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Brother shakes up expectations with vibration-charged low-power batteries
Lithium-ion battery technology keeps improving by (theoretical) leaps and bounds, but what good's that to you when you're faced with a dead TV remote? Brother Industries has a plan, and it doesn't involve ink for once -- the Japanese printer company's developed a set of prototype batteries you simply shake to charge. AA and AAA models are already in the works, though you shouldn't expect to slot them into cameras or R/C cars, as the miniature electromagnetic induction generators inside are designed for infrequently used gadgets and provide as little as 10mW (or as much as 180mW) when shook. Of course, when it comes to TV remotes there's an even lazier way for couch potatoes to squeeze the juice, but we have to imagine standard-sized cells have a slightly better chance at market.
Swiftpoint's tiny mouse finally up for pre-order, shipping in August
It's been a long couple of years since we last heard from Swiftpoint, but the company is back with a (tiny) bang and introducing its eponymous ultraportable mouse. Touting a pen-like grip, tilt-scrolling, and a 30 to 40 percent better efficiency than your touchpad, this little thumb accessory wants to be seen as the solver of an eternal problem -- namely, getting all the utility of a desktop rodent without having to deal with its full size. Whether it lives up to that lofty goal will require some fingers-on time to determine, but the Swiftpoint does a very credible job on the battery front: it can turn a 30-second charge into an hour's use and can last 3 to 4 weeks on a fully juiced cell. It all sounds quite appealing, but be prepared for some sticker shock as the pre-order price is £67 in the UK or $70 in the USA... and that's with a 10 percent early bird discount included. We might just wait till these hit the sales before grabbing one. [Thanks, Patrick]
AA rechargeable battery shootout: Energizer, PowerGenix and Sanyo Eneloop
If there's one thing that has become abundantly clear to us these past few months, it's that there's really no excuse to not invest in at least one set of rechargeable batteries if you find yourself chewing through more than a few on a regular basis. If you're an avid user of Apple's power-hungry Magic Mouse, Nintendo's oh-so-demanding Wii remote or one of the many professional camera flashes on the market, chances are you've considered buying stock in Duracell or Energizer based on how often you find yourself in the battery aisle. Quite a few devices have moved to proprietary rechargeables -- many of which can be rejuvenated over USB -- but for everything else, it's typically AA or bust. We tested out PowerGenix's NiZn cells late last year, and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in possession of two alternatives from Energizer and Sanyo. Care to see how all three of these stacked up against one another and those traditional non-rechargeables? Read on for more. %Gallery-92885%
Hitachi claims secret chemical formula will improve battery cathodes, double longevity
Before lithium-ion batteries, portable gadgets were a nightmare, forcing road warriors and Discman-toting teens to either swap disposable cells or deal with rechargables that (with few exceptions) were tricky to recharge. Of course, Li-ion batteries also have a downside: as laptop and cell phone users have no doubt found out, they too become disposable before long. One reason why is that acid in the electrolyte can corrode the cathode material -- and now, Hitachi claims it's found a way to strengthen its own. Using an undisclosed combination of elements to replace some of the manganese used in the company's cathodes, Hitachi claims they can strengthen their crystalline configuration to resist acid, reduce cost, and best of all, double the usable life of a lithium-ion cell to about ten years. We've heard similar claims before, of course, with other battery manufacturers promising us twenty years, but it looks like this technology might make it out of the lab. NEDO, a Japanese government organization, has commissioned Hitachi to bring these batteries to life for industrial applications like wind farms. Cell phones, sadly, will have to wait.
