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The rechargeable batteries of the future have arrived

akihabaranews.com — Sanyo has announced their ENELOOP batteries yesterday.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 2, 2005

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38 Comments

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  • nrbelex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2And also, http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/0511/1101-2e.html
  • nrbelex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2New link - http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=11244
  • AllnightChemist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So, is this the future, then?
    "Everything that's happening now is happening now."
  • rjespo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2We're at NOW, now.
    - When will 'then' be NOW?
    Soon ...
  • hemidurango, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm seeing one real improvement over current NiMh technology, and that's less self-discharge, the other possible improvement is cold weather performance, but here, they compare to "dry cell" batteries, so there may be little or no improvement over current NiMh.

    In all other respects, these seem to be the same technology in use today. The headline and about 80% of the comments are more appropriate for a breakthrough (like 5,000 Mah AA cells) not an improvement in a single property of the battery.

    (yawn) no digg
  • rawc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is awesome...I hope they are compatible with current NiMh chargers.
  • binarypower, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Breakthrough battery design would be the ability for 100,000 charges at peak charge and 10 times or greater battery life per size of normal NiMH batteries. This is just another flavor of NiMH that, while still cool (and I would use), offers no "great advancement" in battery life.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1NiMH????? Come on. Give me a break.
  • teh_techie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0something that will help my power hungry digital camera?... just maybe...
  • dylanA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0they just look expensive... but it sounds like they will help alot
  • 1337geek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i hate that technology like this could have been developed along time ago, but money had to play a factor, or we would have mini portable everything already.

    Now for laptop batteries to get updated.
  • hankbeasley, on 04/22/2009, -0/+0Awesome now I can quit banging my TV remote against my leg...
  • FuzzyBunny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Advancements in battery technology are sorely needed in today's electronics dependant world. Even small steps like this can make a big difference in the long run.
  • skirkham, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This will definately help with digital items such as cameras and ipods, etc.
  • nrbelex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Try - http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=11244
  • sgtkillmore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0sounds to me like since they can hold their charge why even bother with traditional non-rechargeable batteries when these new rechargeable ones have all the same characteristics + the rechargeable bit.
  • joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0and nice packaging too!
  • proagg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Broken link, I couldn't see the page
  • hemidurango, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@tacom8
    That is a legitimate improvement for a infrequently used device. If you leave your digital camera for a couple of weeks and then take it out and find the batteries are almost gone, then you understand the usefulness of batteries that don't self-discharge.

    @sgtkillmore
    If these are like current NiMh batteries WRT safe discharge voltage, you wouldn't want to use them in a flashlight or other non-regulated device, because there is the potential for damage when NiMh is discharged to below 1v/cell. So some things still benefit from alkaline and lithium technology.
  • teamparadox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0but will they recharge in 15 min like my current Duracels?
  • GaDawg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is good news. I'm sure they're pricey, but the longevity might make up for that.
  • RandomSkratch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@ Article - So basically they're selling rechargable batteries that don't need a first charge and you can use them over and over? So it's a lazy-man's rechargeable battery....

    @ Sirocco - Might wanna check out a new camera that isn't so power hungry. Also are you using NiCad or NiMH? I could be wrong but I believe NiMH don't develop a charge memory as much as NiCad do. My Canon Powershot A75 is amazing on battery life.
  • Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Right now I already use rechargeable batteries with my digital camera (exclusively), but it sucks having to recharge the batteries after seventy shots or so. Plus, toward the end of the cycle it can take up to five or six seconds to charge the flash... ick.

