Originally published July 18 2005
Portable device users tied down by chargers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
With the many electronic devices now needing a charge (iPods, cell phones with larger LCD screens, laptops and PDAs), manufacturers are in a race to find better batteries that last longer.
Here's the paradox of the portable age: The electronic devices that free people to go anywhere but never lose touch also keep them bound by cords and plugs to electric sockets.
Sophisticated devices with color screens, video and gaming features demand more of batteries, and, without steady recharging, users plunge from being in touch to feeling impotent.
Beds and bookcases make way for bulky chargers that cover both sockets, leaving the bedside lamp without power.
``You're a well-dressed professional, and you end up sitting on the floor next to whatever is needing to be charged,'' said Darcy Travlos, a senior analyst for the research firm CreditSights, who carries a bag full of chargers when she travels.
Thousands of consumers settled with Apple Inc. this month, after owners of early versions of the iPod complained about its built-in battery.
In the past few years, Intel started investing in small companies that work on prolonging or preserving battery life, and now has five such investments.
``Battery life is one of the most important things for our customers,'' said Raj Doshi, product line manager for handhelds at PalmOne Inc., which in April released the Tungsten E2 handheld, lighter and with double the battery life of the previous version.
And that requires a host of different chargers.
``I have so many chargers, can I just tell you?'' Kammerer said, rattling off the list: Two laptop chargers -- one at work, one in the briefcase.
Another for the iPod, ``although the cord is too short, so you can't plug it in and put it on the table, so it mostly stays on the floor.''
``If you switch (cell phone) brands, it won't work,'' Kammerer said of his many chargers.
Manufacturers argue that providing their own chargers ensures the quality of the service, said Jeff Joseph, a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association.
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