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Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

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Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#141

Post by dchichkov »

veemjeem wrote: post #128
chillingeffect wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But is this new technology? Have they really figured out something that other battery companies don't know? This charger takes 2.25 hours to reach 80% or 4.5 hours to reach 100% capacity. Could it simply be that they're charging more slowly? Maybe other battery makers know about this, but they don't implement it because they (and consumers) don't value using the battery effectively. Hoping for some lithium-charging e…

Since they filed a patent on it, I assume it is new tech. There is new charging tech from time to time, but most of the IP belongs to those big semiconductor companies, like TI. I know TI has an innovative power management module for LiPoly batteries, but it is pretty expensive.

It could be a new tech. While there are quite a few BMS chips available around, from a bunch of companies [ http://liionbms.com/html/BMS_IC_table.html ] it is possible that they did some careful research onto what charging cycles are used in these products and found charging cycles that work even better for particular battery chemistries.

On the other hand, research is tough and it is so much easier to learn about the existence of a few hot words (like BMS), file a provisional patent and smooth-talk an investor or two with 'BatteryOS platform' . Considering that they are comparing their charging cycle with the "conventional" charger and throw words like "Chevy Volt, which only charges its battery to 50 percent capacity" I'm finding this scenario as a more likely one.

Still. It is not like I wouldn't like having more well designed LiIon BMS/charger combos on the market! There aren't many available and it's always nice to have more choice! So good luck!

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#142

Post by tylerlh »

kirk21 wrote: post #113
dublinben wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Active power management is nothing new to lithium ion batteries.

You're right, see for example http://www.qnovocorp.com/ Guess execution is king ;)

"Guess execution is king ;)"

Always has been, always will be.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#143

Post by qwerta »

alexcroox wrote: post #111
qwerta wrote: post #101

My laptop has swapable battery. I can also swap HDD bay from my desktop when I am traveling. It is really funny to see Mac fans excited about simple external battery. This stuff is around for decades!

What laptop do you have? Macbook Pro's are so thin now even a RJ45 hole is too tall. I can forgive them for not having a replaceable battery for size/weight and noise reduction having everything so tightly integrated.

HP Elitebook something.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#144

Post by dchichkov »

tedsanders wrote: post #122
marvin wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Battery storage will be absolutely huge in a few years. There is so much potential that has gone unexplored, since batteries have traditionally been heavy, low-capacity and short-lived. At least some of the people in this space who are in the right place at the right time today, are going to win big. Someone will have to build all these batteries. Everything from cars to renewable energy to light aircraft is going to…

I think it's very unlikely that airplanes will be battery powered in the medium-term future. The chemical energy stored in hydrogen bonds is just so much denser than the electrical energy stored in concentrated lithium ions. I know that battery-powered planes have been built, but it just seems so uneconomical to me. Do you have evidence that could persuade me otherwise? Or perhaps am I misunderstanding? By light airc…

AFAIK electric airplanes have been around for 10 years or so. Antares 20E came out around 2003. And now there are plenty others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_aircraft#Production_ai...

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#145

Post by marvin »

tedsanders wrote: post #122
marvin wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Battery storage will be absolutely huge in a few years. There is so much potential that has gone unexplored, since batteries have traditionally been heavy, low-capacity and short-lived. At least some of the people in this space who are in the right place at the right time today, are going to win big. Someone will have to build all these batteries. Everything from cars to renewable energy to light aircraft is going to…

I think it's very unlikely that airplanes will be battery powered in the medium-term future. The chemical energy stored in hydrogen bonds is just so much denser than the electrical energy stored in concentrated lithium ions. I know that battery-powered planes have been built, but it just seems so uneconomical to me. Do you have evidence that could persuade me otherwise? Or perhaps am I misunderstanding? By light airc…

In short, I strongly believe that you're incorrect. (Note: I'm talking about general/recreational aviation here). dchichkov mentioned the Antares, which is a high-performance electric self-launch sailplane. In this category, there's also the Pipistrel Taurus G4. Lots of other electrically-powered light aircraft exist, and they are all held back by battery weight, volume and cost.