'The Panel' rechargeable LED monitor sentences you to a more productive life
"It would let me set up shop at that posh cafe down the street." That's how you justified your laptop purchase -- but as you sat, gently sipping your macchiato, you realized it would never work without your decidedly non-portable 24-inch Cinema Display's extra real estate. We've been there many a time, and apparently so has a startup named MEDL Technology, which has just finished prototyping the answer to our telecommuting (and portable gaming) woes. Going above and beyond the average, tiny secondary display, "The Panel" is an honest-to-goodness 13.3-inch LED-backlit monitor that's less than an inch thick, but packs incredible connectivity (DVI, VGA, Component, S-Video, mini-HDMI and USB) in addition to a sweet folding stand and up to five hours of rechargeable battery life. MEDL told us that should they secure funding, the firm's looking to launch The Panel in Q4 2010, and is hoping to first sway business users with a sub-$350 price point. To work surrounded by coffee -- without being employed by Starbucks -- that's a small price to pay.%Gallery-88740%
EcoloCap claims nanotube-infused Lithium-X battery has 99 percent efficiency, fuels our long-range EV dreams
The more we hear about the next generation of rechargeable batteries, the more nanotechnology seems integral to the case, as scientists work to improve the capacity of electrodes in the popular Lithium-ion chemical battery structure. Silicon nanowires are an exciting future possibility, and one current solution uses nano-structures made of iron phosphate. But the firm we're highlighting today, EcoloCap, has decided to revisit our versatile friend: the carbon nanotube. The company has just spread the word that its Nano Lithium X battery can generate a minimum of 200 amp-hours with a single cell (a Tesla requires 6,831 cells) at half the cost of a traditional Li-ion and with greater than 99 percent efficiency. Truth be told, we don't know if the tech actually exists, and we'd never even heard of the company before today -- but if this solution does materialize with the voltage to match its longevity, it'll bring a badly needed eco-boost of competition to a market with far too few players.
Casio's solar-powered Pathfinder watch plays the green card twice
Plotting their latest spread of watches this spring, Casio executives decided it was time to "go green." Some poor schmuck in R&D took them at their word. Thankfully for mother nature, the Casio Pathfinder PRG110C-3 is more than meets the eye; the watch -- suited for argonauts needing an altimeter, barometer, thermometer and digital compass -- also has a miniature solar cell built into its face to automatically recharge the battery. Though Casio's claim that this last will cut down on the three billion batteries Americans trash each year seems a little reaching -- watch batteries last a lot longer than a AA -- the timepiece does help the planet some merely by being packaged in recyclables. The $250 device will be available exclusively from Amazon, and yeah, the color you see here is the color you'll get.
Stanford develops safer lithium-sulfur batteries with four times the charge of lithium-ion cells
Longer battery life is high atop our list of gadget prayers, and the brainiacs at Stanford are one step closer to making our dreams come true with a new lithium-sulfur technology. Half of this trick lies in the silicon nanowire anode that the same team developed back in 2007, whereas the new cathode consists of a similarly commodious lithium sulfide nanostructure. Compared to present lithium-ion batteries, Stanford's design is "significantly safer" and currently achieves 80 percent more capacity, but it's nowhere near commercial launch with just 40 to 50 charge cycles (Li-ion does "300 to 500") due to the compound's rapid degradation. That said, we're promised a theoretical quadruple boost in capacity as the technology matures, so until then we'll keep that hamster running in our backpack.
Korea starts testing 'recharging road,' might make it part of its public transport system
Time to set aside the chains of worry that have prevented us from jumping on the electric bandwagon -- Korean researchers have figured out a way to make us forget all about charging stations and cruising ranges with their magnetically recharging road. The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) you see here went into service yesterday and can now be found towing three bus-loads of tourists around a Seoul amusement park. It operates on a battery five times smaller than conventional EV juice packs and can collect its power through non-contact magnetic transmission from the recharging strips in the ground. We're also told running costs for this system are a third of what a typical EV would require, and should it prove successful and find itself expanded to the public transport system, only about 20 percent of bus routes would need to be electrified -- at bus stops, crossroads and the like -- with the rest being covered by the power stored inside the OLEV. Here's to hoping it all works out.
