The 14-inch iBook has the longest battery life in Apple’s line-up of portable products. Apple says it will last six hours, but that’s under optimal circumstances and a bit on the optimistic side. Regardless, wouldn’t it be nice if you could add an extra 10 hours to this battery time?
A company called Valence Technology, which specializes in the development and commercialization of Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable batteries, says you’ll be able to do just this something this spring. Recently, the company introduced its first end-user mobile device, powered by their Saphion Lithium-ion technology. The N-Charge Power System is the first portable battery system designed to recharge and/or run two mobile electronic devices simultaneously. And it’s compatible with Mac laptops, Valence spokesperson Sue Ellen told MacCentral.
The N-Charge Power System is a standalone energy solution that provides power for a variety of mobile electronic devices. With its built-in multi-device support and run-time, it eliminates the need to carry multiple adaptors and additional batteries, according to Stephan Godevais, president and CEO of Valence.
“As notebooks and other mobile devices have attained higher levels of performance and become more power-hungry, power availability has become a key issue for mobile professionals,” he said in announcing the N-Charge Power System. “We believe that the N-Charge Power System, with its thin and light design, will have a significant, positive impact on how these devices are used.”
The system will supposedly provide up to 10 hours of continuous notebook use or up to five days of non-stop cell phone talk-time. Valence’s “Adaptive Sensing Technology” makes simultaneous powering/charging of multiple portable devices possible.
Valence’s Saphion technology has inherent electrochemical stability, which enables the creation of large, high energy density Lithium-ion solutions, Godevais said. Saphion technology offers the high performance of Lithium-ion with added environmental and cost benefits as it utilizes natural, phosphate-based cathode material in place of the less stable and more costly Cobalt, he added. As a result, Saphion technology energy systems can be designed into a wide variety of products in markets not served by older Lithium-ion solutions, Godevais said.
The N-Charge Power System will be available in the second quarter of this year. Prices are expected to range from $200 to $400. To use it with an Apple portable, you’ll need a Mac adapter, which Valence hopes to see carried by companies such as Apple itself or third party vendors (though no deals have been established at this time).
Joe Lamoreux, a Valence engineer, told MacCentral that a laptop “thinks” it’s plugged into an AC adapter when the N-Charge System is connected. The beauty of it is that you can have your AC adapter plugged in simultaneously and charge both your laptop and the N-Charge System at the same time.