Toshiba Prototype Batteries: Stronger, Better Than Li-ion

One of the biggest deal breakers when purchasing notebooks, or any portable device, is how long the battery will last you. Short battery life and long charging times usually drive the mobile user to purchase a second battery, sometimes even a third.

On that note, Toshiba has some good news for those of you always on the run. Toshiba has shown off a prototype Super Charge Ion Battery (SCiB) designed for notebooks. Toshiba also commented that the technology is still a little ways off from making its way into computers – but not too far.

SCiB are designed to recharge up to 90 percent capacity within up to 10 minutes – they also last longer and endure more charging cycles than current lithium-ion based batteries. SCiB are also considered to be safer since they will not explode when crushed or compromised. The materials used in SCiB have a much higher level of thermal stability and also have better safe-guarding against short-circuiting and over-heating.

In terms of charging cycles – standard lithium-ion batteries weigh in around 500 charging cycles before needing replacement, on average. SCiB apparently weigh in somewhere between 5000 to 6000 recharge cycles which is huge step forward for portable computing.

If SCiB proves to be what the hype says it is, you can guarantee that this battery technology will more than likely find its way into products with static batteries (not removable) such as many of Apples products. One would expect that the cost of portable media player would increase somewhat since the manufacturer would lose out a little on battery replacement programs.