Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Laptop battery breakthrough ... maybe

February 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Laptop battery breakthrough ... maybe

TAGS: DEMO 07

The potentially most significant product introduced at Demo comes with a big caveat: It's great ... if it works as advertised.

Boston-Power's Sonata lithium-ion laptop battery is a battery that reportedly doesn't "fade." Fade refers to the loss of battery capacity that happens after repeated charges and discharge. It's why I have to get a new notebook battery at least once a year.

According to Boston-Power (no relation to Austin Powers), Sonata maintains full capacity after 1000 charges. That means you would, effectively, never have to throw out a laptop battery. In the demonstration, a HP representative came out first and offered a testimonial, and Boston-Power president Christina Lampe-Onnerud explained the product and its benefits. But there was no real demo, since it's not clear how you can actually demo a battery.

So we're taking Lampe-Onnerud at her word here. But this is what she pitched. In addition to the fade resistance, Sonata will not burst into flames (as some batteries have been known to do), since the safety and redundancy features are separate. The battery charges to 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes (compared to 2-3 hours for typical lithium-ion batteries), and is compatible with current notebook formats. Reports say the maker -- in China, natch -- is reported to be environmentally friendly.

This wonder battery should start appearing in systems by this summer, with HP a likely client, though there have been no official announcements. The InfoWorld Test Center will be keeping an eye on Sonata and will report on actual results as soon as we're able to put it through its paces.

Posted by Steve Fox on February 1, 2007 03:09 PM

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