After years of addressing the demand to lower power consumption in notebooks, it’s time to point fingers at the supply: the lithium ion battery.

Manufacturers have been pushing lithium ion to its limits in recent years. The result of that push has included slightly longer battery charges–and safety disasters, such as the massive recall of Sony batteries in 2006.

“Some of the problems you see in the industry are (partly from) the need to over-engineer the system and having huge cost pressure,” said Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder and CEO of Boston Power, a battery developer.

Lithium ion technology was considered a fantastic solution when it was introduced commercially in the early 1990s. But there’s no more room for improvement without pushing the envelope of cost and safety, Lampe-Onnerud said.

New materials
As a result, battery manufacturers have been experimenting with new materials, which could offer major breakthroughs–and lead to the unintended consequence of making life a little more difficult for notebook vendors.

For example, Panasonic, one of the three major battery vendors along with Sanyo and Sony, has developed a new battery cell that can hold more of a charge than the standard cell. (A standard lithium ion battery holds six cells.)

Panasonic doesn’t discuss the materials being used to build that cell, but it is one of many companies investigating the use of metals other than lithium, such as nickel and manganese, on the cathode of the battery, said Andy Keaths, power sources enabling manager at Intel.

Right now, Panasonic is using those new cells in batteries only for its own notebooks. But one day, it could license that technology to other manufacturers, which might also come up with their own new materials for both the cathode and anode of a battery. Intel is also looking at alternative metals and power sources over time, with investments in companies such as Zinc Matrix Power.

Those alternative metals present problems of their own, however, because they can require slightly different charging voltages and can add cost to the battery, said John Wozniak, who holds the title of distinguished technologist in Hewlett-Packard’s notebook engineering group. It can also take awhile to introduce new, unproven materials.

“Right now, when I see road maps that say we’re going to have this capacity at this time, I plan for something like six months after that,” Wozniak said.

Working with what’s there
Barry Huret, president of battery consulting firm Huret Associates, isn’t quite so pessimistic about the future of lithium ion battery technology.

“They just have to get what they are using under the best control,” he said.

In that vein, instead of focusing on extending battery life, Boston Power is working on designs that improve reliability, performance and safety of lithium ion technology. For example, the company wants to create a battery that doesn’t lose its charge capacity over time, as opposed to current batteries that become more impotent as time passes.

This could be a big selling point for HP’s enterprise customers, which currently buy three-year warranties on notebooks but are only entitled to one-year warranties on batteries, Wozniak said. If customers must live with small increases in battery life, perhaps they’ll respond to other selling points when it comes to batteries.

“If I can’t get all-day runtime, maybe I can do a fast charge at lunch,” he said.

One latches onto the underside of the Dualis, swiftly pulling out a spent battery pack. The other then lifts a fully charged pack into place. A green light, and away the driver goes. All in under a minute.

Welcome to the future of electric vehicles, as seen by Better Place. The Palo Alto, Calif., company aims to build an international network of battery-swap stations for electric vehicles.

The battery swap system, which made its global debut in concept form here, hopes to brush aside a major barrier to electrics: their high price.

Instead of paying thousands extra for a car because of its lithium ion battery, customers would pay piecemeal to use a battery supplied by Better Place. When the battery runs low, drivers switch it for a fully juiced one.

The business plan looks more to mobile phones than to gas stations. Customers can pay for every mile they drive or buy a fixed-rate plan that allows unlimited miles and battery swaps.

Better Place plans to open battery-swap stations in Israel and Denmark sometime next year, and in California and Hawaii six to nine months later. The company will provide swap-and-go batteries for electric vehicles from Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.

Last week, Nissan said it will start making electric vehicles in Japan at its Oppama plant in the fall of 2010. Initial capacity will be 50,000 cars.

“In 2011, what you’ll see is on the magnitude of tens of thousands” of the battery packs, Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi told Automotive News. “At 2013, you’ll be at hundreds of thousands.” He reckons each station will cost $500,000.

But the battery-swap system faces its own hurdles. Unlike gas tanks, which can go almost anywhere on a car, batteries must be under the floorboard in the middle of the car for the robots to make the swap.

After the spent batteries are removed, they are recharged in 20 minutes. Refrigeration keeps the batteries cool and prevents damage during the high-voltage charging. But repeated quick charges degrade battery life.

While Nissan and Renault are Better Place’s only partners so far–hardly enough to gain critical mass–Agassi said he was in talks with other automakers.

“We were in serious discussions with 10 companies,” he said. “The main reason we haven’t seen other car markets move is we caught them in the worst 18 months of the history of the car industry. And during that time, most car companies scaled back research and development.”Sony VGP-BPS10，Sony VGP-BPS10A，Sony VGP-BPS10A/B.

