Travel Technology: USB Cell Batteries

Posted on 14. Sep, 2010 by jess in Product Reviews, Travel Technology

Travellers carry around an increasing amount of technology – laptop or netbook, iPhone, iPad, camcorder, camera, the list goes on – and with each new must-have portable device comes unwanted extra cables and chargers to recharge them. Each time the battery in your device dies, you search through knots of cables and chargers to find the corresponding battery recharging device. One way to simplify this mess for us has been using USB Cell rechargeable batteries, which recharge through the USB port rather than having to lug around a rechargeable battery charger. (Another way was our choice in pocket video camcorder, which is cable-free and plugs directly into the USB port straight from the device.)

The USBCELL AA Rechargeable Batteries can be recharged up to 500 times, cut down on pollution (over 15 billion alkaline batteries are discarded each year world-wide) and each charge lasts about 12 hours of constant use, much longer for occasional use. You just pop open the green cap and put it right in the USB port, and the batteries recharge. Good old-fashioned rechargeable batteries last a bit longer, but on the road, it has been so easy to plug in the USB Cell batteries and recharge at a café when we wouldn’t normally have been coincidentally carrying around the battery charger (and adapter). Two USB Cell AA Batteries run USD 20.00 (GBP 10.00), which is only a little bit more expensive than rechargeable batteries. Just a little Travel Tech Tuesday tip that makes life on the road a little easier.

Does anyone out there also use the USB Cell batteries? Are you happy with them? Any other tips for great travel tech gear?