Hybrid and plug-in vehicles have been plagued by poor battery performance in the past. The next-gen rides simply do not offer that much MPG improvement because of the lackluster batteries, but LG Chem and STMicroeclectronics are working on something new. By harnessing a more powerful and efficient battery management chip, they hope to improve lithium-ion batteries enough to deliver 1600V… → Read More
Hey look at the ugly beast! It will give your eee PC 10-14 hours of uptime. This guy got it from ebay for 90$. [via jkkmobile] → Read More
Mophie’s Juice Pack for the iPhone 3G is without a doubt a must-have if you can swallow the high price tag of $100. But I’d gladly pay the extra $100 knowing that I can leave the office or my apartment and gallivant around town without fear of having to find a power outlet by mid-day. → Read More
Tokyo-based electronics company OTAS is selling a lithium-ion battery for the iPhone 3G that comes with an integrated mini solar panel [JP]. The so-called LC-1500 is housed in a leather case. OTAS says one charge with solar energy takes 13 hours whereas charging the battery via mini USB takes 3 hours. The device measures 125x64x25mm and weighs 100 grams. OTAS is selling it in Japan only (price… → Read More
Quick Version: We take a look at three different iPhone/iPod chargers from Kensington, RichardSolo, and i.Sound, weighing the pros and cons of each. → Read More
Flickr’d Don’t bother using your MacBook or MacBook Pro without the battery installed unless you’re cool with a huge performance decrease. Gearlog notes that, in the process of doing the thankless task of RAM benchmarks, the MacBook’s performance, as rated using Cinebench, dropped some 37 percent without an installed battery. That is, when plugged into a power outlet… → Read More
Like the MacBook Pro external battery/charger that was announced last month, QuickerTek has rolled out the same kit for the MacBook. It still costs an egregious amount of money at $450 and you still have to get your power brick modified for $25 by sending it in or shelling out an extra $100 for a modified brick. I need the extra 6-10 hours of juice, but I think I’ll pass and get another… → Read More
According to a Xantrex Technology Inc. Survey, 71%of American travelers do not have an emergency preparedness kit in their vehicle, and only 11% have an independent jump-start solution that does not require another vehicle’s assistance. Notably absent is the number of American drivers, like me, that have jumper cables but don’t have any idea how to use them properly. → Read More
Battery pack on the left belongs to the Chevy Volt and the one on the right, to the ’97 Chevy EV1. The Volt’s battery utilized lithium-ion cells to produce the same 16kWhrs as the older, and 800 lbs heavy, EV1 lead acid unit. Next up: glovebox-sized units that you can swap out like a power drill pack. Okay, I just made that up, but that be sweet. Flickr via OhGizmo → Read More
What a novel idea; a battery-powered DTV converter box. I believe this is the first of it’s kind and I’m thankfully Winegard has developed the little bugger. With analog broadcasts going black on February 17, a lot of folks backup TVs are not going to work without a DTV box. The details are still a little grey on the converter itself, but it seems like there is going to be an option… → Read More
Got one of them newfangled Nike+ setups? Doubtless you’re wondering what happens when the battery dies on the receiver. Unsurprisingly, you’re supposed to bring it into your local Niketown and pay the man $20 to do the deal. But if you’re comfortable slicing the thing open and doing things with little wires, you can do it yourself for five bucks. Instructables has the whole… → Read More
Here be dragons! Zounds! What wizardry is this? TGDaily did use their eyes to call forth from the bottom end of the iPhone two screws which, by Hera’s eye, could be a mysterious portal into the innards of the iPhone, giving alchemists access to what may be called a replaceable battery by fools and the very portal to God’s head itself by the wise. The guided tour focuses mainly on the… → Read More
As I was preparing my review of the MSI Wind earlier today, I noticed that MSI’s product site pulled the notebook down for a bit. It’s back up, but I see that the six-cell battery version of the MSI Wind has been delayed until August now. Last time we reported, it’d been delayed until July. Looks like the battery shortage caused by the fire at the LG plant back in March is still causing some… → Read More
Should your iPhone battery die, you have but so many choices. You can send it to Apple to have it replaced for a cool $85, or you can drop $7 and change on this do-it-yourself kit. It comes with all the tools you’ll need to get the job done, including a highly sophisticated pry bar and, natch, the battery itself. I honestly don’t know, do iPhone batteries die very often? I don’t… → Read More
Back at Macworld in January, my MacBook died in the middle of the keynote and it sucked really bad since I was in charge of pictures. If I were in possession of an extra battery we would have been fine, but I didn’t so I had to scramble around Moscone for an open outlet. Luckily for me, Fastmac hooked me up with an extra battery after the show so things like that wouldn’t happen again. But the… → Read More
A fire at LG Chem in South Korea on March 3rd has contributed to a worldwide notebook battery shortage, according to Reuters. Asustek is expected to be hardest hit, as the shortage “could affect up to 40 percent of second-quarter shipments” from Taiwan’s second-largest PC maker. A Dell spokesperson acknowledged the shortage today and has blamed it for recent replacement battery… → Read More
My kingdom for a dead-ass simple way to squeeze a little more juice out of my iPod Touch while I’m gallivanting across the globe living the life of a high-profile technology blogger. I need all the battery life I can get while I’m flying in fancy airplanes to conventions in such exotic locales as Las Vegas, Las Vegas and, of course, Las Vegas. So does the Richard Solo (made by Sharper… → Read More
Battery on your 17-inch MBP not what it used to be? Perhaps you’re just looking for a backup? Fastmac, purveyors of fine third-party Apple ware, have announced an extended life battery upgrade for that MBP of yours. The TruePower replacement is expected to ship within 10 days and is available for pre-order now at a special introductory price of $99.95. Product Page → Read More
Busy, on-the-go forklift operators are about to get the gift of a lifetime in Toshiba’s forthcoming quick-charging industrial batteries. Starting in March, it’ll take a paltry five minutes (five minutes!) for the "new battery for forklifts, construction machinery, and other industrial use" to charge to 90% capacity. You could have a smoke and hit the Biffy and your rig would… → Read More
Over the course of the year since I’ve had my MacBook the battery life has plummeted each month regardless of whether or not I calibrate the battery. I’m not whining about it, but less than two hours doesn’t leave me with enough time to do anything if I’m working somewhere without an electrical outlet or when I’m in a foreign land and forgot my adapter at the hotel room. It happens to us… → Read More
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