Philips X550 with month-long phone battery life

Posted in Philips by Conner Flynn on May 19th, 2009

Philips X550 with month-long phone battery lifeMobile phone battery life is one of the most important factors to consider when buying a phone. And Philips has one that will last a long tme with the Philips X550. This phone apparently has a battery that can last up to a month in stand-by. Some sacrifices had to be made obviously.

No 3G connectivity here and it relies only on GPRS and EDGE for data transfers. Some other features are: A QVGA display with 262k colors, Bluetooth, FM radio with RDS, 3.2MP autofocus camera, MicroSD card support and up to 8GB memory. No pricing info yet.

HyperMac lives up to it’s name, powers MacBooks for 32 hours

Posted in MacBook by Conner Flynn on May 4th, 2009

HyperMac lives up to it's name, powers MacBooks for 32 hoursSanho’s Hypermac amounts to little more than a large external battery pack. Sure, it’s a great idea. And who wouldn’t want that kind of performance from a battery? We’re talking 32 hours here. That’s more than a full day.

But seriously, most of us have an outlet handy which is far less painful than dropping $500 on this 222Wh unit. But if this appeals to your need for power, it ships later this month. But ask yourself this. Do you even use your MacBook for 32 hours straight? Have you ever?

Fuji EnviroMAX eco-respectful batteries available in retail chains

Posted in Batteries by Shane McGlaun on April 30th, 2009

fujienviromax-sbAs most readers of The Brick, I am a big gadget hound which means I always seem to be in need of batteries. For some of my gadgets, like digital cameras, I prefer plain AA or AAA batteries over rechargeable. That way, if I run out of juice away from home more power is but a flick of the battery door away.

Fuji has announced that its EnviroMAX eco-respectful batteries are now available in retail chains across the country including Ace, Tru Value, and ACO Stores. I guess eco-respectful is sort of like eco-friendly. Then you can be respectful without being friendly so who knows.

Toshiba Mini NB200 Netbook with 9-Cell battery

Posted in Netbook by Conner Flynn on April 22nd, 2009

Toshiba Mini NB200 Netbook with 9-Cell batteryBattery life in netbooks is the new thin. Everyone is competing to give you more juice. Toshiba is no different. Hence the 9-Cell battery version of the NB200 that claims to last for 9 hours, which is fine by us. That isn’t all it has going for it though.

The Toshiba NB200 has some other interesting features, like a 10.1″ TruBrite display, a 3D accelerometer, one always-on USB port for charging and a large touch pad. It only weighs 2.42 Lbs too, so you won’t be lifting weights.

Battery powered battery charger

Posted in Chargers by Conner Flynn on April 15th, 2009

Battery powered battery chargerA battery charger powered by a battery. You will be free and untethered, assuming you have some D-sized batteries to power it. Isn’t this like robbing Peter to pay Paul? Or robbing Duracell to charge Energizer. Something like that.

It “Uses up to 1000 disposable batteries”. How can you resist? This must have been dreamed up by battery manufacturers to sell more D batteries. I can’t remember the last time I used a D battery myself. We have no idea where to buy one. If you have this gadget let us know. It’s probably a joke. Well, we know it’s a joke, but you know…

MIT working on Virus powered batteries

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on April 5th, 2009

MIT working on Virus powered batteries Typically a battery functions with lithium ions flowing between a negatively charged anode, usually graphite, and the positively charged cathode, usually cobalt oxide or lithium iron phosphate. But three years ago, an MIT team reported that it had engineered viruses that could build an anode by coating themselves with cobalt oxide and gold and self-assembling to form a nanowire. The “virus batteries” have the energy capacity and power performance similar to rechargeable batteries.

The prototype battery is a coin battery, but the idea is that cell and larger batteries could be made from this process and that one day it will power cars, boats and everything else. As it stands right now, it can go at least 100 charges before performance goes down. That will change of course.

Dell Adamo battery not user-replaceable

Posted in Dell by Conner Flynn on March 23rd, 2009

Dell Adamo announcedWe have some disappointing news about the Dell Adamo. Turns out that the Adamo’s battery is not able to be replaced by the user. Just like another laptop you may know and love. The hell you say?

Well, it is replaceable, it just has to be sent into Dell for the procedure, thereby inconveniencing you and making them some more money.(We assume.) We don’t know how much the company is going to charge for that.

HP now offering Boston-Power Sonata batteries

Posted in HP by Shane McGlaun on March 16th, 2009

hp_boston-power-sbBoston-Power isn’t really a household name at this point, but the company has some very cool battery tech that promises to make the battery in your laptop work for three times as long before you need to get a new battery. The average laptop battery starts to storage capacity in only a year, yet the Boston-Power Sonata battery promises to last for 3 years with full charge capacity.

I mentioned in December 2008 that HP would be the first computer maker to offer the Sonata batteries for sale. At the time, HP didn’t offer any pricing information for the upgraded battery packs.

Mophie Juice Pack Air iPhone battery pack

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on February 10th, 2009

Mophie Juice Pack Air iPhone battery packThe latest iPhone battery pack from Mophie is probably the most acceptable battery extender yet for your iPhone 3G, the Mophie Juice pack Air. The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a case for the iPhone 3G with a built in battery pack, and judging by the images, it doesn’t harm the look and feel of the iPhone too much, unlike others.

