Thanks for visiting Palm Discovery

Palm Discovery gives a BIG THANKS to Darren of Moixa Energy (USB Cell) for providing the product for this review.

One of the many quips and complaints of travelers, especially those who love our gadgets and tech stuff is that we lug so much stuff with us, with the majority of it being battery chargers. What would you say if I told you that you no longer have to pack that rechargeable AA charger with you? I’m not kidding! Read on!

When I originally read and heard about this product, I was clearly excited! Wow! What an interesting and innovative take on rechargeable batteries? No more chargers required! Even in the older days of Dyncharge with the small portable charger with the adapter head and small attachment, you needed to take that with you. That means more gear, cables, accessories to take. For most of us who hate to lug along all the extra cables, accessories every time we travel, having one less thing to take with us is a blessing. Many times, I look at the extra bulk (not to mention weight) that I have to take with me and I absolutely hate it. Before I’m done, I’ve got over 15 pounds worth of stuff. That’s why I try to avoid taking my laptop (it’s 8 pounds already) since I now have my Treo but that’s another story.

Pics of USB Cell Rechargeable battery

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Video of USB Cell recharageable battery

USB Cell video at UndoTV

Alternative link: YouTube, Vimeo

USB Cell is a compact rechargeable battery shaped to the exact specifications of a regular AA alkaline battery and is meant as a rechargeable replacement for many portable devices that use AA batteries. Before you chime in about how we already have rechargeable AA batteries available, here’s the cool part. USB Cell is different in that you don’t need a charger for these batteries. Well, actually, you do, in a way, but you can charge these batteries by plugging them into any powered USB port or USB hub.

At first glance, the USB Cell battery looks very much like a regular alkaline AA cell battery or even a rechargeable NiCd (ie. Dynacharge) battery. But, if you pull up and out on the green top or head of the battery, you will expose the USB connector normally hidden underneath. This is where you connect the USB cell to a USB port or powered USB hub to charge it up. So, rather than requiring a regular and bulky NiCd charger, you simply plug in the USB cell into a USB port. And when done, place the cap back on. The cap is held in place by elastic so that you can easily pull to remove and expose the USB attachment and replace it back when done and use it as a AA dry cell battery. Very nifty.

To charge up the battery, simply pull up on the green cap of the battery to expose the USB connector underneath. Plug in the connector into any USB port or hub and let it charge. You leave it plugged into the USB port or hub to charge for 5 hours. Yes, that does seem like a long time but if you are traveling long distance on a plane, at least you know you’ll have plenty of time to do it. There is a green LED light that will turn on to indicate the charging status. A steady green light indicates it’s charging. The light will flash when it’s 90% charged. And it will turn off when it’s fully charged. The convenience of being able to charge via the USB port is quite an innovative idea and quite useful for those of us who normally travel with our laptops. This saves us from lugging an extra battery charger.

The cell will get warm or get up to a certain temperature while it’s charging during those 5 hours. It’s not hot to the touch, but the temperature is much more than warm. There’s no cause for alarm because that is expected. But, if it gets too hot to the touch, then you may want to remove it as that is not normal. One nice thing about this battery is that there is internal circuitry that will stop overcharging or overheating when the battery is fully charged. You certainly want that because you can tell that the battery does get quite warm while charging.

The USB AA rechargeable cell battery, once fully charged, can obviously be used as a rechargeable replacement battery for an alkaline or even rechargeable AA cell battery, with the main difference being that this cell battery is charged via the USB port. As an alternative, you can also charge the USB Cell batteries in a standard (non fast charge) chargers as well, although the length of charging time is somewhat extended to 7 hours instead of 5 (an additional 2 hours) compared to charging via the USB port. So, you have the best of both worlds: charging via the USB port if you wish, or charging it via a regular battery charger. What more can you ask for?

Here are my observations. Although the idea of having a rechargeable battery that doesn’t necessarily need a portable charger and that charges via the USB port is very exciting, I wouldn’t think that this will replace your rechargeable batteries just yet. The USB Cell does do what it claims, which is to provide portable battery power where you normally would need alkaline AA batteries. A look at the specs of USB Cell can give you a better idea of the power it provides. According to USB Cell’s website, they indicate that the USB Cell provides 1.2v of power at 1300mAh. A typical “long life” or “heavy duty” Zinc Chloride battery offers 1.5v at 1000-1500mAh. And for further comparison, an alkaline battery like Energizer or similar can offer 1.5v at 1500-3000mAh. But keep in mind that rechargeable NiCd batteries usually offer 1.2v at 600-800mAh or even 800-1000mAh so comparatively speaking, USB Cells offer slightly more power capacity wise than NiCd but substantially less than alkaline batteries.

With those very loose figures in mind, USB Cell rechargeable batteries are good rechargeable batteries for non-intensive power hungry devices like wireless computer mouse, clocks, walkmans, flashlight and many other portable household items. Other power hungry devices like a digital camera with flash, mobile phones, camcorders which would normally require the Lithium Ion type batteries for a quick power discharge release may not be suited. It may work, but I’m not sure if USB Cell can sufficiently supply the required surge of power to operate these devices. I do not have a digital camera that requires the LiOn AA battery so I wasn’t able to try it.

USB Cell offers a “No Quibble One Month Refund Policy” for purchases made through their online store, offering you the ability to refund your purchase within a month. They also offer a one year warranty on their products as well, covering any manufacturing defects.

The idea of having a rechargeable battery offering a higher capacity than rechargeable NiCd batteries plus the added convenience of not requiring a charger is a very innovative and nifty idea! I would however, prefer that USB Cell provide a higher capacity so that it will last longer. But, it’s still a very good alternative rechargeable battery for those who are environmentally conscious about the impact of battery disposal and usage. With an expanding line up of USB Cell rechargeable batteries offered in other formats like AAA, C, D, 9 volts, etc, you can really start using a truly portable and environmentally friendly rechargeable power source, all without breaking your bank.

Here are more details and information on the USB Cell rechargeable batteries from the website.

Overview & Features

* Also rechargeable by approved NiMH charger at 250ma for 7 Hours

Again, Palm Discovery would like to thank Darren of Moxia Energy (USB Cell) for providing the product to allow me to do this review. Currently, they are selling the AA rechargeable cell batteries at their online store but I believe the others will be out very soon. Please go check out all the other types of USB Cell batteries available for pre-order at USBCell.com

Thanks for visiting and supporting Palm Discovery. If you are not reading this article from Palmdiscovery.com or Palmdiscovery.net, the website you are reading it from is guilty of copying and posting my content without consent. Please visit Palm Discovery for the original source of the material.

Del.icio.us categories: archives categories palm hardware-review moixa moixa-energy usbcell accessories rechargeable-battery usb

Popularity: 63% [?]