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Posts Tagged “
Batteries
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O2 Wireless
Music Fans in UK This Weekend Treated to Pedal-Power For Their Phones
The only real problem with today's portable electronics is battery life. The gear gets more powerful but sadly battery technology really hasn't kept up, that's why we write about things like solar power. But there are also nifty things called dynamos, devices you pump or crank to juice up your batteries. O2, a large mobile carrier in the UK, will be installing bicycle-powered dynamos around a festival it's sponsoring this coming weekend to charge up music fans' mobiles. Sure, they could have run power cables and created power stations, but where's the fun in that? And as anyone who's been to a large outdoor festival in the last few years knows, you're going to want to power up at least once a day or else you're cut off. And if you've got our luck, it'd be right before Winehouse takes the stage, so you'd have no bawdy SMS session to distract you. [Pocket Picks]
11:26 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Matt Hickey
657 views,
5 comments
Latest by sharmanova: They did this at Virgin Festivus in Calgary, Canada. The booth was d-e-a-d. Akshuley, for an "environmentally" focused music festival the site was an epic eco-disaster. I couldn't help but look out at the great unwashed and more »
laptops
Methanol Fuel Cells to Power Military Laptops
Under military funding, a Califorinia company named Ultracell has developed a 25W methanol fuel cell system capable of running a rugged laptop for 8 hours at a time. Using 250cc canisters of methanol (about the weight of a can of Coke), the system can convert the methanol to hydrogen and the hydrogen to electricity. More »
robots
EVOLTA Robot Cliffhanger Channels Sly Stallone, Scales Grand Canyon
Good on this little EVOLTA-powered robot for climbing a 1,500-ft. Grand Canyon cliff on Saturday. The 4.5-ounce, 6.7-inch robo climber was scaling the cliff as a publicity stunt/demonstration for the Panasonic EVOLTA battery, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records is longest-lasting of its kind. The robot was powered by a pair of EVOLTA batteries, and used a tiny rope to ascend the cliff face. From the sounds of things this robot needed every ounce of power its batteries could provide: after 6 hours and 45 minutes the robot climber finally reached the top. [Pink Tentacle]
patents
Canon Patents Fuel Cells (For Cameras, Of Course)
A new patent application by Canon reveals that the company is interested in fuel cell technology for their cameras—or at least feel that they've developed an idea that no one else should use. Wired aptly compares the technology to inkjet printer cartridges, actually using multiple fuel cells to provide varying levels of current depending on camera function. These fuel cells can work alone or combine to tackle the especially power-hungry functions. But as you can see in diagram A, this news leaves the traditional Canon battery grip seething with anger. [Patent via Gadget Lab]
laptop chargers
FastMac U-Charge is the First Universal External Apple Laptop Battery Charger
We've reviewed MacBook and MacBook Pro battery chargers before, but the problem with that is that they aren't compatible between different laptop types. Not so with FastMac's U-Charge. Their external battery charger lets you juice up MacBook Pro (15 and 17-inch), MacBook, PowerBook G4, iBook and even PowerBook G3 batteries externally all from the same unit.
More »
solar table
Of all the solar powered gadgets we've shown you recently, I'd have to say this is the most elegant. The Intelligent Forms SOLo is a lounge table (can we call it a coffee table?) and is simply designed to soak up the sun, turning it into stored power so you can charge your gear. Apparently left for a year in a "typical outdoor setting," it can store enough power in its internal batteries to charge up your cellphone 6,800 times or your laptop 168 times. Its got USB sockets, a car-style 12V socket and even a standard 3-pin mains plug, and the whole thing is weatherproof.
More »
SOLo is Lounge Table and Solar Powered Charger For Your Gadgets
Of all the solar powered gadgets we've shown you recently, I'd have to say this is the most elegant. The Intelligent Forms SOLo is a lounge table (can we call it a coffee table?) and is simply designed to soak up the sun, turning it into stored power so you can charge your gear. Apparently left for a year in a "typical outdoor setting," it can store enough power in its internal batteries to charge up your cellphone 6,800 times or your laptop 168 times. Its got USB sockets, a car-style 12V socket and even a standard 3-pin mains plug, and the whole thing is weatherproof.
