If you're the kind of person that doesn't give much thought to the brand name in batteries, Sony would like you to reconsider.
The company is announcing new technology in its lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which shipped in June. The result is a battery that, according to Sony, lasts four times longer than existing secondary li-ion batteries and charges to 99 percent in 30 minutes.
"High-power" and "long-life" are terms often thrown around carelessly by battery makers, and there's a lot of technical jargon in Sony's press release -- Olivine-type lithium ion phosphate, leveraging new cell structure design, etc. Still, Sony's claim that the batteries hold 80 percent of their charge after 2,000 cycles make them worth a raised eyebrow.
I'm not a battery expert, but if you look at the disadvantages of lithium-ion, Sony seems to be addressing the biggies of shelf life and internal resistance. However, it doesn't appear that these batteries battle degradation, which eats at lithium-ion batteries' life whether they're being used or not.
For now, the batteries will be used in power tools and other motor-driven devices, but Sony says use in mobile devices will come later. I suppose any technology that could keep my iPhone from fizzling out after a day of heavy use is welcome in my book.
