Cherrypal, the guys behind last year’s super green cloud computer have managed to put together a netbook dubbed “Africa” that will sell for only $99.

Specs include: a 400 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 2 GB flash memory, 7-inch screen (800 x 480), USB 1.1 and 2.0 ports, SD card support, and it runs either Linux or Windows CE operating systems (it should also get about 4 hours of use on the Lithium battery). Yeah, don’t expect much for your $99—as the product page notes, it’s “small, slow, and sufficient.” Africa is available now at the Cherrypal open store. [Cherrypal via PRNewswire via Engadget]

Barence writes “PC Pro’s contributing editor Paul Ockendon has bought a new lawnmower powered by lithium-ion batteries — part of a recent flood of such lithium-ion-powered garden and workshop tools which are taking over from NiCd and NiMH thanks to lighter weight, longer life and lack of the pernicious ‘memory effect.’ This is pretty much the same battery technology used in laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players, so volume manufacture is already established. Yet laptop manufacturers charge more per Watt-hour than lawnmower makers. This blog investigates whether such a seemingly ludicrous situation can be justified.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

jangel writes “Stanford University researchers have demonstrated a way to turn ordinary paper into a battery, which may be crumpled or pressed into any form. It’s said the technology promises greater durability, higher efficiency, and faster energy transfer than traditional batteries. The technique uses special ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires. Thanks to the small diameters of these materials, the ink sticks strongly to the fibrous paper, allowing the battery to be extremely durable. The paper battery could last through 40,000 charge-discharge cycles — at least an order of magnitude more than lithium batteries. According to the researchers, the paper batteries will be low-cost, may be crumpled or folded, and can even be soaked in acidic or basic solutions, yet their performance does not degrade. ‘We just haven’t tested what happens when you burn it,’ one of the researchers quipped.” This is the same Stanford research team, lead by Yi Cui, whose work with nanotechnology for battery applications we have discussed before. We’ve also delved into alternate routes to the holy grail of the ultra-thin battery.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

hduff writes “While lithium-ion batteries offer better performance than lead-acid or ni-cad batteries, the supply of lithium is limited and the batteries can pose problems. Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute are building a better battery with easily obtainable sand and air.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicked off the holiday shopping season, and according to Sony, it also underscored better-than-expected early holiday demand, particularly for its PlayStation 3 console.

"We saw a very positive sales increase television, computers, and PS3 in particular," Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer told a group of reporters today. "I don’t think there were any negatives, but we need a little more time to find out how big it was."

The company has reason to be excited. After basically introducing the mobile music market some three decades ago with its Walkman, Sony has since faced stiff competition with South Korean rivals and a handful of U.S. IT firms. Apple’s iPod now rules the portable music scene, and Samsung leads the way in the global flat screen television market.

Going forward, Sony sees an opportunity to turn things around by focusing on batteries.

"Don’t forget we started lithium-ion batteries at Sony… If you produce the right battery, they will come," Stringer added. "It’s worth putting our best engineers at it… It’s worth a shot, I think."

Image Credit: playstationlifestyle.net

MikeChino writes “Algae is often touted as the next big thing in biofuels, but the slimy stuff could also be the key to paper-thin biodegradable batteries, according to researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden. Uppsala researcher Maria Stromme and her team has found that the smelly algae species that clumps on beaches, known as Cladophora, can also be used to make a type of cellulose that has 100 times the surface area of cellulose found in paper. That means it can hold enough conducting polymers to effectively recharge and hold electricity for long amounts of time. Eventually, the bio batteries could compete with commercial lithium-ion batteries.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Ear Force X4 was a rare and wonderful product, the only Xbox 360 wireless surround sound headset to integrate voice chat smoothly into the mix. Now the sequel, the Earforce X41, is even better.

The Price

$180 (technically $200, but Amazon sells ‘em cheaper)

The History

Read our X4 review if you’ve never heard of these products before. This article will make a lot more sense.

