Batteries - SlashGear

‘batteries’ Stories

A New Concept for Rechargeable Batteries – USB

Samia Perkins, Mar 31st 2011 Discuss [6]

When my son was born, and his vibrating bouncy seat started eating through AA batteries like jelly beans, I bought rechargeable batteries. But I found them kind of a pain. They didn't always charge back up very well, and it took a long time to charge them. Therefore, the battery charger is now in a drawer, and while we still go through AAs like crazy for all those electronic toys, I just buy regular batteries. But if this concept design comes to light, I might just switch back. Continuance is a battery with a USB port right in the side. Read The Full Story

Sanyo Pedal Juice box gives guitarists staying-power

Chris Davies, Nov 30th 2010 Discuss [3]

Sanyo has launched a new portable rechargeable battery pack, but unlike most we see this isn't to give your laptop, iPod or iPad a little extra runtime; it's targeted at guitarists. The Sanyo KBC-9V3U Pedal Juice is a 9V Li-Ion rechargeable battery in a water- and shock-resistent housing, intended to provide guitar effects pedals with up to 50hrs of power. Read The Full Story

Panasonic’s EVOLTA Robot Uses 12-AA Batteries to Travel 317 Miles [Video]

Evan Selleck, Nov 26th 2010 Discuss [0]

Considering it is the day after Thanksgiving, how about a little publicity stunt from Panasonic to tide you over during your extended weekend? Even if batteries are one of the most commonly used items in the world, it seems Panasonic doesn't think they get enough attention. That's why they put together the EVOLTA robot, and decided to send the little robot on a 500-kilometer trek across Japan. Luckily enough for the EVOLTA, it made it, and actually did it ahead of schedule. Read The Full Story

BlackBerry PlayBook First Hands-On with RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Sean Hollister

Chris Burns, Nov 16th 2010 Discuss [0]

You may know Sean Hollister from his post over at Engadget, where he lets us know that although RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie was hesitant onstage today on the Web 2.0 Summit stage, he was ready and willing to share with the whole internet world once he was behind it. In a lovely hotel hallway, Balsillie gives Engadget a heft of this device, Hollister saying that the device is warm to the touch, solid yet plasticky, a responsive glass touchscreen front, and a rubberized no-slip back. Read The Full Story

Batteries the Size of a Grain of Salt

Chris Burns, Nov 3rd 2010 Discuss [0]

UCLA researchers are setting a Grain of Salt size goal for their new project which is to develop a tiny version of lithium-ion batteries. This is the kind of battery you'd find in your laptop, your cellphone, and the music player you've got there on your desk. Research is said to be in early stages, but may one day power miniature electronic devices ... maybe like a little robot like they had in the one movie... Transformers? No. Batteries Not Included. Read The Full Story

NEC begins Nissan Leaf EV battery mass production

Chris Davies, Jul 23rd 2010 Discuss [1]

NEC has begun mass production of high-capacity lithium ion batteries for electric cars, and while that might not sound interesting, if you're considering a Nissan Leaf it's NEC's power packs that will be keeping you moving. Initially production is at the company's Sagamihara plant in Japan, but in of 2013 the joint-venture started by NEC and Nissan plan to shift production to a new facility in Tennessee, USA, for EV models destined for domestic use. Read The Full Story

Microsoft InstaLoad Batteries Don’t Depend on Polarity

Evan Selleck, Jul 1st 2010 Discuss [3]

Have you ever had your power go out in the middle of the night, whether due to electrical issues or a natural disaster, and found that putting a new pair of batteries into your flashlight is a remarkably frustrating ordeal, due to the fact those batteries have to be inserted in one particular way for the flashlight to work. Not much of an issue for every-day usage, but thankfully it's sometimes the not every-day usage that stems the coolest inventions. Read The Full Story

Horizon MiniPak Brings Hydrogen Fuel Cells to the Masses

Evan Selleck, Jun 16th 2010 Discuss [4]

We're all looking for alternate, better, and more powerful ways to charge all of our gadgets. That's half the fun of owning all these shiny things: finding ways to actually keep them powered. And while double-A batteries, or any of their brethren, work great for some things, and those AC wall chargers are constantly plugged in, we're always in the market for something that we can take with us, doesn't kill our batteries in the process of charging, and can last longer than we probably need it to. That's why we're happy to hear about the Horizon MiniPak. Read The Full Story

Microsoft claims Windows 7 is guilt-free, laptop at fault in battery issue

Paul Fang, Feb 9th 2010 Discuss [0]

Microsoft recently announced that they would investigate some user upgrades to Windows 7 that provoked a new warning message (not seen XP or even the problem-ridden Vista) suggesting that users “consider replacing their batteries”. Turns out the software giant have reached a verdict that Windows 7 (and naturally therefore Microsoft) isn’t actually at fault. Who, or rather, what is? Absymal laptop batteries, according to the MSDN blog. Read The Full Story

New lithium-ion batteries can last 20 years, be charged over 10,000 times

Paul Fang, Feb 4th 2010 Discuss [1]

Japanese company Eamex has claimed that they’ve discovered a way to significantly increase the lifespan of the high-capacity lithium-ion batteries that are used in hybrids/electric vehicles. The new battery technology may go through over 10,000 times , and last approximately 20 years. That’s leagues better than what we have at the moment - read on to see how they actually do just that. Read The Full Story

Energizer ‘D’ rechargeable battery cracked open: cheaper, low-power AA lurks inside

Chris Davies, Aug 27th 2009 Discuss [6]

For most people, a battery is a mysterious little pack of magic, containing the juice that makes our gadgets flash and bleep (and then run out just when we really need them). For Energizer, it seems, batteries are an opportunity to perform some mild deception: it turns out that inside the chunky, D-sized casing of an Energizer rechargeable is a spacer-clad sub-C cell AA battery offering far less power than you'd expect. Update: Commenter huskyboy1978 points out that's not an AA battery, but a production-sized sub-C cell. Read The Full Story

Pilots Union calls for Li-Ion cargo ban over fire risk

Chris Davies, Aug 26th 2009 Discuss [0]

Lithium-ion batteries could soon be unwelcome in plane cargo holds, if the world's largest pilots union has its way; in the wake of several explosions where bulk amounts of the batteries have caused fires, the organization is calling for a ban on their transport by plane. However the ban would not affect individual passengers bringing devices powered by lithium-ion batteries - such as laptops and cellphones - onto planes, though there may be some confusion with checked luggage should li-ion batteries be left inside. Read The Full Story