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With resolving more Eee PC battery issues in mind, Asus has announced that they will be offering a “free upgrade” to customers who either purchased the Asus Eee PC 900 or received it for review with 4400mAh batteries instead of the advertised 5800 mAh ones. This is in relation to all the negative publicity that they have been getting lately because of the aforementioned battery issues, which they have rightly adjusted and countered with a good move. I wish all manufacturers were like that, open to the opinions of customers and ready to stoop down low for the sake of being understood. We admire you Asus, and keep up the good work! Now when’s my 80GB OS X powered Eee PC coming?

Via [jkk mobile]

Imagine buying a phone, signing up for a data plan, and never having to walk near a wall charger again. With this generic new touchscreen phone from China, now you can. With a 3-inch touchscreen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, four built-in speakers, dual-SIM card support, and a whopping 2-year long manufacturer-rated battery life, this just might prove to be “the last mobile phone you’ll ever need.” It also has Bluetooth, an MP3 player, an e-book reader and handwriting recognition in both the English and Chinese language. I think it’s about time the big players in the handset market came around and tried to find out just how China men manage to churn out phones like these. Just what do they fuel these phones with? God?

Via [Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

Who wouldn’t want a laptop battery that’s safer, longer-lasting, and environment-friendly? I know I do. And I know all laptop users would like to get a boost on the battery life of their current laptops, and maybe something that doesn’t go off in flames when you’re not looking. A start-up company called Boston-Power is aiming to provide the answer for this essential need with their Sonata laptop battery, which will come out later this year.

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It’s no secret that cell phone batteries typically suck, sometimes not even lasting us until we get home in the evening.  What’s the secret to good battery life?  The general rule of thumb is that if your phone is doing anything, your battery power is being drained.  And if you’re doing something fun on your phone, you can bet your battery meter will be running low shortly.  This means photos, games, and web surfing will all impair your battery’s performance significantly more than regular use.  So what are some steps you can take to maximize your battery life without sacrificing the fun?  Read on for 10 things you can do to increase your phone’s battery life:

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Why didn’t I think of this? A rechargeable battery that plugs directly into your USB port to recharge. This is a lifesaver for us absent-minded geeks who spend almost every waking hour in front of a computer and tend not to lug around a battery charger.

Product Page [Moixa] Via [Thinkgeek]

So Kevin Rose let down his guard and seems to have let the first batch of “truthful” iPhone details slip right out. I am trying to decide 1. if the details are true and 2. if Apple wanted him to leak so people actually get excited for the handset at this year’s MacWorld. Here are some of the details that he let fly (watch the vid for the rest):

• 2 batteries, one charger. One for the MP3 player and one for the phone.


• All three major cellphone carriers.


• 4GB and 8GB.


• Slide-out keyboard and touchscreen.


• Out in January.

Since the laptop battery fiasco media attention has died down, we just wanted to be sure you didn’t miss the news.  If you have a Dell or Apple laptop computer with a Sony battery, make sure your battery wasn’t recalled.  After talking to several friends that have iBooks and such, I’ve realized that they all forgot, now there’s no media attention to remind them.  So if you want to be a true geeky friend, make sure your friends and family don’t have explosive laptops.  The battery program websites are listed below.

Apple: Battery Exchange Program iBook G4 and PowerBook G4
Apple: 15-inch MacBook Pro Battery Exchange Program
Dell: Battery Return Program

Just 10 days after Dell announced their massive 4.1 million battery recall, there are already talks that a new standard will need to be set.  AppleInsider is reporting that Apple, Dell, and Lenovo will get together at a summit next month to develop lithium ion standards so an incident like this doesn’t happend again. 

“Without a doubt, standardization can and will address the issue of operation and safety called into question by the use of lithium ion batteries.,” said John Grosso, chairman of the IPC OEM Critical Components Committee and director of supplier engineering and quality at Dell. “While the Committee had identified lithium ion batteries as the next product for standardization, we are going to accelerate our activities now.”

Lithium ion batteries are used in many of the things you use on a daily basis.  iPods, some cellphones, etc.  My question that I have after getting word of this news is where is Sony in all of this summit planning?  I mean, they’re the ones that made the defective batteries in the first place.

Read [AppleInsider]

As you probably already know, on Monday, Dell announced the “the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry.” The batteries that led to this explosion in the blogosphere (pun intended) were likely used by more companies than just Dell, since they were manufactured by Sony.  Coincidentally, Apple has a similar exchange program set up for MacBook Pros sold from February to May of this year.  Did Apple use the Sony batteries as well?  According to Channel News Asia, a spokeswoman from Apple has reported that they are “looking into the issue.” If this is what it sounds like (a shady way of avoiding the press), expect Apple’s battery exchange program to span more than just February to May; maybe as long as April to July?  And if they used these batteries in PowerBooks and iBooks, that could spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for Apple.

Update: Reuters says the Sony batteries are also used in laptops from Hewlett-Packard Co., Apple Computer Inc., and Lenovo Group Ltd.

Via [Gizmodo]
Read [Channel News Asia]

After weeks of exploding laptop incidents, Dell has finally announced an official recall of 4.1 million lithium-ion batteries.  The recall, which is said to be “the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry,” is for specific models laptop batteries shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006.  As ironic as it is, the batteries were outsourced to Sony, so we can only blame Dell so much.  If you’re affected by the recall, Dell has set up the Dell Battery Replacement Hotline (1-866-342-0011) which will operate weekdays 6:00AM - 6:00PM, weekends 9:00AM - 6:00PM.  They’ve also set up www.dellbatteryprogram.com (which will be live around midnight central time tonight) so you can see if your battery is actually defective.  Alex Gruzen, Sr. VP of Dell’s Mobility Product Group offers a sincere apology on Dell’s official blog and combats expected criticism by saying “some might say we are being conservative and even overreacting in taking this broad action, but even one more incident is too many.” Hey, 4.1 million out of 22 million ain’t that bad, is it?

Via [Direct2Dell]
Read [NYTimes]