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Energizer posts

Wireless power standard almost here, named Qi (of all things)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 18th 2009 at 11:23AM

We're not sure whether to chalk this up to the fact that every good brand name is already taken, or to some folks' delight in torturing us with obscure pronunciation -- but whatever the case may be, it looks like the Wireless Power Consortium have finally come up with a spec for Wireless Power, and for it they're using a name (and logo) probably dreamt up after repeat viewings of Big Trouble in Little China: Qi. Pronounced Ch'i (you know, as in "prana" or "life force"), the first universal wireless standard has achieved 0.95 for interoperability testing a mere seven months after setting their eyes on the goal, paving the way for an "accelerated" acceptance of 1.0, according to a company spokesperson. The Qi standard applies to devices 5 watts and below, and members of the consortium include Duracell, National Semiconductor, Olympus, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, ST-Ericsson, and Shenzhen Sangfei Consumer Communications. At any rate, it's nice to hear about something happening ahead of schedule for once.

[Via SlashGear]

Energizer USB clip to charge camcorder / DSLR batteries via USB

by Darren Murph posted Jul 1st 2009 at 9:56AM

Energizer's Energi To Go catalog just keeps getting sweeter. After introducing a new range of XPAL battery chargers last month, the company is evidently gearing up to reveal what's likely to be its most convenient and altogether useful product yet. The USB clip you see above is designed to make contact with DSLR and camcorder batteries and provide juice via USB; in other words, it's like a portable, highly mobile DSLR battery charger. OhGizmo points out that you may need one of Energizer's USB-equipped battery packs to charge up the 7.4V cells, but at least we're still talking about a non-proprietary charging connector. Per usual, there's no mention of dollars and cents, but hopefully it'll be rolled out for less than a song here soon.

[Via OhGizmo]

Energizer expands Energi To Go charging line with more solar, iPhone options

by Darren Murph posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 8:36AM

We've seen Energizer dabble in portable charging solutions before, but we've yet to see it go all out like this. Thanks to a newfound partnership with XPAL Power, the company famous for making drum-toting bunnies famous has issued several new wares in its Energi To Go line. The rechargeable power packs and emergency chargers -- over ten of 'em in all -- will all ship by July of 2009 and will include devices for PMPs, PNDs, portable DVD players, netbooks and digicams. There's even an AP Charger that mounts your iPhone (à la mophie's Juice Pack Air), and the SP line consists only of solar-driven power packs designed to rejuvenated your iPod, camera and pretty much any other handheld device. There's no mention of price just yet, but as with anything Energizer, you can go ahead and brace for sticker shock.

Engadget's recession antidote: win an Energizer Induction Charging System for your Wiimotes!

by Laura June posted Jun 1st 2009 at 12:00PM

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we've got an Energizer Induction Charging System on offer. Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting! Check after the break for some photos of the prize!

The rules:

Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Energizer Induction Charging System.
If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Monday, June 1st, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

Fulton Innovation has a wireless power coming out party at CES

by Nilay Patel posted Jan 8th 2009 at 10:56PM

It was just a short year ago that we went to Fulton Innovation's tiny booth at CES and failed to get a working wireless power demo, but a lot's happened since then -- the company is at CES 2009 in force, with a much larger, swanker booth, partners like Energizer and Motorola demoing working products, and tons of working real-world examples of the tech in action. We were particularly taken with the modded Dish DVR that automatically turned itself on and off when the remote was placed on top of it to charge up -- oh, and the remote featured super-capacitors instead of batteries that charge fully in 10 seconds. There were also a ton of cell phones (including a modded iPhone, of course), new cooking demos featuring a blender, and a super cool Leggett & Pratt power tool charging workbench. Extremely impressive, all in all -- we're starting to think that 2009 could be the year that wireless power could really take off. Gallery below, video after the break!

P.S.- We asked if Fulton had anything to do with the Palm Pre's sexy Touchstone wireless charger, but the guys in the booth didn't know. We'll let you know if we find anything out.

Gallery: Fulton Innovation Wireless Power

Continue reading Fulton Innovation has a wireless power coming out party at CES

Energizer introduces thin, powerful Zinc Air Prismatic battery

by Donald Melanson posted Jan 8th 2009 at 8:13AM

Energizer hasn't exactly been keeping this one much of a secret, but the battery maker has now finally gotten official with its much-vaunted Zinc Air Prismatic battery technology, which it says will allow electronics manufacturers to make devices that last longer and are smaller and lighters. The batteries themselves make use of the same zinc air technology used in hearing aid batteries, and apparently have the highest energy density of any portable consumer power solution, which translates to about three times the runtime of a similarly sized alkaline or lithium ion battery. What's more, Energizer says that the zinc air batteries offer a "much lower cost" for OEMs compared to lithium ion batteries, which comes at least in part from the elimination of the need for charge circuitry and a charging device. Of course, the batteries are still quite a ways from finding their way into some actual products, but Energizer will apparently be trying to speed things up a bit by holding design seminars for OEMs throughout 2009.

