Apple picker Perhaps the most surprising product was introduced by Apple last week together with the Magic Trackpad. This is a new eco-friendly charger for $29 and six AA batteries.
We will offer you a brief look at this new product, which will serve you mainly as a power source for your Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse, wireless keyboard, or other battery-powered device.
Apple introduced the updated Mac Pro, the iMac, the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display and the multi-touch Magic Trackpad - all of which were more or less expected. The company also introduced a new Apple Battery Charger to "drive" various wireless devices.
For $29 you get six AA batteries and a charger that can charge two batteries at the same time. So the price is definitely competitive. So how is the Apple charger different?
The company points to an energy consumption that is 10 times less than the average consumption of other chargers. Another reason why Apple started producing its batteries is ecology and overall energy saving.
Apple claims that classic chargers use 315 milliwatts even after charging the batteries. In contrast, the Apple charger recognizes when the batteries are fully charged and at that moment reduces power consumption to just 30 milliwatts.
There are many other (larger) chargers that can handle charging multiple batteries at the same time. Apple thinks as follows: the user has two batteries in the Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse, another two in the wireless keyboard, and the remaining two are being charged.
The batteries have a silver design and do not have the Apple logo on them, instead they carry the words "Rechargeable". On the other side is an inscription: Use these batteries only with an Apple charger :)
The charger itself is made of white plastic and is smaller than most comparable devices. There is a dial on the surface that glows orange and changes color to green when the charging cycle is complete. The green roller will automatically turn off six hours after charging is complete. This is not a fast charger. But this is not a problem, because the battery in the keyboard etc. lasts for several months and the user thus has enough time to recharge a spare pair of batteries.
Apple states that the minimum battery capacity is 1900mAh and that its batteries will offer a lifespan of 10 years. They also claim that the batteries have an "extraordinarily low self-discharge value" They can supposedly sit unused for a year and still retain 80% of their original value. Whether these data are real will be revealed only after months of practical use. In my experience, some rechargeable batteries don't even last ten months of normal use.
Well, if those batteries are based on the same or similar technology as Sanyo's ENELOOP, then I can confirm that they are. While I used the usual NiMh batteries, so after charging if I didn't use them within 2 weeks, they were completely discharged. Since I have ENELOOPs, I can easily leave the batteries charged for several months, and even then I can take a few hundred photos just fine. And as for the capacity - I once talked to a person who has been dealing in batteries for many years and he claimed that AA-sized NiMh batteries only make sense up to about 2000 mAh, because those above this number have a very fast self-discharge. Well, of course, the more over 2000, the faster. (My old ones had 2700 mAh)
I am very interested in these batteries, my friend is flying to the states now, so he will buy them for me... I am very curious about them, but mainly about how much they will cost here!!!!!!!
I'm interested in the actual durability of the Magic Mouse with daily use.. my current rechargeable batteries last about 3 days :D and it's slowly starting to piss me off :) so if it lasts at least a month I'll be very grateful :)
3 days??? :-) I would throw them away and buy an alkaline one, for example. The batteries in my mouse last at least half a year. Maybe with more frequent use it could have been 4-5 months, but now I've had them there for almost a year. But I have alkaline there. And I use a white laser mouse from Logitech, I'm somehow not used to the Apple one. I would quite trust these batteries and the charger, but I'm also afraid of the price here. :-)
I'm sure they will be great. The worst thing is always when someone sees the cheapest crap in OBI or Datar and buys it and then curses (but not at himself...). I must have bought 5 pencil battery chargers with an original Canon charger 4 years ago, both for about 1500 CZK and they are still in use in the PowerShot today. You just pay for the brand!
Well, I have Energizer .. when I put the classic alkaline in my mouse, they lasted a little over a month.. :)