BleepingComputer.com: Battery technology back with the dinosaurs

I just want to say how disappointed I am with the poor state of battery technology.

I have a digital camera: a Canon PowerShot A400. It's a wonderful little gadget, but the one thing that has been a constant bother is getting enough battery power to make it work.

I've been using a GrandCell Dualcharger to recharge size AA Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries to power the camera.

These work for a year or so, but then the batteries don't 'top-up' enough in the Recharger to power the camera.

Ordinary non-rechargeable batteries last only a very short time before they are no longer effective.

A totally fresh non-rechargeable AA battery shows a charge of 1.61v on a meter - which is enough power to make the camera work.

All my rechargeable AA batteries now register as no more than 1.41v ... which is not enough to power the camera.

So just a lousy .20 of a volt makes the difference between the camera being operable - or dead.

I've got around 6 rechargeable NiMH batteries which are now good for nothing except for powering a pen-torch or a TV remote control.

I agree with you about the apparent lack of progress with batteries. You'd think a fully charged battery on a modern laptop would last about 12 hours or so.

But no, only from 2-4 hours!


I enjoyed that mini rant.

I would lay more blame on the devices these batteries are expected to power. These devices continue to get more and more power hungry, and battery energy density isn't necessarily keeping up.

Good point ddeerrff. So, maybe they are doing well just keep the about the same ratio?