The Mophie Juice Pack air will give you up to 270 hours of standby time, 4.5 hours of talk time on 3G or 9 hours on 2G, internet usage comes in a 4.5 hours on 3G and 5.4 hours in WiFi.

Dell Latitude XT2 multi-touch tablet now official, 11-hour battery

Posted in Dell by Conner Flynn on February 10th, 2009

Dell Latitude XT2 multi-touch tablet now official, 11-hour batteryDell’s 12.1-inch Latitude XT2 just got official and has also just been released in Korea. It’s been announced for the US with prices starting at $2,399. It features all the cool features you want in a multi-touch like the ability to pinch to zoom and two-finger swiping. (Which sounds a bit dirty somehow)

How does 11-hours of battery life sound? It also features DDR3 memory. Some other specs include: up to 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV SU9400 processor with Montevina chipset, Intel integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics, Windows Vista Ultimate on down, 12.1-inch LED backlit capacitive touch-screen with EM Digitizer pen, up to 5GB of DDR3 1066MHz (1×1GB, 1×4GB DIMM), up to 120GB 5400RPM SATA disk or 128GB SSD, 802.11a/g/n WiFi and gigabit Ethernet, SATA ODD, 3.78-pounds (1.72-kg) with 6-cell battery, eSATA, 2x USB 2.0, firewire, and ExpressCard 54 slot. Check out a video below.

The Wrist Band Portable Battery makes you look like a dork

Posted in Chargers by Conner Flynn on January 18th, 2009

The Wrist Band Portable BatteryMeet the dorkiest looking wrist accessory ever. You might think this is a cool cyberpunk bracelet thing. Actually, it’s the ultimate way to charge your batteries and look like a loser at the same time. If you don’t believe me, then by all means, check out the product site. There you can find pictures of people wearing and using this device.

It’s sad that it looks like such a train-wreck, because it’s a convenient way to charge up all your gadgets on the go. It uses a rechargeable li-on battery and comes with 8 different types of power connectors that will work with major brand mobile phones, the PSP and Nintendo DS. To recharge the portable battery, it takes about 5 hours. When used as a direct power source, it’ll give you 3 hours of talk time or 8 hours on your MP3 player.

MacBook Pro battery replacement details

Posted in MacBook by Conner Flynn on January 14th, 2009

MacBook Pro battery replacement detailsThe battery in Apple’s new 17″ MacBook Pro is pretty amazing. With a single charge it can power the notebook for about eight hours while using the NVIDIA 9400M graphics processor or seven hours while the 9600M GT chip is at work. Also, it has a charge cycle life of 1,000 charges which is a quantum leap ahead of a standard laptop battery.

But no matter how good the specs are, it’s bound to have problems. Most likely problems will occur after the one-year battery warranty has expired. This one can’t be replaced by end-users, so what happens if it dies after the five-year lifespan and you want to swap it out for a new one ? (Even though chances are you’ll have a new notebook by then)

Apple intros new 17-inch Macbook, 8hrs battery, thinner

Posted in Apple by Conner Flynn on January 6th, 2009

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for MacworldAs expected, Apple has announced its 17″ MacBook Pro that has had the intertubez all abuzz prior to Macworld. It is 0.98″ thin and tips the scales at just 6.6 pounds. Now that’s not the lightest ever, but it is a 17-inch laptop. But it is the lightest and thinnest 17″ notebook in the world though.

Some features include: 17″ LED backlit display 1,920 × 1,200 resolution 700:1 contrast ratio 60% greater color gamut compared to its predecessor, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz Dual Core processor, 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM and a 320GB hard drive. You also have the choice of a $50 anti-glare option if you want. There’s a trio of USB 2.0 ports on the left, a Mini DisplayPort, FireWire 800, digital audio in/out and an ExpressCard slot and all the other features you love.

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for Macworld

Posted in MacWorld 2009 by Conner Flynn on January 4th, 2009

17-inch unibody MacBook Pro with internal battery rumored for Macworld9to5Mac is reporting that a unibody, 17-inch MacBook Pro will be announced at Macworld. It would follow in the footsteps of the previously released unibody 13 and 15-inch models. The rumor has been independently confirmed by Apple Insider as well.

The news isn’t isn’t all that surprising. But what is surprising is that this model is expected to have a slim, extended-life, and a very non-removable battery built in. Obviously that’s disappointing. Non-removable batteries are pretty damn lame. Way to go Apple.

Student increases iPhone battery life by 12x

Posted in iPhone by Conner Flynn on December 25th, 2008

Student increases iPhone battery life by 12xA PhD student at Carleton University in Canada, Atif Shamin, has out-thought Apple by inventing a ‘transmitter system on-package’ that significantly extends the battery life of mobile devices. It all has to do with the connection between the circuit board and the antenna.

Instead of using wire, he designed a high frequency micro-transmitter and receiver that avoids the usual loss of power through a wire. That’s a significant breakthrough in energy efficiency in mobile devices. He created a module that replaces all of the wires connecting a phone’s electrical circuits and the antennae, making them all communicate wirelessly.





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