The Rechargeable USB AA Cell

AA batteries are to be found everywhere, from portable devices to all sorts of other gadgets around the house. Their main drawback is that they get depleted, like pretty much any other battery does. And to compensate for this sad end, rechargeable batteries came up, also subject to depletion when used but able to be recharged multiple times and thus being friendlier to the environment. Yet one needs a wall adapter and the proper charger to put some volts back in the rechargeable batteries. So, where are we mistaken?

There is no mistake, that's for sure. All we need is to think a bit out of the box to be able to find the solutions right under our noses: USBs!

Indeed, the stars of this piece of news are USB-rechargeable cells. We're actually dealing with some common rechargeable batteries sporting the form factor of the traditional AA cells and being completely compatible with them, but instead of requiring a specialized charger, they'll get their “juice” from any live USB port on any computer. The idea is painfully simple and can be easily entered in the “why didn't I think of that before?” category.

Even more, you don't even need a computer as any powered USB hub will do the trick. All you need is 250mA and a few hours. Then you can pick your freshly-charged USB AA cells and take advantage of the 1350mAH they are capable of storing.

Of course you can use these batteries just like any other cells, regardless of the application that needs power: toys, photo cameras, radios and pretty much anything that needs AA cells. At the same time, these cells make great accessories for the traveling guy who owns a laptop. Thanks to their diminutive size and weight, their presence will not be a burden to you.

These nice USB cells come in packs of two and retail for $19.95 per set.

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .