Hey guys ... Well I'm thinking of buying a spare BL-5J battery for my N900, and the prices on eBay are simply too good to resist :P

So basically my question is, are they safe ? I know they are probably not original Nokia stuff (if I'm wrong in assuming this, please correct me so), but still can they be safely used with a N900 ? Do note that even though the model number is the same, all the buyers there currently are only listing 5800 XM as being compatible with the battery .. ?

Any info regarding the above would be greatly appreciated

I was about to buy some with that external charger, the two pack.

I wanted to wait for a review....I guess we are all playing a game of chicken with them lol.

I bought a cheapo battery for my N90 a few years ago, and now the phone doesn't seem to act right (random shutoffs, doesn't charge all the time, etc...). I wouldn't really risk getting a cheap battery for this phone, mainly since it costs so much. Also, I'm not sure but, if something were to happen to the phone while using the "fake" battery, it may void the warranty.

I'd check further into the latter statement, but in any case, I'd definitely go for the quality, OEM battery. That's just my personal experience.

So is this one an original Nokia one ?:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UBIM98

Or should I just get this one ?:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O5ES0S

Hmmm... they both seem to give the impression that they're OEM (the first one actually saying OEM, and the second referring to it being genuine and Nokia warranty, etc...). Why the first one is so cheap is beyond my reasoning, other than it's not OEM. But I could be wrong. So you COULD take a chance on it, and then follow this guide to check its authenticity:

http://www.nokiausa.com/get-support-...k-your-battery

If not, I guess you'd be able to send it back since it was sold under a false pretense. Also, they used to have it where you could just put in the serial number on the battery, and it would tell you if it's authentic, but I can't find that at the moment.

So, all in all, I guess it's just a matter of how much time and money you're willing to spend/waste.

I bought a battery from ebay for my n95. It was such a good copy on the outside that even the nokia engineer was dubious... except it didn't actually work.

I'd buy from a reputable company for something like that. ;0

Not recommended.

I can't see there being much difference between camcorder and phone battery technologies

I rarely buy stuff like that on Ebay - in fact I rarely buy anything from Ebay these days.

Things like sd cards and batteries are usually bought from someone reputable (e.g. personally I use play.com) otherwise steer clear!

There is just too many counterfeit and dodgy goods on Ebay to justify any savings you could make.

The N900 uses the same battery as the 5800 (I've got both and have swapped batteries without problems).

As for buying cheap batteries off eBay, I really wouldn't recommend it. I'm not a battery expert but I was tempted by cheap batteries for my E61 a few years ago. Did some research first and what I've found is that, at best, cheap battery will work but will only have a fraction of the capacity of a genuine battery (on the N900 which already has a poor battery life, that could mean that your cheap battery could die in a couple of hours). Worst case scenario, the battery could not work, be leaking or overheating. Not worth the risk just to save a few quid.

Damn damn damn....I bought one of these off Amazon a week or so ago, never having bought a spare battery before i didn't know how much they were supposed to cost - first one i saw was £5.99, i bought it and have been using it when the original ran out - quite a few times (real heavy user as i now run my online business with it)...it lasts as well as the original but now i think i must bin it and get one from Nokia to be safe....i really don't want to break my new toy!!! Damn again!!!

Ok...checked the battery against the original and with the links above and although the hologram looks good at first glance it's definately different to the original...fake i reckon!...it's going in the bin...not worth the risk for a £20 saving!

as a foot note, i also bought the £3.96 pack of 12 screen protectors from Amazon, they are excellent, easy to put on and no ill effects to the screen sensitivety...and the proximety sensor works :-)...some you win, some you lose