[shaggylive]

lithium based rechargeable's are supposed to be stored with ~1/2 charge.. if you leave it dormant with a full charge, it will loose power, but still "think" it's full when it's not. so the best thing to do is "train" it by defining what empty and full actually are.
basically when you get a new battery it's best to either charge or drain fully first. I don't really think it matters which, but personally I always full drain, full charge, full drain, full charge, then get on with my life, repeating the cycle every so often.

what NOT to do (with new battery); start using right away and charge randomly to get though the day.

also I believe charging with the phone off will fill the battery more than if the phone is on.