Since introducing its eneloop rechargeable battery technology in 2005, Sanyo is reported to have shipped over 130 million cells. Now the company has announced some new additions to its eneloop universe series which provide a power boost to a host of mobile devices including Apple's iPad, Sony's Xperia smartphone and Nintendo's DS series portable gaming devices.
Sanyo's new eneloop mobile booster (KBC-L2BS) offers double the power output of the company's previous model (KBC-L2AS), now able to provide up to 5V/1A high-power output for about a couple of hours. The lithium-ion battery pack also gives users the option of simultaneously powering a couple of devices at a reduced output of 5V/500 mA for a couple of hours via a couple of USB ports or hooking up a single device at the same rate for a four hour power boost.
The portable battery pack can be used with mobile phones, portable media players, portable game consoles, and various other mobile devices but is also capable of providing an energy boost for tablets like the iPad and smartphones like Sony's Xperia range. The booster itself can be charged up using either the AC adapter – which takes about seven hours – or can receive power via connection with a computer's USB port using the included cable – which takes around 14 hours.
The pen-like eneloop stick booster (KBS-D1BS) has just the one USB port available, is 0.787 of an inch (20 mm) thick and weighs just 2.68 ounces (76 g), including the pair of AA-size NiMH eneloop batteries within its aluminum tube. It is said to offer around 90 minutes of 5 V/500mA output for mobile phones, smartphones, portable audio players, portable game consoles, and various other mobile devices. The batteries are reported to be good for at least 1,500 recharge cycles, after which users have the option to change the batteries themselves.
A couple of charging adapters have also been announced especially for Nintendo's DS series handheld games consoles, which have non-standard charging requirements. Sanyo says that the KBC-DS2AS (for the DS Lite) provides 5.2V/450mA of power for about 100 minutes and the KBC-DS3AS (for the DSi/DSi LL) comes in at around 65 to 70 minutes of extra gameplay at 4.7V/600mA. Both sport an aluminum body which houses a couple of AA-size eneloop batteries. The tube is the same diameter as the stick booster but comes in a little heavier at 94 g.
The new additions will go on sale in Japan this coming October for an unspecified price, with the mobile booster scheduled to break out internationally shortly after that. More information is available from Sanyo's eneloop website.