Sanyo Eneloop lite Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are cheap, less filling
If you're a gadget fan (and let's face it: you are) then there's simply no excuse for using disposable batteries. Environmental concerns aside, rechargeables have advanced such that it just makes economic sense to switch. We've been unapologetic fans of Sanyo's Eneloop series of Ni-MH batteries for years. Hell, we like any modern rechargeable that's sold fully charged and is capable of maintaining that state even after years inside the family junk drawer. Today, Sanyo is announcing its Eneloop lite series scheduled for a June 22nd launch in Japan with a global release set for sometime later. These cells are meant to tempt you by their relatively low, up-front purchase price of ¥780 (about $8.64) for a pair of 1.2V 950mAh AAs or ¥640 ($7.09) for a pair of 1.2V 550mAh AAAs -- each capable of about 2,000 recharges saving you at least $1,000 over their lifetime. They're not going to power your hotshoe flash but they will handle the relatively low to medium power requirements of all the remote controls in your life. Do it.
Nokia wants patent on self-regenerating phone batteries, piezoelectrics and much magic involved
In Nokia's own words, what we're looking at is a "piezoelectric kinetic energy harvester." Working along the same principles as kinetic wristwatches have done for a long time already, Nokia's idea is to capture the energy generated by the phone's movements and to refashion it into beautiful, clean-as-a-whistle electric power. By allowing the heavier internal components to move on rails within the phone as part of a "force-transferring assembly," the Espoo think tank has figured out a way to capitalize on all the small forces of acceleration and rotation that we subject our phones to on a daily basis. It would seem overly ambitious to expect this to replace the trusty old charger, but we give credit to Nokia for even thinking about it. Check out some schematics of how this would work after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PhoneSuit Primo micro iPhone and iPod battery pack impressions
We've been playing with PhoneSuit's Primo micro battery pack on our iPhone 3GS for a few days. As the name suggests, this thumb-sized battery is the smallest we've seen in its class, but somehow it still packs 800mAh of juice -- almost two-thirds of the iPhone's built-in cell. Feature-wise you'll only find battery level and charge status indicators on the front, and a mini-USB port on the back for charging. Unlike the slot-in case-style battery packs for the iPhone, this battery pack's dock connector is on a flat top, which makes it compatible with "all iPhones and most iPods." We also noticed a 2mm gap when plugged in, and apparently this is to allow space for your iPod's / iPhone's protection case -- too bad our iPhone didn't have one. While the battery life lived up to its promise for us, this broad-compatibility design backfired on us -- the battery pack was thicker than our iPhone 3GS, so the overhanging sharp edge on the back often caught our trouser pocket while the phone was being pulled out. Alas, we were more worried about our battery pack coming loose than our iPhone's own battery life. Hopefully PhoneSuit will consider making device-specific adapters to give us a peace of mind, or maybe offer baggy pants at discount prices. %Gallery-85080%
Scosche solBAT II collects solar power, distributes it to USB devices
Solar-charged batteries aren't exactly wow factors these days, unless they're dirt cheap like this Scosche solBAT II. With 1,500mAh of juice, this dongle can carry slightly more power than your average smartphone, and can also take any device with a USB cable. However, before you fork out $29.99 to Scosche, you should know that the solBAT takes between four to five days (!) to charge up fully under sunlight -- not ideal for most power-hungry smartphones nowadays. There's always the $93.23 Energizer SP2000 (2,000mAh) for your consideration -- it's bulkier, but with three solar panels it only needs six hours of solar-charge time. Guess we'll just take the faster one, thanks.
Sanyo's Eneloop music booster keeps stage musicians effect-ed
If there's even a faint need for a recharging solution, there's a decent shot that Sanyo will have an Eneloop device to fit the situation. Take the newly announced music booster, for instance, which is designed to sit alongside your Tube Screamer, TU-2 Chromatic Tuner and RV600 Reverb Machine in order to keep the juice flowin' even if a breaker trips mid-solo. Truthfully, the device could be used to energize pretty much anything that taps into a 9V power source, and if you're concerned over noise interference, Sanyo assures us that you shouldn't be. The unit -- which goes on sale in March 2010 -- can be fully regenerated in around 3.5 hours, and depending on the drain of the device(s) it's powering, can keep things going for anywhere between 2 and 50 hours. Rock on, as they say.