More »
laptops
Scientists Develop Lithium Ion Battery That Won't Ever Blow Up Your Laptop
The problem with the lithium ion batteries powering your iPods and notebooks is that they can be a mite explode-y. But German scientists at Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research have figured out how to replace the liquid electrolyte ka-bloom goo with a non-flammable polymer, which, on top of not blowing up, is a solid material, so it can't leak either. But, there are two big catches. More »
usb
Freeloader USB Battery Charger Supposedly World's Smallest
This new gizmo will charge a pair of your AA or AAA NiMH/NiCad batteries in three to four hours of slurping power from a USB socket, no power brick required. It's also apparently the "smallest and lightest" in the world. That may or may not be true, but it certainly is small enough to slip into your laptop case and not worry about. It's even rubberized to make it a bit tougher for portability, so if you're the type who needs AA batteries out in the field, it might be useful. Available now, for $25. [Geek Alerts]
cellphones
T-Mobile Sending Out HTC Wing Replacement Batteries
T-Mobile is replacing all HTC Wing batteries, swapping the default Dynapack battery for a newer Celxpert one. The note attached to the replacement says, "T-Mobile and HTC are providing a replacement for the T-Mobile Wing battery made by Dynapack at not charge to you due to rare occurrences of the battery overheating." Ask for yours before your phone asplode. [WMexperts via Boy Genius]
gaming
The Wii Fit isn't actually even available yet officially in the US, but manufacturers like Subsonic have already developed a line of "accessories" to help you get the most out of your Nintendo Wii "exercise" kit. There's a silicon mat to lay on top of your WF so you don't slip on all that sweat you're going to be working up, and a rechargeable battery pack for your board (it's wireless). Rounding out the pack is a carrying bag and a microfiber spray and dust cleaner for wiping those feet stains off your Fit. Not a bad lot if you're going to be using the thing daily, but nothing you couldn't make out of stuff you already have lying around. [Kotaku]
Lousy Wii Fit Accessories Already On Their Way
The Wii Fit isn't actually even available yet officially in the US, but manufacturers like Subsonic have already developed a line of "accessories" to help you get the most out of your Nintendo Wii "exercise" kit. There's a silicon mat to lay on top of your WF so you don't slip on all that sweat you're going to be working up, and a rechargeable battery pack for your board (it's wireless). Rounding out the pack is a carrying bag and a microfiber spray and dust cleaner for wiping those feet stains off your Fit. Not a bad lot if you're going to be using the thing daily, but nothing you couldn't make out of stuff you already have lying around. [Kotaku]
laptops
There's a Laptop Battery Shortage
Bad news, folks. After a fire earlier this month at an LG Chem plant (South Korea's second largest battery maker), Dell, HP and Asustek are all admitting noticeable supply shortages for portable power. While they scramble to secure other battery manufacturing, know that Dell has already raised their battery prices (the exact percentage, we're not sure). What's this mean for you? If you were considering picking up an extra laptop battery, we'd do it now. Because there's a good chance that prices could get worse before they get better. [yahoonews]
ecobattery
Green Cell Eco-Concept: One Battery For All
Green Cell is a concept with a single simple idea: use safe, standardized rechargeable batteries in all portable gadgets. The environment would benefit from fewer batteries being thrown away, and you'd need fewer chargers for all your gear. Green Cell batteries would even be made without toxic chemicals, and sold from vending machines that double as recycling points. It's a staggeringly sensible idea, which might be why it earned third place in the Greener Gadgets competition. The main drawback: persuading manufacturers to configure every gizmo to the size and voltage of standard rechargeable cells. Standardization worked pretty well with the AA battery and USB, though, so you never know. [Ecofriend]
9:33 AM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,995 views,
22 comments
Latest by Worf: There were battery standards - they didn't work out so well. There was one that Duracell was sponsoring for laptops, but that one quietly died out in the mid-90s. Problem is, people want thinner and smaller phones, and soon, the "battery more »
gadgets
What Happens When You Put Batteries in the Wrong Way?
Gary Cutlack loves to "review" batteries, which is why he's doing the world a service by testing what happens when you put batteries in the wrong way into a flashlight. Except he calls it torch. That's right, he's British, which along with Stuart Ashen's video earlier, officially makes this dry British humor day here at the Giz. [Tech Digest]
fastmac
FastMac Powers Gizmodo's CES/Macworld Liveblogging Yet Again
How do we liveblog Macworld and CES for days on end without having to stop to plug in our gear? By carrying around a sack of Fastmac's TruePower extended laptop batteries. Thanks to these shiny little juice packs, we were able to take our MacBooks and MacBook Pros out into the field—even with the power-sucking EV-DO mobile internet connections—and set a record speed for coverage. If the MacBook Air supported user-swappable batteries, we're sure FastMac would have a set for them too. [FastMac]
power up
Panasonic's Evoltas Earn Guinness Record For Battery Life
It looks like the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records took some time away from determining how many frat boys can fit into a Volkswagen to bestow the title of "world's longest-lasting AA alkaline battery cell" onto Panasonic's new EVOLTA. More »
war on terra
Rumor Smashed: The FAA Isn't Banning Laptop Batteries
The Associate Press just reported that the FAA is now banning all Lithium batteries, meaning you can't travel with extra batteries for your laptop or digital camera. Outrage of outrages! The problem is, they're wrong. The FAA is now banning Lithium Metal batteries; the Lithium Ions that power a good chunk of your gadget collection is still A-OK as long as you take them on board in your carry-on and not in checked luggage. You probably don't have many big, non-rechargeable Li-Metal batteries kicking around, and if you do I doubt you're all that worried about traveling with them. Now that that's settled, let's move on with our lives, shall we? [Boing Boing and NY Times]
nanotechnology batteries
