At $19, MAYBE it would be worth it... perhaps if it charged off of USB. But I'm just wondering why in the world Apple saw it necessary to enter the battery charger market? 
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Apple's Battery Charger Sets New Standby Usage Benchmark
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According my calculations, you'd be still wasting over two hours of standby time. 143 minutes, to be precise.
So far my 4 year old RadioShack battery charger has done a great job. In the past five months is gets a lot of use recharging my Magic Mouse batteries every 3 weeks
Those batteries are dying. My Magic Mouse goes for months and months on a charge.
I do need new batteries and a new charger... Ill await reviews and details (like getting additional batteries), but this Apple unit sounds pretty good! Im glad their doing this and discouraging peoples throw-away AA habits.
I don't care about standby power usage. By the time it's in standby i've unplugged the thing from the wall.
And duracell has a recharge and battery pack on amazon with 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries for $27
I could make better use of AAA batteries than AA.
And duracell has a recharge and battery pack on amazon with 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries for $27
I could make better use of AAA batteries than AA.
At $19, MAYBE it would be worth it... perhaps if it charged off of USB. But I'm just wondering why in the world Apple saw it necessary to enter the battery charger market?
Look around. People are buying something that is overpriced because it has the Apple badge on it. That's why.
FWIW I'd also capitalise off people's daftness.
Greenest of all: sell slower computers. Or just abaci
There has to be a compromise between usability and power, or you may as well not sell electronics.
I conserve power obsessively, and I thought wireless mouse/keyboard were silly.... until I tried them, and the lack of cord dragging through my papers was almost as welcome as the ability to compute from my sofa.
So far my 4 year old RadioShack battery charger has done a great job. In the past five months is gets a lot of use recharging my Magic Mouse batteries every 3 weeks
Of course. But that's not the point.
Does the RS charger stop pulling full juice once the batteries are charged?
Not saying it doesn't, but THAT's the point of this charger.
It will charge any NiMH battery, and it comes with six already (not bad for this price and a charger, especially considering the usual Apple Tax)--so personally, I'm not concerned about that.
I do wonder why everyone is thinking this is so revolutionary, however. Rechargeable batteries are not new, although before NiMH they weren't the greatest for many uses. I've never used Eneloops (a supposedly improved NiMH--well, less discharge during storage at the expense of less overall capacity), but they seem to be making similar claims. Vampire power shouldn't be a huge concern--you should unplug it if you're not using it, anyway. I guess I'm just saying these are (supposedly) high-quality rechargeables ... but it's nothing new except Apple's PR.
The compact charger may be nice for people short on space, however.
Does anyone have any information about the specs of the batteries and charger? That's what I'd really like to know. It looks like a rapid charger (does that affect battery life? mine is a slow charger), and I assume it's a "smart" one that can detect charge level and turn off automatically. Also, what capacity are the batteries? 2000 mAh? (That's what Eneloops are, IIRC, but others are around 2500 or 2700.)
This is what I use. Best bang for the buck. I also picked up the Enloop USB charger. I use that mostly.
Can anyone please tell me that is the capacity of the batteries. I can't find that info on Apple's site.
You know you're on a fanboy site when there is this much excitement about a friggin' BATTERY CHARGER!
Actually, it'd be a lot nicer if the batteries were re-chargeable within the devices THEMSELVES.
Tony
You know Apple has yet another great product when it has the trolls feeling so insecure they actually spend their time on name-calling
In-device charging is great. But it needs a cord (USB or otherwise). Is one cord better than one charger brick and no cord? Your call—but not for me. I’d rather travel with a folding brick than one more yard of rubber pasta.
I try to stick with wired peripherals, so I wouldn't need this for Apple products. But it would be a real boon when traveling out of the U.S. The ability to swap out the prongs and to use this in almost any country, all in a super small package, would mean I wouldn't have to worry about running out of batteries while overseas.
It was a bit contradictory that Apple was going so green, while offering more and more wireless accessories as standard (Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard) that consume batteries all the time while there isn't a true need for them to be wireless.
However, now with this charger, they really solved the problem I think.
Will we be able to buy Apple's rechargeable batteries separately, or only with the charger? It's Apple, you never know!
Why is the "Vampire Draw" so important? I mean I understand that it's important, but does it mean that we're free to leave the charger plugged in all the time? Or are we encouraged to unplug it when it's not charging, in which case the "Vampire Draw" doesn't matter anyway?
However, now with this charger, they really solved the problem I think.
Will we be able to buy Apple's rechargeable batteries separately, or only with the charger? It's Apple, you never know!
Why is the "Vampire Draw" so important? I mean I understand that it's important, but does it mean that we're free to leave the charger plugged in all the time? Or are we encouraged to unplug it when it's not charging, in which case the "Vampire Draw" doesn't matter anyway?
At $19, MAYBE it would be worth it... perhaps if it charged off of USB. But I'm just wondering why in the world Apple saw it necessary to enter the battery charger market?
Low discharge AAs go for $10/4 (or more $$$), that's $15 for the batteries and $15 for the charger. That's just fine in this marketplace, not expensive at all. (if it is a quality charger) My 8 cell charger was $90, worth every penny.
EXACTLY! Couldn't agree more. At least giving people who don't want to enter this battery business a choice. Batteries are a major environmental problem, yet they are being used as if there was no energy and waste problem on this planet.
Your questions (I'm sorry) doesn't matter... these innovative and never-done-before chargers are from Apple... hence they sell like sweets...
Now... more serious... you gotta be kidding me... this the proof of how a company which once was respected becomes a consumerism company where money is the only thing that matters.
And note that money is a very right goal for a company... but at least... don't say you want the best for the user like Apple does... when you care for user's money!!!
No, the product is not good, nor is it innovative. The rechargeable battery market has been around for years: there are plenty of other (likely superior) chargers out there. The only "feature" this has is its reduced stand-by draw; but their claim can probably be disputed. Really, it looks to me that Apple is increasingly trying to exert their brand these days... A practice that vaguely reminds me of companies like Microsoft.
AND, more expensive.
I bought a charge a couple years ago, with "10 year" cells, for eight cells and charge it cost me 12.99$
In your opinion.
I am not fan boy but I'm very excited to have an Apple supported product charge the batteries I use in my Apple devices. The stand-by draw feature is incredible in my mind. I'm always worrying about unplugging chargers soon after they have finished charging. And that's a big reason I don't use them. And the slim, sleek design will undoubtedly make it easy to plug into my multi-plug adaptors (unlike most chargers that are huge and difficult to use in 4-way/6-way/8-way adaptors).