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For product designers of single-cell Lithium-ion, multi-cell Alkaline or Nickel-metal hydride power packs with input ranges of from 2.5 to 5.5 Volts, this Linear Technology IC uses internal low-on-resistance switches to provide high efficiency conversion to maximize battery run time. The price at the 1,000 piece level is $1.95 each.(09-02BD78-12)

The new owner of a Hewlett Packard PDA was unhappy that the battery was not replaceable. The company responded saying that the decision was made to reduce product size. (Ed. note: the consumer should be made aware of products with such configurations and have the opportunity to choose alternate products by other manufacturers. Caveat emptor!)

New DRAM (memory) products are being produced which operate at 2.5 Volts and will reduce power consumption by 50% to 80%. Conventional power saving methods of reducing core operating Voltages, bus interface Voltages or frequency of the self refresh cycle may not yield significant results. Projections for 1.8 Volt parts are expected later this year with greater power savings.

Manufacturers peg the applications to be most welcomed by the makers of 2.5G handsets and PDAs.

Allied Business Intelligence states that cellular handsets will spur explosive growth in component sectors. The move toward complete solutions will impact gallium arsenide and silicon players alike, as multimedia functionality is emphasized over conventional communications . Relative newcomers such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, AMPS and 2.5G are slowly being lured into cellular space as the grand debut for 3G solutions is delayed. As a result, the bill of materials for 3G phones will warrant a 79% increase from todays basic GSM model . New phones will also translate into new batteries. According to Ken Dulaney, an analyst with Gartner Inc., the spread of the new devices is expected after 2005, ...when several alternative battery technologies will be brought to market.(05-02 BD74-8)

PowerSmart receives U.S. Patent for SmartShuntTM. The SmartShunt is an advanced battery monitoring and reporting sensor which is integrated onto a high-current shunt assembly. It performs and reports on functions including: Voltage, temperature, current and current integration (Ahr) measurements, state-of-charge and battery health via an advanced communications bus. The sensor can be used in HEV starting battery systems, telecommunications and UPS battery backup applications.

Toshiba, Sony and IBM sign a multiyear agreement to jointly develop new chip-making technologies to extend battery life. As part of the joint project, IBM will transfer its latest SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technologies to Sony and Toshiba, and the partner companies will each send engineers to IBMs research center in New York to work on the joint project.

VOCAL quadruples battery life in IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g Wireless LAN mobile units. By using VOCAL LDPC Codes in the downlink and Turbo Codes in the uplink, WLAN system designers can increase the battery life of mobile units by a factor of 4. This use of LDPC Codes and Turbo codes shift the majority of the power requirements to the transmitter and receiver of the base unit. The same technique can also be used in satellite and cellular system, increasing battery life for satellite and cellar handsets.(05-02 BD74-6)

Understanding linear regulators
The devices which convert unregulated battery Voltage to regulated Voltage for use by electronic devices can either use linear or switching technology. This article provides important basics of the less efficient linear types which have superior regulation and noise properties. Key factors such as the stability of the regulator being dependent on the reference stability, operating fundamentals and excellent references make this a required fundamental resource for all but the weathered designer.(04-02 BD73-13)

Midtronics introduced their latest in-vehicle battery monitoring and management platform inGEN EV. The inGEN EV is an engineering evaluation unit of the inGEN platform. It provides vehicle and electrical system designers an ability to view and assess the advanced features of inGEN technology on any 14-Volt Lead-acid automotive battery. These features include continuous Voltage, current, temperature and conductance measurements that enable real-time state-of-charge and state-of health diagnostics to provide advanced warning of battery problems. The diagnostics can also enable deliverable energy, charge acceptance, and state of life calculations for advanced electrical and charging systems in 14V, 24V, 42V or EV/HEV applications. (04-02 BD73-5)

Texas Instruments power-efficient DSP (digital signal processor) is awarded Product of the Year by Electronic Products magazine. The C5509 chip was selected since it offers integration to allow designers of battery-operated and PC-connected products to reduce board space and power usage by a factor of three, while supporting most popular removable storage standards and multimedia formats with processing power to spare.(02-02 BD71-8)

SP6231 develops a smart LDO voltage regulator specifically designed to manage dual power sources in USB enabled, battery powered peripherals. The company says this is an industry first; this Voltage regulator is said to dramatically extend battery life by switching the peripherals power source to the hosts USB bus when the peripheral device is connected to the host port. Switching between battery and USB power sources occurs essentially glitch free. (02-01-01, BD 70-8)