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Bluetooth Batteries?

arn

arn

macrumors god
Original poster
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
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YourDailyMac reports that Apple is working on Bluetooth mice/keyboards... with rechargable batteries:
Instead of replacing the flat batteries of your keyboards and mouses, Apple will be introducing their new bluetooth keyboards and two button mouses with rechargable batteries that are recharged using a special USB plug in battery charger.

Bluetooth peripherals seem a natural step forward after Apple's introduction of their Bluetooth Preview... but YourDailyMac's previous track record is uncertain... so grain of salt.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2002/04/07/bluetooth-batteries/
that's really cool... i wonder how long it would take to recharge the batteries and if they would make a new battery level icon in the menu bar for keyboards/mice

i also wonder how many years/recharges the batteries would be good for
 
This sounds.....

really cool........:D

A wireless mouse I could probably use........ although not to fussed about a wireless keyboard though!!!

I'd be intrigued to know how long they'd last on a charge!! Sometimes I spend 24 hours solid on DV and Post work when deadlines loom...... so I'd like lots of durability from a charge!!:D
 
Kind of like some of the new electric razors...

You guys all know those new razors right? The ones where you just put it in its little holder and it recharges itself. Thats how the new mice should be. When not in use, just pop it in the little holder. It charges as much as necessary.

One of the problems though is that the battery might get problems from being charged too early.... but that can probably be solved by just not allowiing the charger to charge at certain points.

Tomasz
 
Discharge......

Eww.....

Actually that reminds me, I need to discharge and re-charge my TiBook battery!!

I still think the mouse is a good idea, but I don't think I'd have a use for a wireless keyboard......
 
Is there anyway they could get the mouse to charge from the warmth produced from the users hand, or even put small solar panels inside the mouse so it charges when nobody is using it or even have a small wheel on the front which charges up when the mouse is moving??

Ensign
 
Uranium......

Could get a couple of years of power if this sucker was nuclear powered!! It'd be quite sturdy aswell..... What with it being having to be to be manufactured from Lead and all!!!:p
 
Maybe the mouse should use one of those little flywheel generators :)
Then, like a kids toy car, you just rub it across the table and get the generator revved up! As long as it's spinning, it's generating enough juice to operate. When it slows down, you just rev it up again.

vroom, vROOM... point, click, point, click... vROOM... drag click, point, double-click...

:D
 
CHess

That sounds like something that would appeal to me...... it'd have to have the sparks appear though when you rev it up!!

Alternatively Apple could breed really small hamsters, and they could fit really small hamster wheels inside, and the hamsters run, and run, and run, thus generating enough power for the Mouse!!:D

BUT DON'T FORGET TO FEED THE LITTLE CRITTERS...... maybe Apple could put a little warning icon on OSX menu bar, to remind when they need feeding!!!:D
 
ooooooo.... I never thought about sparks! I like it :)

On the hamster mouse, it sounds like it would be a lot like a Flintstones mouse. You know, where you open the door to the top of the mouse and the little hamsters shrug their little shoulders and go "heh, it's a living..." :D
 
what a horrible idea

yeah so imagine this...

sorry i couldn't do my homework because i couldn't use my keyboard

what a horrible idea. is anyone actually buying this crap? jobs would never sacrifice usability for a couple of wires. sure it would be a 'cool' idea but if i had to plug my mouse in every couple of days it'd piss me off enough to buyy another keyboard and mouse. this will never pass unless apple can come up with a way to self power the device (a realistic one too).

anyways just wanted to vent after reading all this stuff about wireless divices that still have to be plugged in. seems ironic dosen't it?
 
Re: huot425

Originally posted by sjs
not much in the "vision" department are ya?
Click to expand...

If the cordless mouse qualifies as "vision" for Apple, we're in big trouble. I've been using a cordless mouse on a PC for a couple years now; it's hardly caused a ripple in my computing experience.
 
Yeah... they last pretty long

I have a wireless mouse on my PC (yeah... I know.... this is about macs.... but...) and I have not replaced the batteries yet. I have used it for well over 6 months. But then again, I don't use it often. But I hear that bluetooth is a larger power drain then previous methods of wireless mouse technology.

Also, the mac mouse will probably have a laser in it. This will add considerable power drain. So, all in all, a way of charging the mouse is needed. I really don't like changing batteries. But then again, if the mouse is "cool" enough, I will probably get one any way.

