Can the battery's charge retention depend on how it was charged? Until this weekend, I was charging through the TMO-supplied cable, from my Mac. Charge retention was moderate, charging time was really long. I just got the retractable cable from Seidio and suddenly it seems it's not only charging faster but holding the charge longer. Is this likely just my imagination?

Wirelessly posted (My Bold)

Battery useage has to do with how it is used,

However, there is a considerable difference with different cable and charging devices

I'm thinking about something that happened to my AA batteries when I charged them with a Duracell Superfast Charger 15min. They simply lasted ~20% longer than they usually did. So I think your thing can also affect the batteries usage.