There is a large number of advantages to electric propulsion vs. combustion engines in aircraft: Much lower maintenance costs, simpler maintenance, higher reliability (in gliders, replacing two-stroke engines with electric motors yields a huge safety advantage), lower fuel cost, simpler operation (less possibility for human error), less noise, lower weight (ex batteries), smaller volume per unit power, higher efficiency, lower purchase cost. The only real disadvantages are low energy density and charging time/infrastructure. At some point in the medium-term future (~5 years) we will hit a point where the benefits obviously outweigh the disadvantages for many use cases. In fact, I think the inflection point has already been hit wrt. the battery tech, it's just that it isn't obvious to anyone who isn't intimately familiar with the progress in battery pack cost development. Give it a couple of years.

Even this list of advantages disregards the fact that the mechanical simplicity of electric motors enable aircraft configurations that haven't been tried at scale, for instance gimballed/swerving variable-geometry ducted-fan propellers, etc. Electric motors are also not dependent on high air pressure to get enough oxygen for efficient combustion. There's just a huge new design space that opens up when you have sufficiently powerful battery storage. Super exciting.

Pay attention to the drone aircraft companies, they are the ones in a position to drive this shift.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#146

Post by mrkurt »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #79
tlb wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It turns out that even the most amazing technologies don't just automatically get you huge checks overnight. You have to build a business, starting with a first product, and grow from there.

Actually no, if this worked it would be a 30-minute meeting. Our patented technology extends the charge-cycle life of standard lithium-ion batteries by at least 200%, and we can prove it. Great, we will license that. Here's a check for five billion dollars.

A conversation like that means there are other options:

Our patented technology extends the charge-cycle life of standard lithium-ion batteries by at least 200%, and we can prove it. Great, we will invest, get a product to market and you can IPO in 2 years.

It's why saying "yes" to an acquisition is so hard. There are always other options.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#147

Post by mrkurt »

bittercynic wrote: post #104
selectodude wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, they're letting you buy the damn thing, so once you purchase it, you can see if it holds up.

Yes, snake oil salesmen are usually happy to let you buy some snake oil.

This is a little more difficult when knowledge moves faster than product delivery. "Snake oil salesmen" did their thing because they could move from community to community and stay ahead of the news about a fraud coming through.

I have no idea if this battery thingy is all it's cracked up to be, but the group won't last that long if they don't deliver.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#148

Post by pekk »

bananas wrote: post #137
mxfh wrote: post #40

Maybe this feature was a bit underreported: the current line of Lenovo 's Ultrabooks, the ThinkPad X240/T440s allows for hot swapping the battery pack while running on a secondary built in battery. Adding up to 23.5 Whr built in plus up to 72Whr per battery pack. http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s...

Yep. I could do this on my circa 2005 IBM T43.

Great. So why can't you do it on a MacBook Pro?

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#149

Post by mxfh »

bananas wrote: post #137
mxfh wrote: post #40

Maybe this feature was a bit underreported: the current line of Lenovo 's Ultrabooks, the ThinkPad X240/T440s allows for hot swapping the battery pack while running on a secondary built in battery. Adding up to 23.5 Whr built in plus up to 72Whr per battery pack. http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s...

Yep. I could do this on my circa 2005 IBM T43.

Without hibernating to disk first?

or via using the Ultrabay as secondary battery? [1]

[1] http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_use_Ultrabay_batteries#...

[EDIT] Also I'm not in any way affiliated with IBM/Lenovo. But the always-on USB-port feature is also a handy emergency travel phone charger if you can (or have to) prioritize phone usage over computer usage with no power outlets in reach. Since the Ultrabook is off and doesn't have to use any power itself you could theoretically stay connected for weeks given a charged battery pack.

Re: Gbatteries (YC W14) Launches BatteryBox, A 50Whr Backup Battery For MacBooks

#150

Post by 4684499 »

I don't know why many people are focus on Apple or protable battery. With such tech, the potential could be anywhere need an efficient energy solution. The BatterBox might be the first appliance. Are you willing to buy something cost you 10 bucks while it saves you 20 bucks?
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