Technabob » battery powered

HiWave Wireless Speaker Module Lasts 40 Hours on 1 AA Battery (Which of Course Will Still Die When You Don’t Have a Spare)

Lambert Varias — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:00:49 +0000

Many Bluetooth speakers have internal batteries that last up to 10 hours. Pretty decent right? But a company called HiWave claims they can do muuuuch better. They have developed a wireless speaker module that can last – yeah, what I said on the title.

If a single AA battery is enough to power the speakers for up almost two days, a D cell battery can pull off one hell of a marathon – HiWave says one D cell will be enough to keep their module up for over 145 hours. Wow. The trick seems to be in the company’s proprietary amplifier chip, which they claim sips only 1/20th the power of other amplifiers. HiWave will have a demo unit at next year’s CES, and they expect consumer devices equipped with the power-sipping magic module to ship in the 2nd quarter of 2012.

[via Electricpig]

Milwaukee Tool Company Makes a Cool Heated Jacket

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:13:59 +0000

I went hunting with my dad a few times when I was young. I hated it. It was cold and I lack the patience to wait for a deer to come strolling by to shoot. And when the deer came by, I didn’t really have the heart to blast the thing. If you are the sort that likes to hunt or work outdoors, and want to keep nice and toasty, Milwaukee has a new jacket that will heat you up using rechargeable batteries.

The jacket is called the M12 Heated Jacket and it runs on red lithium rechargeable batteries. A single battery is good for up to six hours of heat. The three heating zones are made from carbon fiber and will keep you toasty. The jacket is wind and water resistant as well.

It also has a three stage heat control along with pockets for your gadgets like a phone or MP3 player. The jacket is about $180 depending on the size you need and you can buy the thing in some local stores and at Amazon.

[via Uncrate]

Electric Car Covers Over 1,000 Km on a Single Charge, Probably Takes a Year to Charge

Lambert Varias — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:40:56 +0000

The civic group Japan EV Club is probably the only group of its kind, because it has taken to shattering its own records. Last month, the electric vehicle enthusiasts drove an electric version of the Daihatsu Mira for 345 mi on a single charge. One month later, the group nearly doubles their record, driving 623 miles using the same car model (I’m not sure if it’s the exact same car though).

The record-breaking car and the one before it were both powered by a Sanyo Lithium-ion battery, which is said to be made up of 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.

17 members of the Japan EV Club took turns in driving the modified Mira, for a total of 27 and a half environmentally-friendly hours, going at an average of 40 km/h (approx. 25 mi/h). Seriously though: how long does it take to fully charge that car?!

[via CrunchGear via Coolest Gadgets]

Epson Shows Off New Industrial Design for Portable Printers

Technabob — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 04:46:08 +0000

Epson Japan and design firm Industrial Facility have completed a collaboration to rethink the design of portable color printers and the result is quite striking.

These new portable printers feature an integrated carrying handle and can run on batteries. The lid was designed to function as both a protective cover and a paper tray, and the memory card slots (which can handle 19 varieties of cards) are hidden behind the fold-out paper exit door. The printers also have built-in 2 or 2.5 inch LCD for previewing your pictures and an IR port for printing from compatible mobile devices. There’s also a Bluetooth connectivity upgrade available.

The printers are now available on the Epson Japan website under the brand name “Colorio”, models E-300, E-500 and E-700. It’s not clear if or when these printers will hit North American retailers.