I find that I surf the Internet and watch YouTube videos on my iPhone much more than I ever thought I would. The bad part is that it seems like if I watch a few videos the phone is dead before I know it. Since the iPhone has no user replaceable battery you are out of luck when it goes dead and a charger isn’t handy.

Richard Thalheimer of The Sharper Image fame (or is it infamy?) has a new website where he sells gadgets called Richard Solo. While the site is apparently named after Han’s little brother, one of the first products is interesting. The Battery Backup for iPhone/iPod retails for $49.95 and is a 1200mAH lithium-ion that charges 100% in 3.5 hours via USB. The battery weight is 2.76 ounces and it measures 1.77” x 2.83” x 0.49”.

An outfit by the name of PDASmart has announced a longer running battery specifically designed for the iPod 5G 30 GB model. This battery upgrade will run you around $75.

PDASmart says its upgraded iPod 5G 30GB battery will let you enjoy “over 45 hours on continuous song playing and an impressive 24 hour video playing time.” It installs obviously where the current battery is and also being made available by PDASmart is a special rear casing which slightly expands this particular iPod’s size to accommodate the battery.

Cali-based Tekkeon is a maker of an array of stylish looking mobile accessories and has just announced a new device to power your mobile gadgets which runs off of your own AA batteries. The TekCharge MP1550 is a mobile power accessory that is juiced up by either two or four AA batteries (rechargeable or not) and can extend the life of your mobile phone, PDA or media player by connecting via USB.

Tekkeon estimates the little device can add as much as 16 hours of phone conversations, 5 hours of PDA use or 20 more hours of watching iPod videos. It also comes with 7 different adapter tips letting you use this same device for multiple gadgets. Once the AA batteries run dry you have the option of simply picking up some more or buying rechargeable AA’s. When the TekCharge is plugged into your computer it will actually charge up the rechargeable AA’s. The device is available now, retailing for around $25.

It’s not uncommon for a laptop user to tote along an extra battery or two for those long flights, especially with the possibility of in-flight internet access coming soon. Starting January 1, 2008 the U.S. Department of Transportation will start placing restrictions on the number and size of lithium batteries that can be brought along on a U.S. flight giving you one more thing to remember before boarding a plane.

Lithium batteries are a very common type of battery used in many kinds of portable electronic devices such as digital cameras, media players and notebook computers. The new restriction will not affect batteries that are installed in their intended electronic devices, but only spare batteries that are brought along. Loose, spare batteries will no longer be allowed to be placed in checked luggage, and any spare batteries that are carried on must be in the original packaging or placed in a plastic bag to prevent contacting metal parts and the possibility of a resulting fire.

Sometimes the most ingenious solutions are the simplest. Anyone who has a junk drawer can immediately appreciate the Battery Caddy in all it’s simplistic glory. My own junk drawer is practically overflowing with batteries of various sizes. Well, now I have an easy way to organize them before they lose their juice and are disposed of.

These were originally designed for Pilots to carry batteries in their flight bag in a convenient manner. The caddies have flexible teeth so the battery won’t fall out, even if it is tossed around a bit and they even protect the terminals on each end of the batteries.

If you are looking for a more environmentally friendly battery, urine luck. NoPoPo batteries are powered by urine. I can only assume that the name NoPoPo has to do with the fact that PoPo isn’t used, where as PeePee is.

Beer drinkers everywhere should never have to buy AA or AAA batteries again. Well, Duracells are more sanitary I suppose. The batteries come with a plastic pipette(like an eye dropper) that allows the user to inject urine into the battery chamber.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be environmentally friendly with rechargeable batteries AND have them retain the charge for a long time? That’s the idea behind Duracell’s new Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, available this month for around $13 for a four-pack.

The Duracell Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries can retain power up to a year while not in use, said Duracell. These nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are charged and ready to use out of the package as well and can reportedly be recharged hundreds of times in any NiMH battery charger.

A spokesman from Toshiba announced today that the company is recalling a batch of Sony-made batteries for some of its notebooks. Fortunately the count in this recall is only about 5,100 which is significantly less than the 8 million that Sony recalled last September.

The batteries in the recall list are installed in 10 different models of Toshiba computers that were made in December of 2005 and placed in the notebooks between Jan and Apr of 2006. They were put on a recall list due to a few reports of the batteries becoming …