Manufacturers are creeping toward 8 hours of actual battery life (slowly), but they are doing so with batteries that haven’t changed much for decades.  And, let’s face it, there’s only so much hardware and software can do.  What we really need are battery cells that last longer.

Happily, that may be on the horizon.
From CrunchGear:

Researchers in South Korea, led by one Prof. Cho Jae-phil at the Hanyang University, have developed a new type of lithium battery that lasts as long as eight times as long as traditional lithium batteries. So, for example, your laptop that gets five hours of battery life all of a sudden gets 35 hours of battery life.

As CG points out, this is still in development, so it could be a few years before consumers get the benefit.  Still, it might benefit laptop and other mobile manufacturers to throw some R&D money at this to help it along.  The first company to bring out an ultraportable that gets 30 hours of battery yet is still light and not bulky will be in for some serious bank.

The recall affects 9-cell batteries with the part number FRU P/N 92P1131. They were sold between November 2005 and February 2007 as an accessory for about $180.

The recalled devices were used in ThinkPad notebook models: R60, R60e, T60, T60p, Z60m, Z61e, Z61m and Z61p. About 100,000 of the recalled Sanyo Electric battery packs were sold in the U.S., with 105,000 more sold worldwide.

The defect is not with the internal battery cell, according to the CPSC statement. A blow to the corner of the laptop while the battery is installed, which might occur if the device is dropped, can result in overheating. Lenovo received four reports of “batteries overheating and damaging the notebook,” according to the recall notice.

Consumers can check Lenovo’s battery recall announcement for more information or call Lenovo at (800) 426-7378 anytime to determine if they have a defective battery.

In September, Lenovo also recalled a series of Sony batteries used in ThinkPad computers.

However, Arm processors could be relegated to co-processor status alongside Intel CPUs in commercial laptops unless the chips are able to run full-featured, Windows-based PC applications, analysts said.

Though Arm can run multiple flavors of Linux and the Windows Embedded CE platform, Microsoft has said its upcoming Windows 7 OS would not support the Arm architecture. Microsoft said Arm is suited for specialized devices like smartphones and e-readers. As such, only the mobile version of Windows has been ported to the Arm architecture.

Nevertheless, Dell’s move on Tuesday to use Arm chips in its latest business offering, the Latitude Z, raises the possibility of the processor architecture being used in more laptops.The Arm processor is a secondary CPU that sits alongside an Intel low-voltage CPU intended to run Windows-based applications. Dell is also offering Arm CPUs as an option with its ultraportable Latitude E4300 and E4200 business laptops.

The PC maker decided to use Arm processors because they add a smartphone element to the laptops, said Steve Belt, vice president of business client engineering at Dell.

The Latitude Z has a special motherboard with an Arm-based chip on it, which is designed to run the quick-boot capability called Latitude On. In addition to booting in just a few seconds, Latitude On gives the laptop “always-on” capabilities similar to those in smartphones. The environment provides quick access to commonly used applications such as e-mail clients, contacts, calendar and a Web browser. The feature helps avoid the longer boot times that versions of Microsoft’s Windows OS undergo to run such applications.

Arm designs processor cores that are licensed to chip makers. The processors can be found in billions of mobile devices and are making their way into low-power devices such as netbooks. Arm recently boosted the speed of its processor cores to reach 2GHz in an attempt to show that the processors are scalable and provide the performance needed to run demanding applications like multimedia.

However, it was the power-saving feature of the Arm processors that attracted Dell to use the chip in Latitude Z, Belt said. The PC maker is placing the Arm at the heart of the quick-boot environment, as it consumes much less battery life compared to Intel processors, Belt said.

“Here you get a great power-management story. That’s how you get an instant-on story, because I have the power to burn,” Belt said. The future of Arm CPUs in Dell laptops is partly tied to how customers respond to the quick-boot feature, Belt said.

“A lot of that is going to be driven by the acceptance of what we’ve built here. If we see people really like this and use it, trust me, I’m super-excited about this capability. But I’m not going to spend time building things people don’t want, either,” Belt said.

Many vendors have talked about including Arm processors in PCs. Asustek Computer, for example, has shown a laptop with Arm and Intel processors running in tandem.

Dell’s laptop is a step in the right direction for Arm, which is trying to establish a larger presence beyond the smartphone space, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates.

However, Arm may struggle to replace Intel CPUs as the main processors in laptops, since the PC version of Windows has not been ported to the Arm architecture, Gold said. Most fully functional laptops today ship with Intel CPUs and a version of the Windows OS.

Software is more important than hardware in commercial laptops, said Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. But Arm chips could work in laptops if there is a move toward Web applications and adoption of the Linux OS grows.

