Rechargeable batteries have changed how many people use batteries. They are also much better for the environment than standard batteries because you are not throwing the alkaline chemicals out and into the ground. The only downside to using rechargeable batteries is that you have to have the charging stations plugged in to make sure that it is ready to charge the batteries when needed. Or you have to hunt down the charging station when you need it. Well now you don’t have to do that, all you need is the USBCell batteries.

The USBCell battery is unlike anything else because the charger has been built into the battery itself. This solves the problem of finding the charging station to recharge the battery because this one can be plugged into any standard USB port. When your battery’s power is gone, all you have to do is pop the cap and plug it in. Within a few hours you will have a fully charged battery. The convenience of being able to use any standard USB port whether it is on your computer, PS3 or XBox 360. Fully charged you get 1300mAh of power and the battery can be recharged up to 500 times. For around $20, you get two AA batteries which will give you the freedom to go where you want with your battery powered electronics.

Have you ever heard of super li-ion batteries? They were hot last year when the first details came out and apparently they charge “super fast” and last for much more than we are expected with the batteries these days. However, these days Toshiba just announced that they developed the Super Charge ion Batteries (SCiB) that will be used for industrial purposes at first and should be able to recharge in just 5 minutes (a 90% recharge).

This would probably be the development we needed to make hybrid cars a success and this is where Toshiba’s batteries will head at first. Another interesting feature is the fact that it can be recharged 5,000 times so I’d say that’s a lifetime of more than 10 years.

We should see it live in March 2008.

via DoDevice