eneloop

This past week I had a chance to try out Sanyo's new rechargeable power supply for guitar pedals, called Pedal Juice. It's a weird name that to me conjures images of sweaty feet, but someone at Sanyo was smart to leave the name off the actual product.

Instead, the design is a stark, simple white box with a single button for power and a reassuring Eneloop logo. Initially, the color and dimensions of the box reminded me of a block of tofu, but after considering it, it dawned on me that Sanyo smartly modeled the form after a standard Boss guitar pedal. In fact, if you have a Boss-style pedal board, the Pedal Juice fits right in to the cutouts.

Even the most devoutly environmentally sensitive, patchouli-soaked, jam band in the world has to admit, $150 is a bitter price when compared with a disposable $2 9v battery or a $30 power adapter. Unless Sanyo is insane, there must be more to the product than Berkeley street cred.

Well, there is.… Read more

Soon after announcing a new series of eneloop electric bicycles, Sanyo has completed work on two solar-powered parking lots for 100 eneloop bikes in Tokyo.

The zero-emissions system involves high-efficiency 7.56kW HIT solar panels capturing energy that's used to recharge the lithium ion eneloop bike batteries and power LED lights illuminating the lots at night. No commercial power sources will be used, regardless of the available sunlight.

The solar parking lots are located along the Keio and Tokyu Den-en Toshi rail lines in the ward of Setagaya, a well-to-do community west of downtown Tokyo.

The eneloop bikes parked … Read more

More and more electric bicycles are being developed in Japan to give riders a little help when commuting or going grocery shopping. They're a common sight on the hilly streets of Tokyo, where "mamachari" bikes with baskets and kid seats over the wheels are the norm.

Sanyo recently unveiled a new series of two-wheel drive eneloop electric hybrid bicycles whose lithium ion batteries can recharge while the bike is being pedaled on level terrain. Previous models relied on braking or downhill energy to re-power.

The Eco Charge Mode featured on the SPL series gives you more recharging opportunities while the bike is in use. It reads foot pressure on the pedals, as well as pedal torque and the revolution speed of the dynamotor on the front wheel, and charges the battery along flat roads, on downhills, and during braking. When the rider comes to an uphill gradient, the motor assist function kicks in automatically.

The Eco Charge Mode increases driving distance per charge by 53 percent compared with just biking in a high power-assist mode; Sanyo says the new SPL bikes can travel about 34 miles per charge.

By traveling 1 kilometer (1,093 yards) on flat ground in Eco Charge Mode, you can generate enough electricity to go about 300 meters (328 yards) in Power Mode, which provides lots of power assist. A power reserve function stores an extra bit of juice for those times when the battery runs out before you arrive at your destination.

To be released in Japan in April, the 26-inch CY-SPL226 and the 24-inch CY-SPL224 will have a price tag of about $1,700.

Meanwhile, industrial products maker Iwatani recently showed off a hydrogen-powered electric bicycle at FC Tokyo, a gathering of companies in the fuel cell business. … Read more

With devices getting increasingly power-hungry, the last thing one would expect is batteries going lite. However, Sanyo's taking its eco-friendly but bacteria-combative eneloop dry cell down a peg and producing a version more suited to gadgets that sip energy.

Enter eneloop lite, which targets low energy guzzlers such as alarm clocks and remote controls.

The nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery will sell in AA (780 yen or $8.60 for a pack of two) and AAA (640 yen or $7 for a pack of two) sizes. The batteries will yield up to 2,000 recharges and are ready to use … Read more

Sanyo is introducing a portable USB recharger that can power mobile devices, such as the iPhone, that require a higher current for charging.

The Eneloop Stick Booster, part of the same family of power products as the USB Solar Panels, comes with two rechargeable eneloop AA NiMH batteries.

The company says the batteries can be recharged some 1,500 times, and eneloops are more effective than dry cells because they don't meet the current requirement of some devices.

The aluminum-construction Stick Booster weighs 2.6 ounces and is 5.8 inches long. When switched on, it can provide power … Read more

If you plan on walking through the desert with a cell phone anytime soon, you might want to check in with Sanyo before you leave.

Its new Eneloop Portable Solar panels can charge portable devices through a USB connection. They're also relatively compact and a cinch to tote.

Sanyo's stylish Eneloop line of energy products includes a popular brand of rechargeable batteries and a lamp that doubles as a flashlight. Last time we posted about Sanyo's solar panels, they were chic but clunky. The new book-size, business-slick Portable Solar comes in sets of one or two panels (… Read more

Sanyo is turning to LED light technology, a hot new area for experimentation, to squeeze three uses out of a single lamp. The company's new Eneloop Lamp is a desk light that can also work as an emergency flashlight and even send some healing energy your way--or so the company says.

Operating on rechargable AA "eneloop" batteries, Sanyo's new Eneloop Lamp based on high-luminance LED technology can be situated anywhere in the room since no cords constrain the placement.

It also uses a contactless charging system and has no metallic contact on the product body interrupting … Read more

When was the last time a cell phone came to market with standard alkaline batteries? Sanyo has a new phone for Japanese consumers that not only bucks trends in power sources but also in appearance, with a cylindrical canister design that sports braille-like keys.

Dressed in that signature Cupertino white we all love, this is one phone that knuckles down to barebone basics to wring the most charge out of a single AA Sanyo Eneloop battery, according to Japan Today. So no 3G, no camera, no MP3 player, no SMS and not even an LCD screen (gasp!). All those sacrifices … Read more