    I'm looking forward to this!
  • mediaphile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0argh, damn simple improvement. what's the point of making things even the slightest bit better. who needs a battery that lives a little bit longer than what it's trying to replace. progress makes me sick.

    sarcasm aside, if i have a choice between two types of batteries intended for the same exact use, and one is even the slightest bit better, of course i'm going to go with that. what's the reason not to? if typical batteries lose their charge even when not in use, even if it means just that short period between pictures that i take, that means that a battery that doesn't lose its charge is going to last longer. obvious. and in the world of rechargeables, the difference between a couple dollars is insignificant. might as well go with one that has even slightly better performance.

    your cynicism is astounding.
  • mspencer712, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is 'battery technology of the future' in only the strictest sense. Very near future, that is -- it's a slight, incremental improvement. NiMH self-discharge hasn't really been a big deal for me, and the capacity isn't much greater. I like that the battery can sustain a higher discharge rate for longer, but it sounds like for more normal discharge rates this battery's capacity will be similar to other batteries.

    These AA's are rated at 2000 mAh, but there are 1800 mAh cells on the market now.

    So this is nice and all, but I don't like the headline. Good thing Sanyo didn't create that headline, a random digg user did, or else I'd respect Sanyo less.
  • imtigger2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is *****! I have 2500mAh Powerex batteries that are MUCH more powerfull than these, and they recharge FAST and last an entire day of shooting... and more!

    There is NO brilliant idea at work here. I believe the only thing they're trying to accomplish, is to get rid of dry-cell batteries, and have consumers use theirs, then return them to the stores for recycle so THEY can recharge them, and resell them at the same price. Nice piece of profiteering there.

    Get these here and forget all the hype: http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=400

  • Bikechess, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If they have really eliminated the self-discharge, thats a great thing - but not the huge advance that we need to make an impact beyond small electronics. What we really need is a battery with a higher energy content so we dont have to live with huge and heavy batteries in our iPods, in our cars, or to store energy from intermittent sources like solar. Unfortunately, such technology is a long way away.
  • blubolt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cooooool!!! where can we get them!?
  • nogahide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They are comparing these to standard alkalines.
    These have less capacity than current NIMh so it looks like the only advantage is low self discharge rate. This looks like nothing special to me.
  • jbum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The bar graph in the article is misleading. The bar that reads 80% is showing a 90% fill. Also, because of the poorly rendered 3d effect, it's difficult to tell where the top of the bar is. Edward Tufte would rip
    this bar graph to shreds.
  • xzen54321, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"This is *****! I have 2500mAh Powerex batteries that are MUCH more powerful than these, and they recharge FAST and last an entire day of shooting... and more!

    There is NO brilliant idea at work here. I believe the only thing they're trying to accomplish, is to get rid of dry-cell batteries, and have consumers use theirs, then return them to the stores for recycle so THEY can recharge them, and resell them at the same price. Nice piece of profiteering there.

    Get these here and forget all the hype: http://www.mahaenergy.com/store/item.asp?idproduct=400"

    Where is your info backing up your rant?
    I think(from what i know) its a good idea, batteries are getting better all the time, aren't 2500mAh ones Farly new?
    Oh and newegg has a 20 pack of those for $20.00
  • pgm_01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0LION in a rechargeable AA would be the future, this is NiMH that doesn't drain out so it can ship charged.

    I still like rechargeable alkaline for my old portable CD player, but Rayovac stopped manufacturing them. I use NiMH which last longer but you can't keep an extra set ready and charged without keeping them in the charger. If these are cheap enough and work in my charger, I might pick up a set, but they are not really enough of an improvement to get me to switch.
  • your_mom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0YaY. that looks cool, i am gonna need some of those :P
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I want them now! And I'll take a recharger...to go.
  • dukeblue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What? No "Women of the world rejoice!" comment?
  • Mongoose, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............
  • cool4u2view, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Many times 2500 mAh batteries don't live up to expectation.

    To compare these to the new sanyo ones say you have your batteries sitting in a box for a month and you charged them before you put them away... The sanyo ones would still be charged while yours would be nearly dead (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point).

    Another thing is applications where one would normally use a Li Ion you can now use NiMH.
  • tacom8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0i don't get it all they seem to do is hold charge longer when NOT used??? how is this helping anything? do they hold more juice? or are the "dry cells" the old style nimh of today or the alkalines of yesterday? if its 4x the power of todays Nimh count me in...

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