Rechargeable batteries charger - saves money saves planet

Update : http://traveltechgadgets.blogspot.com/2011/04/follow-uprechargeable-batteries-charger.html

My wife loves taking pictures. It is her hobby. It is really a great thing that the digital camera was invented since she takes hundreds if not thousand of pictures when we go on a trip. Can you imagine all of the rolls of films or the cost of processing those?
When going on longer trips or tours that would be better taken in without a lot of bags to drag around, we take along with us a point-and-shoot camera. Ours is a Canon Powershot SX120 SI, which is a great camera to have when cannot shoot with a DSLR. It is far better than most "lighter" digital cameras with a 10x optical zoom. The drawback of this and most other digital cameras are the batteries that you have to take a long on a trip. While we really like this camera and it produces great pictures, it eats a couple of batteries for breakfast lunch and dinner. So we had to take with us quite a few spare batteries in the luggage. And with all of the weight restriction these days at the airport this extra weight does not help.
Then, a couple of months ago with had a Eureka! moment. We can use rechargeable batteries.
I used to have one of those recharging stations quite a few years ago. It was bulky, not that easy to use, and would not charge the batteries that well. So based on these pre-conceptions, this idea did not pop-up right away. However, with all of the improvements and innovation in technology, we figured this gadget had to change as well.
As we do with any purchase, we began our research to figure out what is out there and what would be the best lightweight and quick portable battery charger that would also give us the best bang for our buck. To our surprise and great benefit, what we found to be the better of the bunch was not a main brand name, but a lesser known one, that had a lot of the features that we were looking for at a great price. We chose Sanyo Eneloop 4 Pack Rechargable Set. It received great reviews from users and rated high for fast and complete charging. It is lightweight and easy to store as you can fold the prongs into the casing. And at just over $11, it is a great travel gadget to throw in a bag for next trip.
We have already used it on several occasions and it is great to not have a baggy of 20 plus batteries weighing down. It also keeps our camera nice and full. It still uses up the power quickly, but the batteries can be recharged just as quickly 4 at-a-time, and it has worldwide voltage so can charge just about anywhere. And we spend a lot less money on getting new ones every so often.

Reviews and comparisons for the battery chargers:
http://battery-charger-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.consumersearch.com/batteries/review
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/12/aa-rechargeable-battery-shootout-energizer-powergenix-and-sany/

Why good to have on a trip:
- less bulky than a bag of batteries
- also weighs less
- saves money on buying batteries for high tech devices
- helps you be more green and saves the planet

Did You Know?: Some batteries may contain mercury and need to be properly disposed off and/or recycled. Recycling batteries keeps heavy metals out of landfills and the air. Recycling saves resources because recovered plastic and metals can be used to make new batteries.

Gadget that would be considered a must have by frequent travelers

This morning I came across a review on Gadling.com that talks about active noise canceling headphones and that this gadget would be something that is at the top of the list of things to take along on flight by most frequent fliers. As I have been raving about headphones as a great feature to have on a trip or otherwise, I think this would be an interesting read as they go in depth on how this headphones actually work to cancel out the outside noise

"Review: Denon AH-NC800 active noise canceling headphones"

Why good to have on trip:
- reduce the whoosh of airplanes' air-conditioning systems
- tune out snoring neighbors
- tune out kid noise
- just tune out
- no need to crank up the volume, leads to reduced ear fatigue

SeatGuru also has a pretty good review of headphones for traveling: Noise-Cancelling Headphones Review

Do Electronic Gadgets Really Affect an Airplane's Instruments?

An article by David Parker Brown on Aol Travel: "Do Electronic Gadgets Really Affect an Airplane's Instruments?"

"The official reason for the requirement that electronic devices need to be turned off is to make sure passengers listen to the safety instructions from the flight attendants, reduce the presence of loose objects getting in the way in case of an emergency and to eliminate the possibility of the devices interfering with the airline's avionics.
It is not just about putting away your electronic devices, but actually shutting them completely down
... Electronic devices must be kept off under 10,000 feet since take off and landing are two of the most critical parts of a flight, experts say. It's considered a matter of safety."

