BatteryCharger
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Energizer promises new and improved zinc-air battery for summer 2010
Energizer has been working on zinc-air batteries for quite some time now (along with plenty of others), but it looks like its now finally set to deliver with a new "standard battery" that's said to be on track for a launch sometime in the summer of next year. What's more, while some of the company's previous attempts at zinc-air batteries have only been able to manage average run times of between one and three months, Energizer says it's recently been able to triple things in time for the batteries' big debut. That will first come in the form of some AAAA batteries from Energizer itself, which will apparently be priced similarly to "special lithium batteries," and will eventually be followed by zinc-air batteries in a range of different sizes. During the same time, we should also start to see some of the first products with integrated zinc-air batteries from some of the 30 odd OEMs now working with Energizer, who are working to put the batteries into everything from Bluetooth headsets to remote controls to portable audio players.
Solar Technology debuts universal CamCaddy camera charger
Solar Technology's CamCaddy universal camera charger has been available in a bundle with the company's Freeloader Pro solar charger for a little while now, but it looks like the company has just now made it available separately for folks not quite ready to go solar. As you might expect, the charger isn't quite fully "universal," but the company says it should be compatible with more than 85% of the proprietary batteries used in digital cameras, camcorders and DSLRs, and it's provided a handy tool on its website to let you check your camera before you buy. The charger is also naturally still fully compatible with the Freeloader and Freeloader Pro, and you'll also get a car adapter, a USB charging cable, and both US and Euro plug adapters to ensure your camera stays charged wherever you go. Look for it to set you back £25, about $40. [Via ePhotoZine]
Energizer USB clip to charge camcorder / DSLR batteries via USB
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]
Softbank's iPhone 1seg tuner / battery charger gets unboxed
If you're American, don't even pretend you care about this. 'Cause you don't care about mobile TV at all, and we've got the facts to prove it. For those parked in Japan, though, you have every right to get jazzed. Softbank's 1seg TV tuner / battery charger has finally been loosed on the carrier's home turf, and the lucky cats over at DVICE were able to acquire one and give it a whirl. Setup was said to be a breeze, the 1seg pickup was crystal clear and the device itself was satisfactorily lightweight. As for downsides, the entire app is in Japanese, and even with the extra juice, watching TV on the go zapped the life out in around an hour with brightness maxed. Check the full writeup and unboxing gallery in the read link below.[Via OhGizmo]
Adorable PSP-shaped battery charger
If you're always on the go, chances are you have a spare PSP battery. But how does one keep it charged? An external battery charger, like the PS-P Battery Charger (pictured above), should do the trick. PSP GadgetZ has taken some pictures of this interesting peripheral--quite possibly one of the cutest we've seen yet! Although this mini-PSP can't play games, browse the web, or play music, it can charge your PSP batteries. And that's all we want it to do.Unfortunately, we've been unable to find a way to purchase this accessory. amazon.com carries a not-as-cute official Sony battery charger for a pricey $30.
Powerex MH-C9000 battery charger / analyzer
For a battery charger to get our attention, it usually has to employ a unique means of charging the batteries -- like USB or windmill power -- but sometimes plain old overkill is enough to get us interested. Case in point: the Powerex MH-C9000 -- or as Powerex calls it "the charger-analyzer from the future!" -- which'll give you more control over the battery charging process than most of us want to have. For eighty bucks and a bit of patience, it'll let you charge, condition, analyze, cycle, form and discharge four AA or AAA batteries, with each batt in the charger able to be tweaked independently to eke out as much juice as possible, displaying the process on the charger's spacious 3.5-inch by 1.5-inch backlit LCD. Of course, the MH-C9000 also has a basic mode, which'll automatically charge the batteries with no button pressing necessary, which we somehow suspect will end up seeing the heaviest use. Look for this one to ship sometime in December, with a 12V car adapter also available as an option. [Warning: PDF link]
Princeton's PMB-BP18 external battery pack for USB devices
Whether in the form of compressed images spun from disk or received over the air, portable video is a battery killer. Toss in a bit of WiFi and Bluetooth wireless to grind modern handhelds to a halt in just a few hours. This unfortunate truth makes sad chunky slabs of plastic and lithium polymer a must for those of you in need of some extra go-go juice. The Princeton PMB-BP18 is a 75-gram external battery pack capable of re-charging any portable USB device such as cellphone or iPod when away from the mains. What's more, Princeton touts the device's ability to charge the typical Japanese cellphone (via accompanying au and DoCoMo cables) twice before the PMB-BP18 external battery requires a refill. Sorry, that's an adjustable stand, not the backside of an LCD you're looking at, which somehow manages prop up your phone or mp3 player for viewing without the device sliding into your lap. Available now in Japan for ¥4,980 or about 44 US bucks.
Hack gives Minty Boost to an iPod battery
Another hack in the grand tradition of Altoids tin usage, the Minty Boost hack from from Ladyada is a new external iPod battery pack that uses AA batteries and some design smarts to about double the battery life of your iPod. The last time we saw an Altoids-based charger for the iPod it was running off of some 9v batteries, making the hack a simple one, but not very efficient. By using cheap and available AAs, the Minty Boost should make quite the addition to your collection of iPod accessories -- as long as you can manage to follow along at home with Ladyada's detailed instructions. Luckily, she's quite thorough, and even has a kit available to make things even easier. Plus a little bit of fresh breath never hurt anybody.[Via Hack-A-Day]
