I know these are currently out of fashion but I’m still thankful they exist.

Let’s remind ourselves of devices that use(d) these standardized batteries:

  • Toys
  • Digital cameras
  • Torches
  • Gadgets like fans
  • Wireless keyboards
  • TV remotes

Thanks to having a standardized system of batteries,

  • You can use the same battery across several devices. This is a no brainer but it’s very practical.
  • Batteries can charge quicker thanks to being put in a dedicated charger and not being limited by USB cables. (But yes I concede that USB has been updated for faster charging over the years)
  • Devices don’t have down time when their battery is charging. To charge, the battery is removed from the device and can immediately be replaced with a fresh one.
  • You’ll never have to trash a device due to an expired battery. Just buy a replacement. And building on this…
  • Any improvements in future battery technology can be retro-fitted into your existing devices. And there is a high incentive for future improvement, because…
  • An accessible (due to easy replacement) and large (due to many devices) battery market is very attractive to competition.

If you look at the pros I listed, they all happen to be things that would be very useful for electric cars. So I think it would aid the adoption of electric cars if their batteries were standardized too.

  • u/lukmly013 (lemmy.sdf.org)
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    210 months ago

    The Liitokala charges seem nice. I’ve got Lii-PD4 for €13 on AliExpress. Unfortunately I didn’t have any extra money to spare for one with discharge capacity testing, otherwise I’d get the Lii-500.

    Just be careful not to accidentally press a button on it right after inserting the battery, while the percentage is still blinking, otherwise you may happen to accidentally override the charging voltage and e.g. give the battery 4.35V instead of 4.2V. boom.