Are there any other Sony batteries or off brand batteries that can provide extended battery performance. I’m probably going to have to sell my X to raise tuition money, but that’s my only real peeve with it: battery life. It drives me nuts that I can only pull about 2.5 hours out of this thing with the sound turned down, screen turned down, and regular use. My friend’s Panasonic R3 made it through all four of his hour-long classes as well as another 3 hours of studying with me at the library without even one trip to the outlet. An extended battery would really help with buyer’s remorse!

No, Sony decided not to include or create an extended battery for that notebook. I guess they wanted to stick to their idea to keep it light and not bulky. If there was an extended battery, it would not look nice on X505. I picked up 3 spare batteries for it and since they are very light and portable, I would not mind taking them on trips with me if I need more juice.

Agree with VAIOfreak, I also have 2 spare batteries. All are genuine and new ones. Bought on eBay at below $100 for two. :D

Wow, talk about your all time killer deals! I’m on a bit more of a budget, so I’d probably end up having to go non-oem. Only thing that worries me is the whole exploding cell idea…

When I don`t have ny adaptor connected to my X, it`s so unbelievably DIM.  My battery is always charged too.  Is that the way it`s supposed to be? Or is there a setting??? Or is my battery doing that?

When your X runs with battery, VAIO Power Management automaticaly set LCD brightness to lower level to save your battery life.
Level 9 for AC and level 1 for battery operating is common setting. You can change this setting by open VAIO Power Management Viewer.
These is not generated by battery, it’s from Power Management software.