Will the Best Battery Please Stand up?

Fri May 18, 2007 7:32AM EDT

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Batteries have reduced many a grown person to tears. Whether they're in your flashlight, Speak N Spell, laptop, or MP3 player, they always seem to be dead when you need them most. We can debate the pros and cons of other technological advances, but when it comes to batteries, everyone is in agreement that it's time for a better mousetrap.

A few new technologies, most available today, are worth looking at.

A USB/Battery Combo: The USBCELL battery can be recharged when you yank off its head to reveal a USB plug. Recharge the battery from your laptop or any other powered USB port. Snap the head back on and you're good to go. (About $19 for two batteries.)

No Pre-charging Required: Hybrio, a new rechargeable battery from Uniross, is—unlike most rechargeable batteries—ready to use right out of the package without charging it first. The manufacturer claims it'll last four times as long as a standard rechargeable battery. It'll retain its charge for months and is rechargeable up to 500 times. Two AA batteries are $13.

Sanyo also makes a ready-to-use rechargeable battery called Eneloop that is very similar to the Hybrio. Eneloop combines the long shelf life, low cost, and ready-to-use aspects of a traditional battery with a rechargeable solution.

Nokia Earth-Friendly Alerts: Nokia is about to roll out a line of phones that emit a beep and display the words "Battery is full please unplug the charger" once their batteries are fully charged. That means you'll be able to save energy. According to the company, this simple alert could save enough electricity to power 85,000 homes annually. The alerts will be introduced to the Nokia 1200, 1208, and 1650 handsets first.

External Batteries: External portable batteries like Big Wave Power's portable EnergyPORT can recharge your phone, pocket PC, PDA, MP3 player, portable gaming device, and Bluetooth headsets—any device that charges up to 9 volts. This unit is about the size of an iPod and can charge two devices simultaneously, one from the USB-based 5-volt port and another on the 9-volt FireWire-based port. Just make sure that you read the voltage on the device you're going to recharge and select the right booster from the included kit.

Future Speak

Today, over 15 billion batteries are made and thrown away each year, the equivalent of a column of batteries stretching to the moon and back. Those curious about batteries in the near term future can read LiveScience's reports on nuclear powered batteries and a battery that works off of a tiny gas turbine. And talk about a renewable energy source—they've even figured out a way to create a battery powered by urine.

Intrigued by the prospect of alternative battery power? At PESWiki, a wiki devoted to clean energy, you can fuel your knowledge.

 

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Comments on Will the Best Battery Please Stand up?

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  • 47 Posted by bubbruce15 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have three of these batteries wired in series and it keeps my laptop up and running for up to six hours. It is a great idea

  • 48 Posted by nobitner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    So these Nokia phones will alert you when your battery's charged. So, what if the "charged" alert comes in the middle of the night and you have to get out of bed to unplug the darn beep? You know how many deadly accidents happen everyday because of a lack of sleep?

  • 49 Posted by sfcaus415 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a terrible article. It appears to have any useful comparison notes edited out. How are we better informed buy this information? All we can deduce is which technology sounds the sexiest. Sorry to be so negative...

  • 51 Posted by barry8272007 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    have a tens unit and have to change the batterys every day, the batterys that last four times as long would be great

  • 53 Posted by stjohnwalsh on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Batteries running on urine??.......that should create quiet a stink. Could semen be the next power generator???

  • 54 Posted by dianadao11 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box. Not to be blunt....but where are the pros and cons. All you have done is make statements about what the batteries do. Heck I can get that by reading the box

  • 55 Posted by zone24h on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    If the Nokia phones can setect that the battery is fully charged, it seems a simple matter to go one step farther and design the charging circuit to just stop accepting any more charge at that point. Or is this not simple?

  • 56 Posted by dencacho on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    A fantastic innovation. Customer friendly. That will surely sell here in the Philippines.

  • 57 Posted by liobarose on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    i believe that this article was informative. however, it could have been better had it listed pros and cons, approximate prices, stores that carry these batteries, and the length of charge of each battery. who wants a battery that requires 7 hours to charge if it only runs for 7 hours. Consumers like information, and I'd rather have too much information than not enough. Think this over next time!!

  • 58 Posted by lawrencevanrijn on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:57PM EDT Report Abuse

    The idea is excellent, and the part missing here is not just how good or how bad, but how long they last in certain devices. i am willing to pay decent money for something like this, that will give me a decent powerful flash unit. then there are other devices that will work here. If these things are a solution, then i will happily pay up to save the environment. So, complete this article and you will be able to convert people away from environmentally bad batteries.

  • 59 Posted by sunnysaroa on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    How much are they worth? They are probably expensive

  • 60 Posted by sockfocks on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have the 15 minute rechargeable Rayovacs. These are awesome!!! My digital camera would chew up alkalines in less than 10 shots with flash, with the Rayovacs I can get around 40-60 shots and a fast recharge.

  • 61 Posted by heribertor88 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    I thought there was some new breaking technology like a a123systems.com battery to be displayed, This is wrong, eneloop uses Ni-Mh and this is not as close to lithium ion, to me eneloop is a downgrade to boast about technology that has been already on the market for years!!! Of coarse it's better than the conventional NiCad's but if you are smart you would have bought rechargeable's the minute they came out - years back...

  • 62 Posted by karlberto on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    To those who wrote about wanting solar-powered batteries. Well, there is already a solar mini-panel charger designed specifically for rechargeable batteries..So this technology has been developed already.

  • 63 Posted by deepello50 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    Great idea but way to much money , with all the batterys we need here in fla during hurricane season could never afford it. Need to be priced much better than that,

  • 64 Posted by fhp333 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    I will take my Mercury batteries back, thank you.

  • 65 Posted by yurchenkodouble on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    do these batteries work in laptops? If so, which ones? Also I'm missing a pro and con list as well! Interesting read nevertheless!

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