I know these are currently out of fashion but I'm still thankful they exist.
Let's remind ourselves of devices that use(d) these standardized batteries:
- Toys
- Digital cameras
- Torches
- Gadgets like fans
- Wireless keyboards
- TV remotes
Thanks to having a standardized system of batteries,
- You can use the same battery across several devices. This is a no brainer but it's very practical.
- Batteries can charge quicker thanks to being put in a dedicated charger and not being limited by USB cables. (But yes I concede that USB has been updated for faster charging over the years)
- Devices don't have down time when their battery is charging. To charge, the battery is removed from the device and can immediately be replaced with a fresh one.
- You'll never have to trash a device due to an expired battery. Just buy a replacement. And building on this...
- Any improvements in future battery technology can be retro-fitted into your existing devices. And there is a high incentive for future improvement, because...
- An accessible (due to easy replacement) and large (due to many devices) battery market is very attractive to competition.
If you look at the pros I listed, they all happen to be things that would be very useful for electric cars. So I think it would aid the adoption of electric cars if their batteries were standardized too.
They can be very useful for the devices that want the full 1.5V, as they can provide that 1.5V across their whole charge cycle, unlike NiMH and Alkalines that drop down the voltage. They are also lighter than NiMH. However they are also more expensive and for most devices NiMH will work just as well, while costing less.
Another thing worth mentioning, NiMH show charge in mAh on the package, Li-Ion very often give it at mWh, which makes the Li-Ion look 20% bigger than they are.
It infuriates me that we use Wh/Ah instead of Joules for this.
It's like measuring distances with time -- "NYC is 3.4 highway hours from DC" -- except doing it in a world where no one has any idea what speed people drive on the highway.
I mean I can't really blame them for being smaller, the USB port is a lot of value added but is also pretty huge.