IEEE begins work on new cellphone battery standard, we circle 2029 for ratification
You'll excuse us for poking a bit of fun at the IEEE, but after it took seven years to finalize a wireless standard that didn't change for most of that time, we have to wonder how long a new battery rulebook is going to take. IEEE Std 1725 is the current set of commonly agreed rules, in effect since 2006, but apparently "the cellular industry has grown tremendously since then" and our needs as consumers have changed. No kidding, 1GHz processors and 1080p video recording can kind of do that. The Cell Phone Battery Working Group (a real entity!) will hold its first meeting on the topic in February, and the final outcome will lay out up-to-date rules on the requisite quality, reliability, construction, and discharge characteristics of modern cellphone batteries. Let's hope "smartphones that last more than a day" figures somewhere on that list.
Eneloop Stick Booster supplies emergency power to your portable devices
Any time a company both enables our gadget addiction and discourages wanton battery consumption we have to consider it a good thing -- and, indeed, Sanyo's wicked-rechargeable Eneloop batteries already have quite a few fans here at Engadget HQ. But what's a busy gadget hound to do on the go, you ask? Try this one on for size: the Eneloop Stick Booster ships with two AAs and can be used to charge them, via any USB source. From that point the device can be used to power your PMP for roughly 90 minutes. How great is that? To be released in Japan on December 1 for an unspecified price, and worldwide whenever the company sees fit. PR after the break.
PowerGenix NiZn rechargeable AA batteries: finally, some cells worth buying
It's rare if a month flies by without some random university or DIYer proclaiming that the next major jump in battery technology is just over the horizon, and yet, here we are -- in the year 2009 -- still buying overpriced AA cells from Duracell and Energizer that deplete far too quickly given the technology available. Heck, even those standard rechargeable cells have seen their performance degrade hastily in our experiences, and we've been longing for a rechargeable cell that was actually worth its salt for a long, long time. Frankly, we passed off the PowerGenix NiZn battery as just another slice of vaporware when it was first uncovered in late 2008, but after they went on sale this summer, we decided to really put a set through the paces. Click on to find out how we feel about 'em after months and months of hardcore usage.
Tesla Roadster keeps on rollin', goes 313 miles on single charge
What could be a better feeling than beating a world record? Beating your own world record. The Tesla Roadster has put an extra exclamation mark on its world-conquering single-charge antics by raising the bar from 241 miles back in April to an even more impressive 313 this week. As you can see in that homemade "world record" sign above, that's 501 kilometers in metric terms, or pretty much the exact distance between Paris and Amsterdam. The Global Green Challenge in Australia -- where this feat was achieved -- allows only production battery-powered vehicles to compete, meaning that the new record is down to driver skill on the part of one Mr. Simon Hackett, and not some newfound techno mojo. Kinda makes those long recharge times seem like less of a burden, no?
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries promise a lot, we'll see if they deliver in 2010
Is there any other field of technology that promises as many revolutionary innovations as battery makers do yet delivers so few? We've heard of battery life being made four times, eight times, even twelve times better... and seen pretty much none of it pan out in any sort of meaningful way. Zinc-air batteries are also nothing new, but now some whizkids up in Norway have figured out how to make them rechargeable and set up an entire company, ReVolt, for their commercialization. With more than double the energy density of regular Lithium-Ion batteries, safer operation, lower cost of production, and environmentally friendlier ingredients, ReVolt's tech sounds as sweet as anything, but we'd advise waiting for the pudding-based proof before getting excited. Plans are for small hearing aid and cellphone batteries to show up in 2010, and if all goes well there, larger cells for electric vehicles could also follow. Sure. [Via PhysOrg]
Technocel PowerPak pulls double duty as portable battery and home charger
Wouldn't it be nice if your home phone charger could double as a charging device itself when taken on the road? Yes, yes it would. Technocel undoubtedly agrees, as its PowerPak does just that. When plugged into a standard wall outlet, it can simultaneously charge whatever USB device is plugged into it (amongst others, considering the bundle of tips that are included) and juice up its internal cell; once unplugged, the integrated battery can provide enough power to a dead mobile to let you yap for around three hours, or just enough to make it through whatever sobfest your ill-willed SO has planned for you next week. It's expected to go on sale in around a fortnight at various retail locations and Sprint stores.%Gallery-75660%
