DeskTop / Pod Charger & Battery Issues

Hi. Newbie to the site. Proud owner of Blackberry Torch and very pleased with performance etc so far having recently changed from a HTC HD2. I have used my Torch as my full time alarm clock via the desktop pod charger. Due to the fantastic battery (compared to the HD2 anyway) and despite being a fairly heavy user I find I still have around 70% battery power when going to bed most nights. My question is by being on the charger all night I am harming the battery / phone when only a small charge is needed. The phone is not hot or anything in the morning. Thanks in advance.

I've used a desk charger as a night stand for the past couple of berries/past couple of years (9000 and now Torch) with no noticeable impact on battery life.

I'm sure one of our more technically inclined Crackberry members will be able to confirm that there is no risk to overcharging the current generation of batteries (I seem to remember having read this a while ago).

Originally Posted by RickOShey

Hi. Newbie to the site. Proud owner of Blackberry Torch and very pleased with performance etc so far having recently changed from a HTC HD2. I have used my Torch as my full time alarm clock via the desktop pod charger. Due to the fantastic battery (compared to the HD2 anyway) and despite being a fairly heavy user I find I still have around 70% battery power when going to bed most nights. My question is by being on the charger all night I am harming the battery / phone when only a small charge is needed. The phone is not hot or anything in the morning. Thanks in advance.

No. Unlike older batteries which suffered from memory effects, Your Torch's battery is fine with the occasional topping up charge while you to go bed, I would suggest once every 3 months letting the battery completely deplete (to the point where the device shuts off the radio due to low battery) however that is just a habit of mine, not a requirement by any means.

Older NICAD's and NIMH battery's use to retain a memory when underused and overcharged(using it till half way then recharging constantly would eventually make the battery think it was dead when in fact it was half full).

Newer battery technology(lithium ion, lithium polymer) do not retain this type of memory. There is no fear of "overcharging" the battery as there is a function on the phone(all newer rechargeable devices have this) that will turn the charge into a "trickle" charge when the battery is at full.

With the newer type(lithium) batteries, if overcharged they explode and catch fire. Reason there is an overcharge function that shuts the charger off when the battery is full.

Thanks for your swift response. Most helpful. If this is an indicator of the knowledge & helpfulness on these forums I'm truly impressed. Used to be a regular on xda developers when I had the HD2 and a similar question posted there would have been flamed & scorned. Once again thanks :D