Arm processors are already being used as an alternative to Intel CPUs in small, low-cost laptops based on the Linux OS. Those devices are designed mainly for people who do most of their computing on the Internet. Chip companies like Freescale and Qualcomm are expected to deliver chips for such devices, which they call “smartbooks,” based on the Arm architecture.

Still, Windows 7 needs to be ported to Arm to get more consideration from PC makers as a replacement for Intel CPUs, Gold said.

“Dell has essentially relegated Arm to a co-processor,” Gold said. “I can’t see Arm replacing Intel or Advanced Micro Devices — x86 architecture — in notebooks. Arm will run Linux so in netbooks it makes sense,” he said.

Laptop makers may continue to adopt Arm CPUs as co-processors to run specific functions like scanning Internet data for malware and viruses, Gold said. The power-saving capabilities and low cost of Arm chips make them a good choice as co-processors.

Software, Security Features, and Management
The security-conscious will be pleased to learn that the Dell Latitude E6400 features a contactless Smart Card reader, TPM, an optional biometric fingerprint reader, and Intel’s vPro technology. Data can also be kept from prying eyes through the use of remote data deletion and certified data destruction.

The Latitude E6400 also comes pre-installed with Dell Video Chat (if configured with the optional webcam), Google Earth, Microsoft Office Live Small Business, Roxio Creator Home, and CyberLink PowerDVD DX. New Dell ControlPoint software provides a single access point that lets users configure the notebook as they see fit. With a single hot key combination, users can access power management, displays and devices, connections, security, and system information.

Battery Life
Using our LAPTOP Battery Test, which tests endurance by surfing the Web until the battery dies, the Dell Latitude E6400’s nine-cell battery lasted 5 hours and 17 minutes, which ran neck and neck with the Lenovo ThinkPad SL400’s 5 hours and 20 minute score on the same test. Dell states that users can expect a whopping 19 hours of battery life if you equip this system with a 64GB solid-state drive ($554), and a 12-cell slice battery ($399).

Verdict
Priced at $1,463, the Dell Latitude E6400 is a durable and secure notebook that offers snappy performance and plenty of endurance. And thanks to Dell’s redesign, this is one sleek business notebook you’ll want to be seen carrying. Power users will want to upgrade to discrete graphics, and we wish the touchpad were bigger, but overall the E6400 is an very good choice.

I won’t gloss over the deficiencies of the iPad. It’s unfortunate that Apple opted for the limited iPhone OS instead of full-blown Snow Leopard. Also disappointing are the lack of native connectivity options (USB Ports, SD slot, Video out, etc.) and the adaptors that Apple expects you to buy. However, to meet the goals of long battery life, small form-factor, and light weight, some compromise is necessary. It simply isn’t currently possible to make a half-inch-thick, 1.5-pound tablet with 10 hours of battery life using OS X and an Intel processor–at least not with respectable performance.

For business travelers who need access to Web and e-mail, $30 for a no-contract unlimited data plan is a pretty sweet deal and perhaps the iPad’s keystone feature. Consider that adding 3G Internet capability to your netbook through Verizon will cost you $40 or $60 per month for 250MB or 5GB of data transfer.

While I take issue with Steve Jobs’ assertion that the iPad offers the best Web experience possible–especially given that media sites like Hulu and Netflix won’t work without Flash and Silverlight–for the non-smart phone business traveler who want a small, light-weight, and inexpensive e-mail and Web solution, the iPad just might fit the bill.

With the iPad, Apple also announced customized versions of iWork apps (Keynote, Pages, and Numbers). This enables the mobile worker to work on presentations, documents, and spreadsheets. At $10 per app, the price is pretty reasonable. While it’s irritating that the optional keyboard only works in portrait mode, it’s a nearly mandatory accessory for any sort of real productivity. Sales and marketing folks will appreciate the ability to hook up the iPad to a projector via the optional (of course) Dock Connector to VGA Adaptor.

If you already have a smart phone and netbook or notebook, you have little practical use for an iPad. However, not everyone has a smartphone, and not everyone wants one.

Being badgered by your phone every few minutes with a new e-mail update is not a necessarily a productivity booster, and a pricey cellular data plan doesn’t make sense for every mobile worker. Many business people are perfectly content with their small, limited, not-very-smart phones. For these users, the iPad presents a reasonable set of compromises, allowing lightweight, affordable data access on demand, without an endless stream of nags and notifications emanating from their jacket pocket.

While the iPad might not be for everyone, it’s a fairly polished mobile computing device that certainly will find its niche amongst gadget geeks and business users who are seeking an intermediate mobile device that takes up hardly any space, offers budget priced 3G connectivity, and provides all-day battery life.

According to a warning from the CPSC, batteries in some of Toshiba’s Satellite A100, Satellite A105 and Tecra A7 notebooks built between January and April 2006 pose a fire hazard from overheating. Approximately 1,400 portable computers are affected by the recall, said the CPSC.

