Tech Coulmn: USBCell

Whether it's your cell phone, a Nintendo DS, your mp3 player, a fancy child's toy, or a wireless mouse, our electronic devices would be useless without batteries.  While rechargeable batteries have actually been around d since 1859 (invented by French physicist Gaston Planté), they're finally starting to suck less, thanks to USBCell.

            Whereas a traditional rechargeable battery requires a charging station that must be plugged into an electrical outlet, Moixa Energey's USBCell only requires that you plug your expended battery into any standard USB port.  The USB connector resides within the battery itself, revealed by uncapping it.  The slightly smaller AAA batteries use mini-USB connectors, although consumers can also invest in one that folds out into the full-sized version. 

            Other battery sizes Moixa offers include C and D, 9V, and the unique size used for charging mobile devices.  While a pair of AA USBCells are nearly $20, it doesn't take long for them to pay for themselves.  USBCells can charge up to 500 times, and according to usbcell.com, "Charging for just a few minutes provides extra hours of instant use for most input devices."

            Additionally, the website encourages consumers to recycle their batteries, going so far as to launch the UK-based savebatterywaste.com.  Besides listing specific locations for recycling, the site also mentions some disturbing factoids: "Each year, 15 billion batteries are made and disposed of which is the equivalent to a column of batteries to the moon and back."  Hopefully, similar facilities will soon pop up in North America.

            Last, and most certainly least, Moixa also offers "fashion batteries," which will no doubt appeal to the same demographic that can't decide between a pink or turquoise digital camera.