In reply to:
Thanks Bren, I'll go see what kind of batteries are in the new phones I just bought.
Not that it's that big a deal - they'll last, just not as long. I've had a lot of experience with batteries, between RC car racing, cordless tools, cell phones, and now camera batteries so if anyone needs some advice on battery life and how to get the most out of them - let me know.
The problem with NiCds in low drain devices is the NiCds get used to a certain drain and charge pattern, cordless phones are the worst, they'll sit off the cradle for a few days barely trickling off the charge a few percent, then you'll use it to make a call, which puts a fair strain on it, then you'll throw it on the base and it'll begin a charge cycle with, say, 60% remaining in the charge, the battery starts believing that 60% is "empty" and only leaves you with the top 40% after a while.
Cordless tools are a lot easier to take care of, the rapid chargers get the batteries good and hot and if you use them a lot, the drain is steady and quick. To keep them in tip-top shape (my $80 Mastercraft 12V cordless driver/drill is still on the first set of two batteries while everyone else I know are on their 4th-6th Makita battery in the same timeframe) - use them as much as you have to, but never put them away for an extended period with a part charge, either run them out with the drill or build a cool little discharger out of 8-12 1157 bulbs hooked up in parallel and empty it completely (but don't let the bulbs go out if you build a discharger, take it off while they're still barely glowing or you might reverse the weakest cell in the pack) and recharge and store it that way.
Bren R.