Tomasz
 
A wireless optical mouse, such as the logitech optical mouse, only last 1 - 1 1/2 months at best.

It would assume that apple would continue to use an optical mouse rather than go back to the old ball.
 
Kinetic Energy?

What about those sweet Seiko watches http://www.seiko-shop.co.uk/ that charge themselves with movement may be pricey though right?

Hey any Clie users out there? I own an N760C where the hells our bluetooth memory stick? All there is right now is that crappy 320 resolution camera
 
USB Charger

I refuse to believe that Apple will release a USB charger until I see it. Why in the world would they want to make a USB charger when they could make a Firewire one... esp. when Firewire has FAR more power to work with. USB is SO usless when it comes to anything that wants more power than an LED.

Other than that, my fingers are crossed, sounds fantastic.
 
Re: USB Charger

Originally posted by madamimadamtimallen

Why in the world would they want to make a USB charger when they could make a Firewire one... esp. when Firewire has FAR more power to work with. USB is SO usless when it comes to anything that wants more power than an LED.
Click to expand...

So they can sell them to people who do not have firewire macs (even tho most of those might need replacing to run os X worth a damn). I could see a classroom of USB iMacs and iBooks with a bluetooth nubbin, and some teacher going around jockeying into position so they can demo something to a student, without making the student give up their own keyboard, mouse,trackpad.
 
bluetooth is not only for keyboards and mice..... it is also for scanners, printers, digital cameras, palm pilots, cell phones etc....... all these things already have a power source. BT also uses WAY less power than airport, so it is pratical for palm pilots and things with low power available. as for scanners/printers/fax machines/bla, those devices are already plugged in to the wall, so power consumption is not an issue. a bluetooth chip is cheap, once everything is worked out they should be as common as USB ports. it will be a nice way to connect a printer to any computer in a 30 foot range. when you think about it, the DLink BT chip is about as much as a quality 25 foot USB cable would cost.
 
Re: Re: USB Charger

Originally posted by Wry Cooter


So they can sell them to people who do not have firewire macs (even tho most of those might need replacing to run os X worth a damn). I could see a classroom of USB iMacs and iBooks with a bluetooth nubbin, and some teacher going around jockeying into position so they can demo something to a student, without making the student give up their own keyboard, mouse,trackpad.
Click to expand...

It really isn't Apple's style to support old hardware. It would be like a rumour of an upcoming USB iPod... not likely to happen.
 
Wellllllll........

If the batteries can last 1.5 months per charge then that is pretty good..... the same with the keyboard...... if it's this amount of usage I could probably use it......:p

What happens though (sorry I'm not upto speed on Bluetooth yet) if you have more than one mac, all with bluetooth and using wireless keyboards... they wouldn't interfere with each other would they?? Or would it be dependant on range?? or is there a imited amount of macs you could have together???

Just wondering.....:D
 
Originally posted by iGAV
What happens though (sorry I'm not upto speed on Bluetooth yet) if you have more than one mac, all with bluetooth and using wireless keyboards... they wouldn't interfere with each other would they?? Or would it be dependant on range?? or is there a imited amount of macs you could have together???
Click to expand...

DAMN good question, I second it
 
What's the point of having a wireless keyboard if you have to plug in (everyday if you use it often) to recharge?
Wireless is about loosing wire clutter, but this way, you need a wire anyway. Or you need to trake out the battery and put it in a USB port at the back of your desktop.

Another side effect is that you loose the USB port on your keyboard, which I use very often for my digicam.

A wireless mouse would be more practicle, but still you need that wire somewhere to recharge it...Or worse a docking station.

Unless new desk and laptops come with build in recharche stations for mice, I don't see the point of making these things wireless.

Somebody mentioned here that Bluetooth is also for printers, scanners, etc.
Maybe for small datastreams it could work, but more data intensive products need something more powerfull then Bluetooth, like Airport.
 
Re: USB Charger

Originally posted by madamimadamtimallen
USB is SO usless when it comes to anything that wants more power than an LED.
Click to expand...

I have a USB Zip250 and it works without a power cord, everything goes through the USB cable.

Besides, if Apple designs it correctly the recharger would be a little caddy that you place the mouse or keyboard in when not in use, like cordless phones. This would make it easy to recharge and provide a little home for the mice so they don't get lost as easily.

I'm looking forward to them.:D
 
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