Energizers Duo really stood by its products name. Should you have been one of the lucky purchasers of the Energizer Duo battery charger you may have inadvertently downloaded a virus along with the software that allows you to watch your batteries charge. It basically Duo’d as a charger and virus spreader.

It seems that the download-able software program will infect windows PC’s with malware that opens up the 7777 port to telnet and the like. This can potentially allow hacker types access to the users computer to list, download, upload and execute files. None of which you generally want to allow them to do.

It uses UsbCharger.dll to run Arucer.dll and also ensures that the Arucer.dll runs every time the computer starts up. If you uninstall the Energizer charger software it will remove the UsbCharger.dll which stops the Arucer.dll form being called, though it remains on the hard drive. You can go and delete the Arucer.dll file after uninstalling and when you restart it’ll be gone for good.

For more information you can check out the Energizer Press Release.

Wagan Tech inc has come out with a range of very conveniently sized (pocket-able) solar chargers for consumer electronics. They will charge batteries, iPods, digital cameras etc, all from the sun. The units themselves are very lightweight and come in two distinct types.

Wagan Solar e Power Charger

The Solar e Power unit will also charge 4 AA or AAA batteries, which could be handy as it can also use those same batteries to power or charge anything you plug into it.

There is a selector switch on the back that allows you to switch between three modes:

• Power from car (12V) or solar
• Power from battery (the 4 AA’s or AAA’s that you charged up)
• Charge Battery (Charge the aforementioned AA’s or AAA’s)

Also the charger will handle either NiCD or NiMH. Power from the device is delivered through either a 5V plug on the side (there are multiple connectors included) or via a USB outlet. Wagan Techs’ Solar e Power Charger sells for $49.95.

Wagan Solar e Power II Charger

The next model up is the creatively named Solar e Power II, which has a little more solar surface area (each solar panel measures about 7” across). The Solar e Power II also comes with its own 2000 mAh Li-ion internal battery. This allows you to charge the unit up in the sun and then close it up and use it as a normal external power source.

It comes with 5 adapters for your phones and devices, the standard USB sizes (micro, mini) as well as more specialized ones for iPods and the like. Also included in the pack is a car and AC power supply for non solar charging.

The unit itself has a couple of USB outputs and the 5v phone charging port. Also it has a small LED flashlight on one end.

As a whole the Solar e Power II seems to be fairly sturdily constructed and fairly functional, it pays to read the instructions as there are a few different indicators that you need to be familiar with.
The Solar e Power II from Wagan Tech sells for $89.95

This is a fairly ingenious device that will let you charge a whole lot of different batteries in the one unit. It’ll do most all of your camera, cell phone, AA, AAA, AAAA and N sized batteries. The trick is in the way it clamps your batteries in place onto the moveable contact points, you have to adjust these yourself but it’s a fairly simple task.

It’s a great item for anyone that has a lot of different odd little batteries lying about for various phones, cameras, clocks or whatever else. The Lenmar BCUNI Universal Battery Charger is a great gift idea for the gadget happy person in the family and it’s only $26.95

The applications for this range from RFID tags for Identification and tracking through to clothing with circuitry embedded in it. But as the ability to print the circuitry comes ever closer, what will be powering your socks in the coming years?

Blue Spark – Ultra Thin Printed Batteries

Blue Spark Technologies produce printed carbon-zinc batteries, which are small, environmentally friendly and most importantly cheap enough to produce to make them viable. These batteries are also incredibly thin; their standard battery is 750 microns thick (that’s 0.75 of a mm), while their Ultra-Thin series of batteries can go as slim as 500 microns.

The applications for a power source of this nature are boundless, at the moment they’re being used in a lot of RF applications, including one card being used by Sealed Air Corp that monitors and stores temperature data to ensure that food has been produced and stored properly.

As he says in this CNBC Interview Blue Spark Technologies CEO Gary Johnson can see applications for this such as hi tech patient bracelets with stored records, subway or bus passes that display their credit remaining and loyalty cards that track customer information painlessly.

Along with the potential for manifold uses there is the point that these batteries are fairly harmless in the environment. They contain none of the chemicals normally associated with batteries, no mercury or lithium etc. The carbon-zinc chemistry meets all the EU restrictions on hazardous substances and can be safely disposed of.

Konarka – Portable Solar Charging

Ever wanted to have your laptop bag charge your laptop while you went to work? Konarka is working on just such a thing, they produce light weight flexible “Power Plastic” that they hope will become popular as a way to charge up and power personal devices from sunlight.

They envision applications such as a shade umbrella that will power a cooler or a mat that you unroll to charge your cell phones or laptops. Already Neuber a German company is planning to make use of the technology to produce their Energy Sun-bag.

