DEMO `07: Boston-Power's battery promises to be useful for as long as a notebook is

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Boston-Power will announce at DEMO on Tuesday a notebook battery that the company says recharges significantly faster that current battery technology and doesn’t suffer from power fade.

Called Sonata, this lithium-ion battery is the first product released by two-year-old Boston-Power. Sonata can recharge to 80% of its capacity in thirty minutes, twice as fast as existing battery technology, says founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud. The battery’s lifespan is expected to match that of a typical notebook, she adds, which is usually three years.

“Most users, once they’re hooked on mobility, won’t go back and work with a cord, so they see a downgrade [in battery capacity] within the first four to six months,” says Lampe-Onnerud. Some users end up spending as much on new batteries over the life of a notebook as they initially paid for the computer, she adds.

Sonata features a mixture of performance and safety enhancements through slower chemical kinetics, novel current interrupt devices, new thermal fuses, unique pressure-relief vents, and safer pack configuration, says Lampe-Onnerud.

The battery can be used by existing notebooks as well as new models. The company expects notebooks to be on the market with Sonata this summer.

Boston-Power plans to sell Sonata to notebook manufacturers, and has attracted the interest of HP. The company will share the DEMO stage with HP Distinguished Technologist John Wozniak to announce Sonata.

The company on Tuesday is also announcing $15.6 million in series B funding from Venrock Associates, Gabriel Venture Partners, and Granite Global Ventures. Boston-Power, based in Westborough, Mass., says the market for portable power solutions reached $5 billion in 2006, and competes with Sony, Sanyo, and Matsushita/Panasonic.

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