Mar 3, 2011
If you’re anything like us you’ll work your way through hundreds of batteries a year powering various Apple products, as well as various game controllers and remotes. With the cost of these batteries so high, rechargeable seems to be the way to go, and Moixa have come up with a fantastic idea – create batteries which charge directly from a USB port.
Flipping back the top of the battery reveals a USB adapter which you can simply plug into any computer, games console, or charger to power up your batteries. As the batteries charge LEDs will show you how much power has been stored so far. When the light flashes the batteries are at 90%, and when there is a solid green ring they’re fully charged.
We charged the batteries when we first got them to 100%, and it’s been a few weeks now since we got them. We’ve been using them with a Magic Mouse and a Wireless Keyboard, and there was one point where the batteries in the mouse were getting a little low so we connected them to our iMac for around 45 minutes. Since then they have been going for around about two weeks with regular use and they’re not dead yet. The Keyboard is still going strong and after just over a month the keyboard is at around 25%.
Charging is easy as the lids are on elastic, and although they do get a little hot while they’re taking power from the computer, the results are fantastic. They’re quite expensive compared to other rechargeable batteries, but you have to consider that you won’t be limited to using a wall/plug charger to recharge your cells – you can use them anywhere that you have a computer. That said, you can also use a 250 mAH Ni-MH charger if you wish, or if your computer’s USB ports don’t accommodate the large size.
We were really impressed by Moixa’s USB Cell batteries, and now that we’ve tried them we won’t be going back to regular AAs. They’re convenient, easy to use and they last for a pleasingly long time – and don’t forget that they’re good for the environment too. Each battery saves 7kg of CO2 over its lifetime. You can get hold of them from www.usbcell.com/ for £10.99 ($17.99 including shipping) for two.
Pros:
Simple to use, you don’t need a charger, and they seem to last forever
Cons:
Might not fit into your computer’s port, get pretty hot when charging
Verdict:
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They are not very good at all. The capacity is so low at 1300. You’d be better to buy some good 2800 Energizers and a 49p usb aa charger from Ebay
Hi Tony.
Like we said in the review, these are great for low-power uses like the Apple Keyboard and Mouse. They certainly won’t be so good for higher-power applications but they have lasted plenty of time in our Mac peripherals over the last few months. In fact we’ve only just had to charge them again and they should be going for a long time still. Sure, there are better batteries out there, but as an idea these are fantastic, don’t you think? Batteries with built-in USB charging adaptors are a fantastic idea!