Like any truly great gadget the Powermat is based on science that has a lot of Greek symbols in it while remaining easy to use. The Powermat uses Electromagnetic Induction (which apparently we found out about around 1831 Electromagnetic Induction on Wikipedia ) to charge all your handheld devices without wires…. Sort of.

It’s not entirely wireless, you need to plug in the mats themselves and any device that they don’t make a receiver for needs to use the “powercube”. The powercube comes with mini & micro USB tips standard, though you can get others as you need them. It then sits on the mat, wirelessly, while your PSP for example will be plugged into it via the USB connection. So while not entirely “wireless” it’s probably less hassle than having all those plugs lying around beside your bed for everything you need to charge.

The real appeal of the Powermat comes in when you have a device that comes with a receiver. The receiver allows your device to charge directly from the mat. They’re either a sleeve in the case of the iPhone 3G and iPod touch, a dock for iPods and iPhones or for Blackberry devices a new battery door. The Blackberry door replacement has the least impact on the overall feel of the phone while the dock is pretty much the standard iPod type of dock.

When you’ve got your receiver in place all you need to do is drop the phone down onto the Powermat in the right place and it starts to charge. It gives off a bleep and the LED’s light up (Both of these functions can be switched to either On, Half or Off). One caveat though is that you have to be fairly precise in your positioning of the device over the charging spots on the mat for it to activate properly, though there are magnets in the mat to help you find the sweet spot.
As for the mats you have two choices. There’s the Home & Office mat which is the more stylish option, but doesn’t have the practicality of the Portable Mat. The portable mat folds up into three sections, comes with its own carry case and means that you’ll only have one charger to forget when you travel rather than 5.

The Powermat system isn’t cheap though. The mats are $99 and when you add the price of a couple of the receivers at between $20 and $30 things get expensive fast. That being said though, the system is both innovative and pretty nifty. Anyone who has a coffee table in their bedroom set aside as a shrine to their DS, iPod, iPhones and Blackberry chargers will instantly be able to see the benefits that a system like this can bring. As an added bonus it’s a stylish looking piece of tech in its own right and it actually works!

Innovation or Renovation??

Lenmar is in the process of releasing a Universal Charging Station or PowerPort (PPUHUB6). It will be revealed to distributors and guests of the Las Vegas 2009 CES Show which is slated to win a CES 2009 Innovation Award, but does it deserve it?

The picture and spec sheet are all I have to work with in reviewing the PPUHUB6 and it appears to be a powered USB hub multiplied. Although not an entirely new concept, it is a better way to charge your devices. It will eliminate the need to find multiple power outlets to charge your cell phone, iPod, PSP and other USB toys.

What Does It Do?

Simply take your compatible cellphone, pda, iPhone/iPod or any USB device and plug them in simultaneously to charge. You can charge up to 6 devices at one time;
and of course, charging time will vary for each device. There is also a handy storage built into it for your tips so that you do not lose them.

What Can I Power With It?

The PowerPort comes ready to charge any USB chargeable device. It also come with tips to charge select Motorola, Blackberry, Samsung and LG cell phones. As an added bonus there is a tip to charge you iPhone, iPod and iPod Touch. If you a Lenmar product user you are probably familiar with their Portable Power line which allows you to charge your devices on the go. Now you will be able to charge them as well as your phones and iPods. There are also other tips you can buy to add to it if your plug is not in the set provided.

Will I Use It?

Even though I said that it not truly a new idea it still is a stellar idea that I can use to help me free myself from 9 AC chargers for each device I use, and trust me I use a lot of different USB devices. Also it will help me from losing them if they are in one easy to use central location. What are your thoughts on the PowerPort?
Find out more about it at BatteriesInAFlash.com

So if you don’t know it by now I am having a little boy that is due in December. My wife and I are excited and have been looking for new cameras for a new baby. Great excuse to get techie! I have had my eye on the Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi. I found it in a few stores for around $800 but online was about $699.

So why do I want the Rebel XSi? The picture quality from the 12.2 megapixel camera is beautiful. The auto light optimizing feature is an awesome help for a novice photographer like me. Theres also a 14-bit A/D Converter which helps the tone quality of the picture to give you a more life like photos. The RAW photo format is a little more than I needed but it is a cool option that I could later on take advantage of.

What Accessories will I have?

It doesn’t hurt that I own a battery store either so I will be well stocked on batteries and chargers. I will probably have 2 DLCE5 and one rapid travel charger. This will keep me running where ever I’m at. The RTC charger can be powered in a 12V DC port and charges most batteries up 90 minutes or less.

I cant wait until I can start shooting pictures of my newest member of my family. That will bring us up to 2 beautiful kids, a baby boy and an 8yr old daughter. We already have a lot of great pictures and now we are going to have a lot more. Look forward to seeing pictures of newest members photos coming in the future.