Posted on: Wednesday, February 21, 2001
Disposable batteries for cell phones
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Electric Fuel Corp's disposable cell phone batteries sell for $16.95
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser |
It’s a sign of our always-in-touch times. Wireless phones are fast eliminating "down time," the periods when there’s nothing to do but wait until you arrive at the next point in your day when you'll be reachable.
The only excuse for powerlessness is actual lack of power: Your cell-phone battery dies.
Now we’re to be deprived even of that escape hatch. Electric Fuel Corp. has introduced InstantPower Disposable Cellphone Batteries to have on hand, just in case you’ve failed to recharge and the wireless falls silent at exactly the wrong moment.
Of course, there are the environmental concerns about throw-away batteries. And "disposable" doesn't mean "cheap," at least not yet.
Priced at $16.95, the batteries are being sold online (www.electricfuel.com/InstantPower/sales.shtml) and in selected retail outlets.
Locally, we found them at Wal-Mart, under the EverActive brand, for the Nokia and Motorola models; Circuit City also stocks InstantPower’s Samsung model. Online, they’re available for Samsung and Ericsson phones, too.
At that price, one expects performance, and the InstantPower manufacturer promises up to five times the life of a rechargeable.
One newsroom wireless subscriber tried it out on a Nokia, and after seven days it was still ticking. She doesn’t talk very much, however, with only 120 minutes on her monthly package. So your mileage may vary.
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