Meet BatteryBox – For MacBooks & Other Gadgets

If you had the experience of having to find a power socket to power up your MacBook and phones when its battery runs out, here’s a solution to the perennial problem. Introducing BatteryBox, a 50Whr backup battery for MacBooks & other gadgets that you might have. Developed by a new startup – GBatteries, BatteryBox brings to the table a powerful solution in small compact form factor.

Only about the small of a credit card, and less than the weight of an orange, you can bring the the BatteryBox on-board any air-plane, since batteries than 100Wh are allowed in planes.  So the question is: how does GBatteries pack so much power in such a small form factor? The secret to this, is the Battery OS – Battery Operating System, which manages the charging and discharging of a Li-ion battery to prevent wear and tear on a battery. Even when a battery is stored, the capacity will deteriorate over time. In an accelerated aging test, the presence of BatteryOS ensured that the capacity remained more or less the same even after 6 years. We know that for a normal battery, the capacity will drop by almost half after prolonged storage, especially when the battery is charged to full capacity before storage. This is a good news for those gadgets which need power for emergency purposes, such as emergency lights. There is potential for BatteryOS to be applied in other usage cases.

Typically, the capacity of a battery drops over time as it is repeatedly charged and discharged. Each charge and discharge is a cycle, and a drop of more than 20% after 300 cycle is not an uncommon phenomena in most batteries.

So instead of the usual drop in capacity over the years, BatteryOS not only saves your money by making your battery work better and longer, but also saves the environment by increasing their useful lifespan. That’s a positive proposition for a greener technology.

BatteryBox has 2 outputs: one to power your MacBook (featuring the newer MagSafe2, and not the older MagSafe connector) and the other USB output to charge any USB devices (at 2 amperes). The BatteryBox itself charges through a micro usb cable, a norm for many of the backup batteries out there in the market.

According to the manufacturer of the BatteryBox, a single fully charged BatteryBox will add 12 extra hours to your MacBook Air, 4.5 hours for MacBook Pro, 50 hours for a Samsung Galaxy S5, 65 hours for a typical Android phone, and 15 hours for iPad Air. Your iPhone 5S will also last up to additional 80hrs! Amazing gadget for a short trip where power may not be available on your trip e.g. jungle trekking, Safari trip, island hopping etc.

Now, for the technical specs:

BatteryBox would start shipping on 19 Dec 2014, so hope down to GetBatteryBox.com for pre-ordering if you are keen. The last time I checked, it was going for a pre-order price of USD$139.95 (Retail price would be $215).