August 12 - 9:25pm EDT   Zpower, a provider of silver-zinc battery technology, announced the inclusion of their silver-zinc cells in a major notebook computer in 2009. Zpower claims their batteries have run-times up to 40 percent longer than comparable Lithium-ion cells, while simultaneously offering safety and environmental advantages. Zinc-silver batteries have almost been forgotten about but improvements in materials and manufacturing processes have brought them to compete in a market currently dominated by Li-ion cells. [full story]

August 11 - 5:15pm EDT   Oncore Power Systems is introducing a six-bay battery charger for iBooks and MacBooks targeted at the education market. The company is also selling a "power upgrade kit" consisting of the new charger and six replacement batteries. The company says the products are designed to "give new life" to older classroom computers. The unit has built-in safety circuitry and LED status lights for each bay. [full story]

August 4 - 4:10pm EDT   Mophie on Monday unveiled the Juice Pack 3G, an updated version of its battery extender for the iPhone, offering new 3G owners similar enhancement to the device's run time. The Juice Pack 3G allows users to operate the iPhone 3G for an extra 350 hours on standby, while allowing for an additional six hours of talk time (12 on 2G) and internet, another eight hours for video playback, and 28 hours of audio. Mophie is offering the Juice Pack 3G for $100, and it will ship in September. [full story]

July 29 - 10:40pm EDT   China-based OEM manufacturer Better-Power Electric has developed a unique combination speaker and charger for the iPod and iPhone using a 4800mA, 3.7V Lithium-Ion Battery. The company says the device can charge an iPhone in 50-80 minutes and also works with various iPods and other mobile devices via USB. The speaker can play music for more than 12 hours, and iPhone owners can reportedly use it as a speakerphone. [full story]

July 17 - 1:25pm EDT   Though the iPhone 3G offers faster connections over 3G networks, it sacrifices battery life to do so. The Smart Backup Battery can double battery capacity for owners of the new iPhone. The external aluminum-cased lithium-ion battery attaches to the data-port at the base of the iPhone to charge the iPhone's battery. It can be used to charge while the phone is in operation and will charge first the iPhone, then itself, in sequence when attached to AC power. The Smart Backup Battery also works with the original iPhone, iPod touch and all other data-port iPods. It costs $50, with discounts on volume purchases. [full story]

July 14 - 7:35pm EDT   While Apple CEO Steve Jobs' concerns about 3G's impact on the iPhone's battery life were valid, the iPhone 3G still maintains a longer-running battery life than other popular competing mobile devices, including the new Samsung Instinct. PC World investigated several 3G smartphone handsets, showing that the iPhone 3G bests the Instinct, the HTC Touch Dual, and the LG EnV with 5h 38m, the only three others which featured over five hours of talk time. [full story]

July 10 - 9:00pm EDT   Two companies today introduced accessories for extending the battery life for the iPod touch as well as providing extra protection for the mobile device: mStation's mophie Juice Packs extends the time between chargest by offering up to an additional 24 hours of audio playback or up to an additional seven hours of video playback. The battery comes in the form of a non-slip soft grip case that is easily attached and removed from the Touch. [full story]

May 13 - 11:50am EDT   QuickerTek has introduced an extended battery upgrade for Apple's MacBook Air, which it says offes six to ten hours of additional battery power -- for a total of 12-16 hours of battery life when used in conjunction with the (charged) internal battery. "Since the MacBook Air has a non-removeable battery, the typical user strategy of using multiple batteries is not possible. QuickerTek had already developed battery charging technology for MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops, but those solutions did not charge AND power the computer at the same time. QuickerTek's MacBook Air External Battery powers and charges the internal battery while in use." [full story]

May 7 - 7:25pm EDT   Mophie on Wednesday announced it is shipping the Juice Pack – an iPhone battery extender – and that it is the first company to achieve certified "Works with iPhone" recognition for a battery extension product. The extender adds 250 hours of standby time, while also featuring eight hours talk time, 6 hours of internet usage, 7 hours of video playback, and 24 hours of iPod functionality. Mophie is currently shipping the Juice Pack for $100, and is available directly from Mophie, mStation, or select retailers. [full story]

May 5 - 10:30am EDT   The lithium-ion battery shortage caused by a fire at South Korea's LG Chem plant back in March should be over in the third quarter of the year, an executive at a notebook battery maker said on Friday. While the shortage is hurting sales of all notebooks, including the ASUS Eee PC, smaller, lower-volume companies are hurt most, as they get least priority when supplies do become available. [full story]

May 2 - 4:35pm EDT   Sony showed off a tiny fuel cell at the Smart Fuel Cells 2008 exhibition that ends today, which combines a fuel cell, Li-polymer battery and control circuit for the first time. In testing conducted in Japan, Sony found a 1Seg video broadcast can play for 14 hours on 10mL of methanol. Use of a refined technology using the fuel cell could significantly boost the run times of today's consumer electronics, specifically laptop and cellphone batteries. [full story]

April 22 - 6:35pm EDT   Consumers who bought ASUS' Eee PC 900 in Hong Kong are accusing the company of misleading them. Review copies of the highly anticipated mini-laptop featured a higher-spec battery which is not yet available to the public and ASUS claims it shipped by mistake. The company is now giving a free battery upgrade to buyers who purchased the Eee PC 900 on its launch date. [full story]

April 21 - 7:25pm EDT   Promate on Monday unveiled a universal laptop back-up battery it calls the ProBattery as well as solar-powered Bluetooth car kit. The company, which makes electronics accessories that range from protective screen films for PDAs to external media drives, promises to keep laptops running for up to eight hours. To make it compatible with a wide variety of laptops, the 6600mAh Lithium Polymer battery uses a selectable 5V, 16V or 19V power output and 15 modular notebook connectors. [full story]

January 4 - 6:00pm EST   Energizer today unveiled a new iPod battery extender, as well as several new lighting products; it will be demonstrating them at CES 2008. The Energi To Go for iPod uses two AA batteries, and when used with the company’s e2 Lithium cells, produces over 40 hours of audio playback, or 11 hours of video. The unit unfolds, revealing a dock connector, allowing the iPod to sit in the lightweight battery pack. Energi To Go for iPod comes with two Energizer e2 Lithium AA batteries, while pricing and availability has not been mentioned. [full story]

December 24 - 12:50pm EST   USBFever.com has launched four new iPod accessories ranging from a tiny portable speaker earphones. The company's Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker serves as a tiny sound system that works with all iPod models. The speaker is small enough to hang on a keychain, and features built-in amplification via a Lithium-Ion battery that users recharge via USB. The Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker ($10) offers 0.8W power output, weighs 17 grams, and includes an on/off button. [full story]