A drawback of the portable gadget revolution is having to carry the chargers needed to keep them going. Even gadgets that use AA-size batteries use a variety of chargers. Now Moixa Energy of the UK has come up with an ingenious alternative: an AA battery that does away with the need for a charger by using a USB socket.
Nearly all computer equipment and even some hi-fis and video players now have USB ports for connecting peripherals such as memory sticks or digital cameras. These ports supply 5 volts to whatever is connected.
To recharge Moixa鈥檚 nickel metal hydride battery, you flip open its top and plug it into the USB socket. A circuit inside lowers the supply to around 1.4 volts, and a sensor detects the temperature rise when the battery is charged and switches off the power.
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It takes 5 hours to fully charge the battery from flat, but 10 minutes is sufficient to deliver enough charge to keep a wireless mouse running for the rest of the day, for instance. There is a penalty when charging from a laptop, however. Moixa鈥檚 tests show that this drains around 10 per cent of the laptop battery鈥檚 power.
The USB batteries go on sale in the UK in mid-October, and then roll out across Europe, with a US launch later. A pair will cost a hefty 拢13, but Moixa director Chris Wright hopes to cut that.
Mobile phones may be next. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already built a prototype cellphone battery with USB charger,鈥� says Wright. 鈥淪o if you talk for an hour and need to charge your phone, you simply find the nearest USB socket and plug it in.鈥�
