battery

A few minutes ago, I was crawling through the oft-dull posts that turn up in my RSS reader on Saturday mornings while downing the day's first cup of coffee. Not particularly momentous. Then I saw this TreeHugger post, and I was all wow, you know, in the way that Microsoft was hoping I'd react to Windows Vista. (I didn't, for the record.)

So what are these? They're called USBCell, and they're AA batteries that you charge in a USB port. What a cool idea! Of course, there's always the quality issue, but TreeHugger seems … Read more

Apple is advising all owners of MacBooks or MacBook Pros bought after February 2006 to download a software update that will help fix some battery issues.

The update, available through Software Update in the Apple menu or here on Apple's site, was released to correct some battery performance problems, such as shorter than usual battery life or problems charging the battery, according to a Web page on the support section of Apple's site.

But if that fix doesn't work, notebook users should contact Apple to have their battery replaced if they notice the following symptoms, cut and … Read more

The notebook battery recall isn't over yet.

Acer, the fast-growing Taiwanese PC maker, announced on Wednesday a voluntary recall of 27,000 lithium ion notebook batteries made by Sony. A danger exists that the batteries can short-circuit and burst into flames.

Millions of notebook batteries produced by Sony have been recalled since last year. Acer was one of the few major companies not impacted by the battery recall to date. Apple, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have all had to recall batteries.

The Acer TravelMate notebooks containing the batteries subject to the recall were sold from May 2004 through November … Read more

iPod battery replacement kits are nothing new. Manufacturers like Sonnet Technologies have offered reasonably priced do-it-yourself battery replacement kits for the past few years. What distinguishes the latest line of Blue Raven iPod batteries from previous efforts is a boast of 30 to 50 percent better battery life over the factory original (depending on your iPod model). The Blue Raven batteries are also much more attractively packaged than other replacements I've seen, which seems silly to mention, but I think packaging can have a huge effect on how intimidating a DIY project appears. Kits are available for around $30 … Read more

In an effort to appeal to the "tech-wired and wireless younger generation," Energizer has announced the Energizer Duo, a charger that plugs into the USB port on your computer--or a wall outlet (thus the "Duo" name, get it?). According to the company's press release, the Duo charges two AA or AAA NiMH batteries in as little as two hours (for two AAAs anyway), though we're skeptical about that time when using USB charging.

In an apparent nod to youth's demand for choice, the Duo will come in three colors, and better yet, includes &… Read more

Here we go again. Last year, Lenovo recalled more than half a million batteries as a participant in the widespread Sony laptop battery recall that included Apple, Dell, Toshiba, and others. Lenovo today announced it is recalling 100,000 Sanyo batteries that it sells with its ThinkPad laptops.

The company has received four complaints about lithium ion batteries overheating and damaging ThinkPad laptops when the batteries were dropped or otherwise struck on the corner. The batteries in question are the extended, nine-cell battery, which Lenovo sells as an upgrade option on three ThinkPad lines: the R Series (R60 and R60e), … Read more

Nyko sent us its new Wireless Sensor Bar and a Charge Station for the Nintendo Wii, so I took it home for the weekend and gave it a spin. This is only a first look, but the results for both devices were very promising.

The Nyko Charge Station is an all-in-one battery dock for Wii controllers. It comes with two rechargeable battery packs, two rubberized covers, and a two-slot charging dock for the Wiimotes to sit in. The battery packs replace the AAs that normally charge the Wii remotes, and the covers have a small hole in them so the … Read more

Boston-Power says its new battery for laptops comes with three distinct advantages over conventional ones: It recharges in about half the time, it provides about the same amount of power, and it won't blow up.

The Sonata battery, which Hewlett-Packard has been tinkering with, can be charged to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes, CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud says. Conventional notebook batteries take one to two hours to get to 90 percent capacity.

"We picked 30 minutes and drove development to that," she said. Lampe-Onnerud will show off the Sonata for the first time publicly during a … Read more

Palm released a software update for the Treo 680 Thursday to fix a problem in which the embedded camera drains the smart phone's battery.

"Palm has identified that the Treo 680 device can experience reduced battery life when the camera is used. The camera may continue to draw power from the battery when the device is in standby mode," a posting on the Palm Web site said. All Treo 680 users should install the Camera Update, the company said. Find the update here.

Treo users had been complaining on user forums that the handset's battery was … Read more