Charge!

The Wall Street Journal reports that batteries are holding back the 60-80mpg hybrid. The best battery Technology, lithium-Ion, is unstable and may burst into flames. I would argue that safety is not an attribute that a consumer makes battery purchasing decisions on. Personally I’d rather not have anything I own burst into flames, and I just, perhaps naively, expect things not to combust out of the blue.

But not to worry, new and better batteries are on the way according to MIT’s Technology Review:

Boston-Power says that it’s poised to enter the market for portable power, with a notebook battery the company claims is safer, lasts longer, and can be charged faster.

Longer life batteries would obviously add functionality to laptops, but there are cooler things afoot than being able edit a document on a transatlantic flight without losing power.

The cool thing is the exciting new possibilities that come with longer battery life and faster charging. The long-life battery could add a whole new level of interface and functionality to many items that are currently non-high tech. The shopping cart is a good example of something better batteries could revolutionize. Each shopping card could have a CPU and screen to help shoppers locate items, inform them of specials, show ads, or even display a personalized shopping list. On the functionality side, the cart could take advantage of scanner technology and keep a running total of what goes into the cart so when it comes to checking out the clerk need only take the charge or cash and bag the items. Of course, technology like this has other obstacles, but short battery life may soon not be one of them.

It will be some time before it’s a reality, but it’s fun to imagine the aesthetics, interface and functionality better batteries will add to our lives.