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USBCELL goes fashion conscious
We've seen plenty of fashionphones, fashionlaptops and fashioncams in our day, but we're pretty sure the Moxia Energy folks behind USBCELL have a first here: fashionbatteries. Not content with the mere novelty of the USBCELL USB-rechargeable AA battery design, Moxia now has plans to launch a "designer range" of colorful USBCELL batteries. Design Director Verity Wright just seemed to think it was a matter of time: "With virtually every other portable company launching fashionable pastel colored products, it's about time the Billions of AA Batteries inside caught up with the design and fashion concerns of modern consumers." No word on when these will go on sale, but you can head on over to the USBCELL site now to put in a request for color or tell Moxia just how exactly ridiculous and/or super-awesome you think this plan is.
Sanyo booth tour
Sanyo had a bit of a twist this year at CES -- it was making a push for the environment. In between displays of HD camcorders and wireless projectors were numerous low consumption devices and solar powered chargers. Keep reading to see what you may have missed among the plethora of products that were on display this year.
USBCELL batteries reviewed
It's not too often that you see a review of AA batteries here on Engadget. But then again, the USBCELL AA batteries aren't just your garden-variety portable cells, either. Our compadres over at TrustedReviews have just taken a set of these fine USB-chargeable batteries for a spin, and have given them a pretty favorable review. After charging a set of 'em for use with a Fuji FinePix cam, TrustedReviews found that it took over 500 snapshots for the batteries to give up. By comparison, a set of Duracell Alkaline batteries only lasted for "a few pictures." The review concludes: "For a combination of convenience and eco-friendliness then the USB Cells get the thumbs up. Once a wider range becomes available and if the price [$24 for a pair] can drop a little, then they'll could well do for batteries what USB memory sticks did for floppy discs and virtually kill them off." We can't wait to try 'em ourselves.
USBCELL batteries feature built-in USB plug
There seem to be so many goofy USB-enabled products these days that we barely even notice when a genuinely useful one nearly slaps us in the face, and such was the case with the new USBCELL, a AA battery whose positive terminal flips off to reveal a USB plug all ready to feed it some juice. As long as you bring your laptop everywhere, this solves the problem with most other rechargeable batteries: the fact that you need to carry around a separate charger with you wherever you go (unless you happen to travel with Thanko's NB-mate speaker / hub / power source), and if you forget to bring it, you're forced to shell out for more disposables -- negating the main reason you bought rechargeables in the first place. Although the AA NiMH models will be first to hit the market (about $24 for a two-pack), other batteries with built-in USB plugs are scheduled to be released in the near future, including 9V, AAA (with either a mini- or folding full-size USB attachment), C and D converter shells for the AAs, and even packs for cellphones, digital cameras, and other portable devices. The only downside we can see here is that certain people (including ourselves) already have eight devices fighting for seven available USB ports, so unless you're willing to spring for yet another hub, charging these at home could turn into somewhat of a hassle.
