh batteries and 2400 mAh batteries, by different sellers. It can't be both, can it?

The sites which list it as 2400 mAh tend to be less reputable sites from places like eBay, with deals which seem too good to be true.

And yet the battery I bought says both PH26B and 2400 mAh on it, so it is not simply the seller misrepresenting the product (i.e. if it's a scam, it extends to the manufacturer).

My questions are:

1. What exactly is the PH26B designation, if it is not a unique part number?

2. Are there any model-specific compatibility problems between certain batteries such as PH26B, and certain models of Blue Angels, or are all BA batteries interchangable between all BA models?

3. Is there a scam going on where BA batteries are being sold as 2400 mAh, even though they are only 1500 mAh? The 2400 mAh battery I have, is not much thicker than most 1500 mAh batteries, which makes me suspicious. (It is only about .5 mm deeper than the BA case where the "Windows Mobile" logo is printed.)

4. Why does my battery indicator stop at 58% with the 2400 mAh PH26B? (I've tried it in both my SX66 and PPC6601, with the same results.) 58% is approximately 1400 mAh / 2400 mAh, so if the charge indicator is a measure of the true charge as compared to the claimed capacity, then 58% would be what you'd expect from a battery which is only 1500 mAh but claims to be 2400 mAh.

5. I've often heard that you must be careful when first charging BA batteries, or else permanent damage could result. I did everything "by the book" -- backed up my data, changed the battery in my BA to the new one, and left it charging in the BA for hours -- but it still only goes up to 58%.

6. Do I need to do a more severe hard reset, such as leaving the battery out for 30 minutes, and/or completely draining the battery before recharging it, in order to get the charge cycle fixed?

I know I can trust Lion Battery (whose 2400 mAh Mugen batteries cost around $72 US instead of $20 US). I've already done business with them before. I am not in any immediate need for a BA battery. I just recently bought a spare one as a "deal" which was apparently too good to be true, and I'm trying to figure out the origins of it, since it's apparently very widespread -- simply search Google or eBay for 2400 xda, and you'll see hundreds of deals for these 2400 mAh BA batteries for under $20 US. It's so widespread that I don't think it's bad resellers trying to rip people off, but a bad manufacturer misrepresenting their batteries (and spoiling the good ones), or some kind of mass confusion about BA battery types and their true capacities.

Or maybe I'm too cynical, and I simply got one defective battery out of a normally good lot.