Did You Know?: Most cellphones today have an Airplane Mode. By turning this feature on before the take off, would allow you to use other features of the phone such as music players, games, calendars, and so forth while in flight.
Airplane mode is a setting on many cellphones which disables their wireless communication abilities, theoretically making them approved for use on aircraft. While in airplane mode, a phone cannot send or receive phone calls, text messages, picture messages, or video messages, and the user may not browse the Internet on the phone or use Bluetooth® devices with it.

For when you have 10 or more devices charging at once ... charging pad

Latest News: the newest entry into the charging pad market is Qi by Energizer. With no magnets to line up or secret spot to find, you don't have to be precise about how or where you set your phone down on the two large areas on the charging station. The drawback, at least for now is that the phones have to have a correct Qi-enabled sleeve

While checking in on my twitter feeds earlier today, I noticed a post, below, by @geekbabe, who I have been following for awhile and has some great posts.
- "Ok I have 10 devices charging, seriously 10, all with cords, there isn't a spare outlet anywhere"
What came to mind as soon as I read it was "charging pad." It is a relatively new cool gadget that lets you charge multiple electronics at once without having to plug all of them in an outlet. Only the charging pad gets plugged in and all other gadgets are placed on top of it. The devices are charged using inductive charging. It is a wireless charging method used for mid-sized items such as cell phones, MP3 players and PDAs. Once the contact points come in contact with the conductive surface of the charging pad, a small current moves through the coils of the charging pad, creating a small magnetic field which is gathered by the contact points of the adapter and converted into energy. The energy gathered is transferred to the device's battery as efficiently as if the device were connected to a wall socket with its regular wired adapter.
This method has already been utilized successfully in several household items such as electric toothbrushes and waterproof vibrating razors. It is in early stages of being used for charging phones and such but is showing promise in de-cluttering the desktops surfaces. These are also great for traveling as a lot of them fold up or roll up to fit into small space and keep your gadgets charging one space for easier pack up.

Here is what others are saying about the charging mats:
CNET - Powermat Review:
"Though we reviewed the Powermat Home and Office Mat, the Portable Mat serves the same purpose but with a compact, foldable design. We updated this review on April 2, 2010, to reflect further testing.
If you had told us five years ago that innovation was coming in cell phone chargers, we wouldn't have believed you. Our response would have been, "What's the point?" We're perfectly happy with the wall charger that came in the box."
PC Mag - Duracell MyGrid Review:
"Pros - Can charge up to four devices at once. Long list of compatible devices. Little extra weight on phone.
Cons - Expensive. Finicky connections.
Bottom Line - The Duracell MyGrid Charging Pad is a convenient way to charge all your gadgets without a mess of wires, but it can be frustratingly finicky."


UPDATE: 

I have been looking more into these. And after reading quite a few reviews, articles, and see video demonstrations  I think that while that is a great gadget and just tossing the phone on a charging pad seems like a dream come true, it still has quite of bit of development to undergo. Charging pads have very useful features and great potential for making it easier to charge multiple gadgets, clean up desktop, and decrease amount of wires.  Though it is still has quite a way to go before it becomes something that anyone would use. Currently, with the multitude of adapters needed and the time and effort of setting these up, I think that a few of the earlier adopters would consider buying these and using them.

Here are some reviews of various charging pads for you to decide:

http://reviews.cnet.com/power-devices-batteries/wildcharger-bundle-at-t/4505-3509_7-32821393.html

http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/pure_energy_wildcharger_pad

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20100210/wildcharger-pad-powermat-wireless-charging-pad-showdown/

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/mobile_phones/powermat/wireless_charging_pad/342208

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uLGP1P3rfE (video)

What do you think, are these ready for mainstream or need more development?