The USB Batteries

Here’s another office cleaning find. Last fall I came across some interesting batteries on the internet and I purchased a few to try them out. They are rechargeable AA batteries that have a built in USB plug so they can charge directly from a computer. It’s a neat idea. There are times when I’ve wanted to charge batteries but I didn’t want to bring an extra charger along with me. They were surprisingly cheap (around $3 per battery, rather than $10 per battery for competing products).

They came from Deal Extreme, a Chinese gadget seller with surprisingly cheap/free shipping to the U.S. The catch is that it’s postal service and it takes a couple weeks to arrive. It doesn’t appear that Deal Extreme has any of these left, but their are similar (and more expensive) units available elsewhere on the web.

Somewhat to my surprise, the batteries actually work as advertised. They are not the longest lasting rechargeables around (I think they have a 1350 mAh capacity rather than the larger 2200 mAh). I used them in my bike headlight all winter and now Melissa uses them in her bike headlight. I could easily charge them while at work without the need to bring a separate charger.

The translated directions on the back of the package are fairly hilarious. In case you can’t read it in the picture, it says:

When battery capacity insufficiency, takes down the the battery the nearcathode black to be partial, reveals the battery the USB connection, inserts the computer the USB place already to be possible to charge, duration of charging 4 hours.

Note:

Befre the use please confirmed the battery cathode. Please hastilyopens the solution battery, the electric appliance does not need to besupposed for a long time to take out the battery, the battery hastilyinvests in the fire.

There you have it. Just try not to hastilyinvest in the fire.