nimh

New hybrids proclaim their German engineering

I'm a big fan of "German engineering"--that combined focus on power and precision that distinguishes the better automobiles designed or manufactured in Germany.

At Frankfurt's International Motor Show, BMW will be showing off two new hybrid cars intended to deliver the full promise of German engineering. This is no small thing because most hybrid cars to date have been lightly built and somewhat underpowered in order to improve fuel economy.

The two new BMWs are more like previous offerings from that company: big, solid cars with lots of power to maintain performance in spite of … Read more

Nikon greens L100 with NiMH battery option

It seems Nikon has realized the Coolpix L100's lack of support for rechargeable NiMH batteries wasn't the greenest move (or maybe it was a secret plan all along). The digital camera manufacturer announced Tuesday an eventual firmware update to correct the situation.

I get the convenience of AA batteries in pocket cameras, but the L100 requires four of them and only supports alkaline and lithium-ion disposable batteries, approximately good for 350 and 900 shots, respectively. The NiMH option will get you around 600 shots before you need to charge up.

According to Nikon, the firmware update will be … Read more

Xbox 360 gets some base-charging love from Nyko

Nyko has announced the release of an Xbox 360-compatible charging base, much like the PlayStation 3 one the company debuted almost two months ago.

The Nyko Charge Base 360 comes with two NiMH rechargeable batteries fitted with contact points that allow you to simply drop the controller into the included cradle. The base can charge one battery in 2 hours and two in 4. Nyko says that each full battery charge should net you about 25 hours of play time.

Microsoft offers a Quick Charge Kit for around $30 that only comes with one battery and charges a single pack … Read more

New Duracells: Pre-charged rechargeables

It's good to see battery manufacturers improving their cells for use with today's more energy-needy gadgets. Following in Sanyo's Eneloop footsteps is the Duracell bunny. Yes, the original hare which predates Energizer's fluffy pink one.

And the former has even more reason to beat its own bass drum. It now offers (for a premium, mind you) pre-charged NiMH batteries. That's good news for gadget owners because it means you no longer have to tether those rechargeables overnight to the mains to season them first. Now you just pop them in straightaway to use.

Plus these … Read more