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Comment by puns | Hacker News Reader

Quote from the article: "This allows the Gecko Edubook to be easily configured to the end-user's requirements and gives the opportunity the Edubook to be assembled or retrofitted locally. These batteries can be easily sourced and replaced as required."

I think the main advantage is that these batteries are cheaper and easier to replace.

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And you can get generic rechargeable batteries from a variety of manufacturers.

Edit: Or a battery pack like described in the article.

I wish more laptop manufacturers would do exactly this. Most power-packs are just pure obfuscations for the purpose of extorting money from consumers.

How about a "dustbuster" style hand-vac with replaceable batteries? That would be awesome!

When a portable phone's battery runs out, it's cheapest just to buy a new phone!

Huh? My phone cost $140, and it was a pretty cheap model. Batteries are $20.

Obviously it depends on what kind of a phone we're talking about. A cheap phone might be a Nokia 1208, i.e. about $40 new.

I meant a landline phone, not a mobile.

My Mum bought a BT cordless phone for a landline, and the batteries were 40 pounds. A new phone only cost 25 I think, so she bought a new one when it ran out.

> Edit: Or a battery pack like described in the article.

Why would you want to pay extra to get 8 cells bundled together in a pack when you could just get 8 cells individually?

Not only are you getting closer to the commodity part rather than an assembly that's specific to the device in question, you also gain the ability to replace individual cells when they go bad.

Running on AA-style cells like that is a huge plus to me; I hope other manufacturers pick up on it.

Perhaps I am wrong: I thought the battery pack mentioned in the article was basically just some AA-style cells packed together for your convenience.

Anyway, I share your sentiment.

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