cycle count might be useful to know how much use the battery has had.
also note the new powerbook 12" battery has almost double the capacity.
must be the new higher capacity cells.

anyone using a battery with more than 500 charge cycles ?

eg:

powerbook Al 15"     original battery model A1045. 18 months old
  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    2774
  Voltage (mV):    12589
  Cycle Count:    345
i only have about 1 hour of use after a full charge


powerbook AL 12"     new battery model A1079.  1 week old
  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    4509
  Voltage (mV):    12587
  Cycle Count:    4


powerbook AL 12"     original battery model A1022. 30 months old
  Full Charge Capacity (mAh):    23590  <-- must be broken!
  Voltage (mV):    12389
  Cycle Count:    525
this battery only has 5 mins of use after a full charge.