Batteries
”Silver-Zinc Batteries Coming in 2009 With 40% Better Run Time Than Lithium-Ion
Lithium-ion is, by far, the most common form of rechargeable battery found in today's mobile devices. However, a shift towards silver zinc may be looming on the horizon thanks to a new product in development by ZPower, Inc. Ross E. Dueber, president and CEO of the company is scheduled to address attendees at the Batteries 2008 conference in Nice, France starting tomorrow, where he will tout the advantages of his silver-zinc technology scheduled to launch in "a major notebook computer in 2009." Whether we will find out the identity of this "major notebook" in the coming days remains to be seen, but the impending release does offer some hope for consumers frustrated by the battery life of their precious portable gadgets. More »European Rule Could Force Apple to Unintegrate its iPod Batteries
A new European Union rule could spell the end to the iPod's pesky integrated batteries. The EU's proposed “New Batteries Directive,” which mandates that batteries in electronic appliances need to be “readily removed” would force Apple to change the iPod's design for the European market. More »LG's HS102 Projector Has Divx Player Aboard, 2-Hour Battery
Projectors, unless they're of the mini- or HD-kind tend to have me thinking "meh..." apart from LG's new HS102. 'Cause though it has just 800 x 600 native resolution with switchable 4:3/16:9 ratios, it's got Phlatlight LED illumination tech that gives it a 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 150 lumen brightness and it's got a Divx player (playing files from USB-attached storage, it seems) built right into it. And there's a rechargeable battery jammed in there too, making this projector portable in the real sense, since it'll run for two hours unplugged. Out in South Korea for around a $555 equivalent, there's no word on when it'll hit these shores. [Naver via Zoomgadget]
Toshiba 'Super Charge' Laptop Batteries Hit 90% in 10 Minutes, Age Well
Toshiba's Super Charge Ion Batteries (SCiBs) have been floating around in various industrial applications for a while now, prompting some serious envy in the consumer space with their ridiculously fast charge time and remarkable lifespan (5000-6000 charge cycles to a normal lithium ion's 500). A year and about one worn-out laptop battery later, Toshiba is showing a prototype of a SCiB notebook battery at CEATEC, quickly charging a Dynabook in what must be one of the least visually stimulating demos of the show. More »Ball of Batteries Re-Energizes Old Trash
By artist Michel de Broin, the Dead Star is a sculpture formed from batteries at the end of their functional life. He explains, "Left to itself, the sculpture will slowly cool down since there is no longer electronic activity taking place in it." On exhibit at the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology in New York, we enjoy the sculpture because it perpetually looks like it's about to explode. [Michel de Broin via MAKE]
MacBook Pro Automatically Self-Destructs in Time for Next Version
Reader Mike Chung sent us these pictures of his MacBook Pro battery, which has almost failed for the second time? Why do I say almost? I mean, it's clear that the battery has ballooned into some sort of slimy, Alien-like monstrosity. Well, apparently this battery is still alive and working.
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