The batteries due for call back are a subset of a recall issued by Toshiba less than four weeks ago that wasn’t publicized by the CSPC. Then, the Japanese computer maker listed 17 different laptop lines as potentially equipped with defective PA3399U-1BAS. An update to the Toshiba support document a day after the initial July 17 alert added the three systems called out by the CPSC last Thursday. The agency gave no explanation for the weeks-long delay between Toshiba’s admission and the CPSC recall warning.

“Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries and contact Toshiba to receive a free replacement battery,” the agency urged. Toshiba has posted a Windows utility that sniffs out recalled batteries; it can be downloaded from the BatteryCheck link.

Toshiba said that the recent recalls were not connected to the much larger recall of Sony-made PA3399U-2BAS in 2006. Then, Toshiba recalled more than 1 million battery packs, and was only one of several notebook makers — Apple Inc., Dell Inc., Gateway Inc., and Lenovo Group Ltd. were among the others — forced to recall Sony’s batteries.

In May 2006, a Toshiba laptop that burst into flames also prompted the company to urge users to replace defective batteries. The laptop that caught fire then was running a Sony battery pack on the 2006 recall list.

Customers with batteries affected by the recall should stop using them immediately.

The company recommends removing the Latitude D510 battery from the computer, which can still be operated on main electrical power.

Model Numbers
The rechargeable lithium ion batteries involved in the recall have model numbers ending in G1L1, and were supplied with the following Amilo notebooks: A7640, A1640, M1405, M1424, M1425, M7405, M7424, M7425, and Pro V2020.

The model numbers can be found in the middle of a label on the underside of the computer, the company says.

The Latitude D520 battery went on sale in October 2004, and may also have been sold separately as spares, the company says.

More information about to obtain a replacement battery can be found online.

The company has received four reports of batteries overheating, out of a possible 250,000 units, it says. No injuries have been reported, it says.

In May, Apple Computer recalled 128,000 notebook computer PC764，Latitude D620 battery after receiving six reports of them overheating.

Premium Laptop Charger: Targus claims its Premium Laptop Charger is half the size and weight of the typically AC/DC charger. This device includes nine laptop tips, a mini-USB tip, an iPhone/iPod tip, and can charge two devices simultaneously. It can plug into either a wall socket or car cigarette lighter and retails for $149.99.

Compact Laptop Charger: At 11.6 ounces, the Compact Laptop Charger is available in two models, each covering a number of leading manufacturers, both with a mini-USB tip. It can also power two devices simultaneously, with an iPhone/iPod connector available for shipping and handling costs. This AC charger retails for $89.99.

Netbook Charger: Another Targus AC charger that can provide juice for both a netbook and low-powered mobile Targus is literally downsizing its chargers with the unveiling of what the accessory manufacturer is calling the lightest, most compact chargers for laptops, netbooks, and other mobile devices, compaq evo n600c battery,all geared toward travelers looking for a light and versatile charging solution.

Premium Laptop Charger: Targus claims its Premium Laptop Charger is half the size and weight of the typically AC/DC charger. This device includes nine laptop tips, a mini-USB tip, an iPhone/iPod tip, and can charge two devices simultaneously. It can plug into either a wall socket or car cigarette lighter and retails for $149.99.

Compact Laptop Charger: At 11.6 ounces, the Compact Laptop Charger is available in two models, each covering a number of leading manufacturers, both with a mini-USB tip. It can also power two devices simultaneously, with an iPhone/iPod connector available for shipping and handling costs. This AC charger retails for $89.99.

Netbook Charger: Another Targus AC charger that can provide juice for both a netbook and low-powered mobile device at the same time. Pricing and size are comparable to the Laptop Charger.

Mobile Laptop Charger: This DC compaq evo n610c battery charger includes eight laptop tips and a mini-USB tip, allowing for two-device charging. Measuring in at 3.5 inches long, this 6.9 ounce device retails for $79.99.

Targus also touted its Tips from Targus program, offering consumers new device connectors for only shipping and handling costs, ensuring the chargers never become obsolete. In addition, Targus claims that thanks to eco-friendly designs, their products require 60% less material to build and package when compared to most current adapters.

device at the same time. Pricing and size are comparable to the Laptop Charger.

Mobile Laptop Charger: This DC charger includes eight laptop tips and a mini-USB tip, allowing for two-device charging. Measuring in at 3.5sony pcga-bp2s battery  inches long, this 6.9 ounce device retails for $79.99.

 Targus also touted its Tips from Targus program, offering consumers new device connectors for only shipping and handling costs, ensuring the chargers never become obsolete. In addition, Targus claims that thanks to eco-friendly designs, their products require 60% less material to build and package when compared to most current adapters.