The Improvements

• 2.4GHz RF instead of IR audio transmission
• USB powered instead of wall jack
• Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound instead of Dolby 5.1

I was skeptical that the Ear Force X41 would be any better than the Ear Force X4. But after using the headset for a week, I’m remiss to return to the X4s I bought last year.

Quite simply, the audio is more consistently clear with the new RF transmission, now that line-of-site and ambient light has become a non-factor. And I think that overall audio quality, while the speaker components themselves remain unchanged, has seen a bump because of this cleaner signal. (For those concerned, I was able to use the headset without interfering with my Xbox’s Wi-Fi adapter or my home network—the primary potential hiccup with using RF instead of IR. Results may vary, I’m sure.)

As for the jump from Dolby 5.1 to 7.1 support, you probably won’t ever notice. Playing Modern Warfare 2, missiles fly by your head with impressive panning, but the sound localization is no better than it was in the X4s…though to be fair, that’s not necessarily a knock, even if the audio lacks the shining moments you’ll enjoy in the best surround sound headphones offered by companies like Sony.
Oh, and the headset still requires AAAs as opposed to bundling a rechargeable lithium ion. I will say, however, that the batteries I tested with have broken the 10-hour barrier by a decent margin, and they’re still operational.

As a wireless, surround sound headset for the Xbox 360, the X41 is at the top of its class (at least partially because it’s still the only product in its class). If you’re willing to go wired, you can save about $100+ on a cheaper version of the Ear Force, or you can take a look at the even more expensive but lauded Astro A40s.

In fact, if you guys are interested, let me know in the comments. I may try to call in a pair of those Astros in to hear for myself. [Turtle Beach]
gawkerGallery( 5407758,4,”);

Comfortable

Superb chat quality

RF offers smooth audio transmission

Highly specialized but useful product

Overall audio quality is OK, not stellar

AAA batteries? C’mon!

There are plenty of electric bike designs out there, but few (possibly none) can compare to the Grace E-bike. Its CNC-aluminum frame is fitted with eurofighter and Formula One parts, and it has a top speed of 40 mph.

gawkerGallery(5406763,4,’E-Bike’);

So it’s a hell of a lot cooler and more powerful than a scooter, moped or Segway—but the 1300 watt lithium ion-powered motor will only take you between 18 and 31 miles on a one hour charge (depending on weight). That’s not enough to make it a serious mode of transportation, but if you live in an urban area it might make some sense. You don’t need a parking spot and you can ride it in the same areas as a traditional bicycle. Of course, that kind of flexibility won’t come cheap. Expect to pay €5877 ($8742) for the Grace E-Bike when it ships in January. [Grace via DVICE]

The mPower Emergency Illuminator combines a beautiful design (courtesy of the Porsche Design Studio) with new battery technology. One tube holds two CR123 batteries, while the other stores a Lithium Reserve Battery that has a minimum shelf-life of 20 years.

gawkerGallery(5403085,7,’mPower Emergency Illuminator Gallery’);

“The mPower Reserve Battery offers an unprecedented minimum shelf life of 20 years and has an immediate activation to full power. Through an intricate battery design, mPhase developed a way to eliminate power dissipation before initial activation.”

The flashlight uses an intense, high-performance LED, and has an accessory USB connection to charge your mobile devices. It’s slated to arrive in March, but we hope to get a better look at it at CES in January. [CNETand Yahoo News]

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute has claimed to have come up with a way to solve the problem of Lithium-ion batteries exploding in laptops and mobile phones – and is suggesting that the technology will be available early next year.

The invention – called Stoba – is placed between the positive and negative side of the battery and, when the battery reaches 500 degrees centigrade (266 farenheit) it shuts the battery down.

It does this, rather niftily, but reacting to the temperature by going from a porous material to a film which prevents the reaction in the battery.

Testing, testing

“We have introduced a totally new material to the battery,” Senior Researcher and Team Leader Alex Pang, told Reuters.

Pang stated that the material was already being tested by battery makers and that the product would ship in the first quarter of 2010 and that it adds just three per cent to he cost of production.

Which hopefully means we soon won’t have to write another ‘exploding laptop/phone’ story ever again.