The model of rejecting refills is one that’s bought in big bucks for the printer industry; so much so that the most expensive fluid in the world is indeed printer ink. Is that a model that will translate to laptop batteries? Lenovo is apparently mulling the idea around.
The Verge reports on the plan, which will apparently be called “Battery Safeguard”, and will detect whether an authentic Lenovo battery’s been inserted in new laptops in the ThinkPad Edge ranges. Put in a third party battery, and, so the story goes, you’ll get a flashing message stating “Genuine Lenovo Battery Not Attached”, rather than the power you were seeking.
Third party batteries aren’t quite the profit minefield that ink refills are for the IT industry, but this’ll be an interesting step to take if it is indeed true, especially if you wanted a replacement battery for a range that a particular vendor no longer sells. [The Verge]