China's Starsway touts potassium battery-powered PMP

While the image above would suggest it's still a ways from being ready, China's Starsway Electronics is nonetheless now shopping its MP405B PMP around to potential customers, with it boasting at least one somewhat unique feature. That is a built-in kalium (or potassium) battery, which the company touts as "high-energy," although it isn't providing any details on what you can expect in terms of battery life or charging times. Apart from that, however, the player looks to be about as unremarkable as they come, with it boasting a 1.5-inch display, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB or 1GB of storage, and an integrated FM radio, among other standard features. No word on a price, but those looking to buy some en masse can contact Starsway directly to get things moving.

[Via PMP Today]

[jj @ Oct 24th 2007 12:11PM]

Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium, all other countries have inferior potassium....

[David @ Oct 24th 2007 12:24PM]

that was totally the first thing i thought as well.

[Anthony @ Oct 24th 2007 12:17PM]

Finally- I can't tell you how long I've waited for a banana powered MP3 player. Come on China - release this thing already!

[feckineejit @ Oct 24th 2007 12:51PM]

OMGWTF Potassium? I'll take a hundred. Clearly the addition of potassium will make these puppies sell like hot potassium cakes.

[byaah @ Oct 24th 2007 12:59PM]

Mmm.. I love me some hot potassium cakes.

[r3loaded @ Oct 24th 2007 1:04PM]

Given that Engadget is already *very* jittery about lithium-ion batteries and their flaming habits, and that potassium is much more reactive than lithium, I'd slowly back away from this one...

[Alexander @ Oct 24th 2007 1:37PM]

Was it just me, or did anybody else read the title as:

"China's Starsway touts potatoium battery-powered PMP"

[Chris @ Oct 24th 2007 1:41PM]

... No.

[uberlemurguy @ Oct 24th 2007 2:18PM]

Yes!

[Larz @ Oct 24th 2007 1:47PM]

I hear that thare potassium is good for them muscles.

[Sylvain @ Oct 24th 2007 2:14PM]

Er... Potassium Hydroxide is the standard electrolyte for NiCad and NiMh batteries. So unless they're doing something special with the an/cath(odes) like using silver, this is just a plain NiCad/NiMh. Potassium Hydroxide electrolyte batteries also tend to have a memory effect which would be horrible on a DAP since you would have to run the battery down 100% every time rather than charging when you get home every day.

[Benson @ Oct 24th 2007 3:50PM]

NiCd memory effect = highly overrated.
It really only affects automated charge/discharge systems. When the system is repeatedly discharged to exactly the same point by a microcontroller, then recharged from that exact point, you get a blip in the discharge right there which makes the controller think the battery is _dead_ low if it gets to that point. If you use it to varying levels, no such blip develops, and even if one did, (as long as no precise voltage monitoring controller is involved), you'll probably ride right through the blip. The battery doesn't stop working, it just develops a slight change that persuades some control circuits it has discharged. It still provides current, and the voltage doesn't change enough for most devices to care.
And, to top it all off, even if you are in a memory-prone application, you don't have to discharge to 0 every time. Discharging one in tens of cycles will suffice. Deep discharge cycles are hard on cells, and especially on batteries (reversing risk), so don't wear your cells out prematurely.

[highjumpman @ Oct 24th 2007 2:31PM]

Potassium + Water = boom!!!
Heh, we once blew a hole into the ceiling during our science class with this.
So for the sake of safety, let it be potassium hydroxide...

[coach @ Oct 24th 2007 4:00PM]

128 MB? This is 2007 right?

[laptop @ Aug 20th 2008 10:37PM]

It really only affects automated charge/discharge systems. When the system is repeatedly discharged to exactly the same point by a microcontroller, then recharged from that exact point, you get a blip in the discharge right there http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/acer/batbcl11.htm which makes the controller think the battery is _dead_ low if it gets to that point. If you use it to varying levels, no such blip develops, and even if one did, (as long as no precise voltage monitoring controller is involved), you'll probably ride right through the blip. The battery doesn't stop working, it just develops a slight change that persuades some control circuits it has discharged. It still provides current, and the voltage doesn't change enough for most devices to care.