Energizer's Rechargeable Solar Charger gets detailed, pictured

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 11:14PM

You don't usually equate CES with big time Energizer introductions, but this year is going to be different. While our fingers are still crossed that a 50-foot drum-toting bunny is seen storming around in the Vegas heat, we do know that said outfit will be bringing along its minty fresh Zinc Air Prismatic batteries, not to mention the newly unveiled Rechargeable Solar Charger. The above pictured device will boast a USB port to power an assortment of devices, and it can also be charged from an AC outlet if you just can't seem to locate the sun. Better still, its weatherproof nature should make it suitable for argonauts, and it'll only run $49.99 with a pair of rechargeable cells when it lands next summer.

Wireless Power Consortium to create universal wireless charging standard, insist that it's like magic

by Nilay Patel posted Dec 19th 2008 at 1:27PM

Although we've seen some interesting demos, wireless power systems have mostly been a novelty -- apart from a couple gaming accessories, the most notable thing a wireless company has done so far is declare bankruptcy. That's hopefully about to change, however: a new group called the Wireless Power Consortium plans to introduce a series of charging standards aimed at making sure all this magical tech plays nice with each other. The eight-company group includes Logitech, Philips, Sanyo (and now Panasonic, we'd suppose), TI, National Semiconductor, ConvenientPower, and Fulton Innovation -- which demoed that wireless hamburger for us, you'll recall. The group plans to first release a five-watt standard targeted at mobile phones, after which it'll take aim at laptops and other more power-hungry devices. Based on the flood of wireless-related PR we've been getting as CES gets closer, we're expecting some big things to happen in this space -- it sounds like Energizer is also going to get involved, which could be interesting. We'll see how it plays out -- hopefully this is the year we finally cut that power cord.

Read - PC World article
Read - WIreless Power Consortium website

Energizer to debut new, longer-lived Zinc Air Prismatic battery at CES 2009

by Laura June posted Dec 8th 2008 at 1:49PM

Energizer's set to unleash a new battery -- dubbed the Zinc Air Prismatic -- at CES in January, which they say will offer three times the juice of similar alkaline and lithium-ion batteries. Promising more runtime for smaller devices, they'll also supposedly be the same size as current, comparable batteries. It's a little vague right now, and we don't have any specifics on life times for specific examples of devices, but it all sure sounds great. We take exciting claims of battery power with a grain of salt, especially from the companies that make them, so we'll just have to wait and see. Then again, we're inclined to take companies with mascots that look like they've marched out of a hallucinogenic nightmare at their word. Conundrum.

Energizer unveils the Light-on-Demand modular LED lighting system

by Nilay Patel posted Feb 12th 2008 at 4:41AM

Energizer is definitely on the right track with its new Light-on-Demand modular LED lighting system, which features battery-backed LED light units that plug into a variety of fixtures and keep going even when the power goes out, but we'll wait until the designers can shake a little more ugly off this kit before we bring it home. The line is launching with several standard fixtures like the wired desk lamp and wireless wall sconce shown here, as well as a wireless motion detector and several emergency lighting solutions. Energizer says the gear was developed in response to research that showed people were "frustrated" by power outages and wanted lamps that stayed lit even during blackouts -- which seems fairly obvious to us, but we're not lighting researchers. Light-on-Demand units should be popping up in Targets later this month, but if Energizer really wanted to make a go of this, they'd hit us with a battery-backed LED light bulb, no?

Energizer brings Energi To Go portable power to iPod

by Darren Murph posted Aug 15th 2007 at 6:35AM

Although Energizer has been providing its Energi To Go for a plethora of cellphones and other portable peripherals, it's about time the dock-connecting iPods got one of their own. Finally arriving this fall, the Energi To Go Portable Power for iPod is powered by a pair of AA cells, sports a "unique flip design" that enables it to double as a stand, and features a "patented intelligent control chip that maximizes power transfer to the iPod." 'Course, what you're really interested in is how many all-nighters this thing can get you through, and we're happy to say that this here gizmo can supposedly provide "more than 46-hours" of juice to an iPod nano and "more than 32-hours" of music playback to the iPod with video. All yours for $29.99, which will include the charger and two Energizer e2 Lithium AA batteries.

Energizer's Energi To Go charges gadgets with AAs

by Evan Blass posted Jun 15th 2006 at 7:45PM

We'll sheepishly admit to being among the reported 20 percent of cellphone users whose phones conk out at least once a week (in fact, it just happened today), so you can bet we'll be first in line to pick up one of Energizer's new AA-based cellphone chargers when they hit stores on September 1st. Eschewing proper spelling for catchy branding, the Energi To Go line will come in numerous configurations to support a claimed 100 handsets covering most major manufacturers, with each package containing a special tip for individual models. Energizer promises that its e2 batteries will enable most dead phones to make a call in just 30 seconds (you can use regular alkalines, but of course Energizer recommends its own pricey products), with smartphones requiring several minutes to suck up enough juice for calling. Along with the $20 cellphone version, Energizer will also be releasing a $30, four-battery model to charge DAPs and portable gaming devices, with iGo-developed tips available for iPods, PSPs, Nintendo DSes, and other small gadgets you see mentioned with regularity on these pages.

[Via Mobiledia, thanks Ryan]