Hasta La Gadget!

It’s Christmas Day, which probably means that at least one toy that you received (or gave) won’t be fully functional until Monday. Why? Batteries. It’s an age-old problem, that “batteries not included” thing, and it’s one of the reasons we’ve fell so in love with Sanyo’s Eneloop line. Without question, the Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries are amongst the best and most reliable that money can buy, so whenever another Eneloop product pops out, it obviously catches our eye. Sanyo’s branching out pretty severely with its latest device, and being that at least 3.5 members of the Engadget staff have strummed a six-string once or twice, we had to take a closer look at the Pedal Juice when given the chance. For those that missed last month’s introduction, this pedal-sized block of energy is designed to provide 9V power to six or seven effects pedals, miniature amplifiers or electric drum pads (amongst other musical doodads). So, does this thing live up to the Eneloop reputation? Find out after the break.

Continue reading Sanyo Eneloop Pedal Juice battery pack preview

Sanyo Eneloop Pedal Juice battery pack preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Dec 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Researchers find weak point in lithium-ion batteries, suggest better nanowires could be the answer

Researchers find weak point in lithium-ion batteries, suggest better nanowires could be the answer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our quest for the perfect iPhone 4 battery case continues apace with the Exolife Exogear presently holding the lead, slightly ahead of the Mophie Juice Pack Air and the Mili PowerSpring. Just like these fine selections, the Aigo aiPower i616 claims to “virtually double” battery life, but it’s got another trick up its sleeve: a hidden USB ribbon cable for both charging and data built right into the case. Should you want for a longer sync cable than it provides on its own, there’s also a second microUSB port built into the left side, as well as a switch for the external 1500mAh battery and a handy button to display its current level of charge. Not bad for a pleasantly comparable 125.8 x 62.6 x 17.25mm, nor the $80 asking price.

If you’re looking for something a little more svelte, however, the $60 InCase Snap Battery might be more to your liking — it adds a 900mAh battery in a soft-touch frame that InCase claims is the slimmest around. We can’t say it looks like it offers much protection, only covering the corners and rear of the phone, but fashion has long been a harsh mistress to those who obey her siren call.

Aigo’s iPhone 4 battery case internalizes your charge cable, InCase Snap Battery lightens the load originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m not talking about computer viruses here, but the biological kind. A team of researchers at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (still reading?) has managed to harness and exploit the self-renewing and self-assembling properties of viruses in order to build a new generation of small, powerful, and highly efficient batteries and fuel cells.

The researchers started with the rigid, rod-shaped (no jokes, please) Tobacco mosaic virus, which looks like uncooked spaghetti under an electron microscope (how that spaghetti got under a microscope, I’ll never know). TMV is a plant virus that plays hell with tobacco, tomatoes, and more. Anyhoo, in the lab researchers have been able to harness the characteristics of TMV to build tiny components for lithium ion batteries. They can modify the TMV rods (no jokes, please) to bind perpendicularly to the metallic surface of a battery electrode and arrange the rods in patterns. Then, they coat the rods with a film that acts as a current collector. The result increases the electrode’s surface area and its capacity to store energy. So think about that the next time a virus has your own internal battery feeling depleted. 

PhoneSuit’s no stranger to the reload-and-refuel arena, and just months after ushering out the Primo Battery Cube, along comes this: the Primo Power Core. For all intents and purposes, this is an iPhone-sized battery pack, and it just so happens to be fully capable of charging your iPhone or iPod touch. Unlike the vast majority of alternatives, however, this 8200mAh pack can also rejuvenate an iPad, not to mention a wealth of Android smartphones, your mom’s BlackBerry, a couple of unnamed netbooks (yeah, seriously!) and practically any other handheld gadget that can be juiced via USB. The company throws in a cornucopia of tips for a range of “popular” devices, though high-drain devices like netbooks will need to make use of the 12V port. There’s an external LED charge meter to keep you abreast of how much power remains, and it can be headed to a stocking near you in exchange for $99.95.

Continue reading PhoneSuit’s Primo Power Core charges your iPad, BlackBerry, and pretty much everything else

PhoneSuit’s Primo Power Core charges your iPad, BlackBerry, and pretty much everything else originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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