d'mo
Enlightened
Rant mode on....
Ok, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but I'm fixated on standard size batteries, mostly AA and AAA. Think about it, every piece of portable electronics needs a battery and there is nothing worse (to me) than a proprietary battery with a dedicated charger that works only on "that" battery type alone. I love rechargeable batteries, but lugging around a dedicated charger for a laptop, camcorder, digital camera, and cell phone is a royal PITA. Companies are starting to manufacturer "universal" chargers, but recharging still doesn't get you where you want to be when the electronics your carrying run out of electrons. With a charger, you're tethered to a wall or have to wait until charging has completed - neither is a great option....
Standardizing on common battery sizes has some great benefits: If your rechargeable AAs die, you can always install a set purchased from almost any corner store in the world (been there, done that). When higher capacity common sized rechargeable are released, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for replacements and in most cases, don't even need to upgrade chargers. In a pinch, the batteries from one device will also work in another. Dedicated rechargeable batteries that die at inopportune times leave the user lugging around hunks of plastic, metal and glass that do nothing more than weigh them down. With common batteries, just walk into the store, open your wallet and you're back in business, albeit in many cases with less capacity that with the rechargeable, but at least the device is still working.
Of course, this has limitations - nobody wants to wear a huge AA powered watch. I don't mind the odd sized battery here and there if the device using it has an absurdly long run time. Electronic watches are an example of this.
Lately, there have been a lot of flashlights coming out taking only 123 batteries. While I think 123s are great, they are still not as abundant to purchase as AA. I understand the ergonomics, capacity and circuit issues involved, but hold great esteem for devices hat can use multiple battery types. The Arc LS rev 1 was a classic example being able to accept 123, 1xAA, 2xAA, 1xAAA and 2xAAA (with modified cases).
As technology becomes more abundant, I wish manufacturers would realize that standardizing battery sizes really makes life easier.
Rant mode off...
I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Thanks
dave
Ok, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but I'm fixated on standard size batteries, mostly AA and AAA. Think about it, every piece of portable electronics needs a battery and there is nothing worse (to me) than a proprietary battery with a dedicated charger that works only on "that" battery type alone. I love rechargeable batteries, but lugging around a dedicated charger for a laptop, camcorder, digital camera, and cell phone is a royal PITA. Companies are starting to manufacturer "universal" chargers, but recharging still doesn't get you where you want to be when the electronics your carrying run out of electrons. With a charger, you're tethered to a wall or have to wait until charging has completed - neither is a great option....
Standardizing on common battery sizes has some great benefits: If your rechargeable AAs die, you can always install a set purchased from almost any corner store in the world (been there, done that). When higher capacity common sized rechargeable are released, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for replacements and in most cases, don't even need to upgrade chargers. In a pinch, the batteries from one device will also work in another. Dedicated rechargeable batteries that die at inopportune times leave the user lugging around hunks of plastic, metal and glass that do nothing more than weigh them down. With common batteries, just walk into the store, open your wallet and you're back in business, albeit in many cases with less capacity that with the rechargeable, but at least the device is still working.
Of course, this has limitations - nobody wants to wear a huge AA powered watch. I don't mind the odd sized battery here and there if the device using it has an absurdly long run time. Electronic watches are an example of this.
Lately, there have been a lot of flashlights coming out taking only 123 batteries. While I think 123s are great, they are still not as abundant to purchase as AA. I understand the ergonomics, capacity and circuit issues involved, but hold great esteem for devices hat can use multiple battery types. The Arc LS rev 1 was a classic example being able to accept 123, 1xAA, 2xAA, 1xAAA and 2xAAA (with modified cases).
As technology becomes more abundant, I wish manufacturers would realize that standardizing battery sizes really makes life easier.
Rant mode off...
I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Thanks
dave