Nanotech Brings Battery Life Extender for Mobiles

An anonymous user writes "Using latest nanotechnology research, BatMax developed the first cellphone battery life booster that extends the mobile phone battery life and reduces charging time. BatMax is based on the IonXR, a new exclusively developed nanoceramic material, resulting from years of laboratory research. BatMax foil slows down the loss of capacity of Ni-CD, Ni-MH, Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries and thus provides improved battery performance. BatMax is a small (1.14 x 1.92 in) rectangular sticker which is installed on the mobile phone battery. Users just need to attach BatMax to the battery or the cellphone. They claim users will notice a battery life improvement after 5 to 10 charging cycles."

What a load of pseudo-scientific bullshit

[BobTheLawyer]

"nanoceramic material extracted from a natural stone"? How stupid do you have to be to believe this kind of thing?

Their claim that the material "has been tested and documented by several prestigious institutions, laboratories and universities" is as laughable as it is vague.

April April, as the Germans say

[Zog The Undeniable]

Sorry, CowboyNeal, you're at least 2 months early with this one.

Re:Right, and I have a bridge I'd like to sell you

[citanon]

Further reading of the BatMax website reveals that this magical technology works by releasing electrons with a wavelength of 5 to 10 microns. Which is total bullshit. Five to 10 microns is the length of fifty-thousand atoms. You will NEVER get an electron with wavelength that big emitted from anything, ever. At any rate, no electron could cross the electrically INSULATING battery case. Otherwise, you've got more problems than just a useless sticker on your battery. What we have here is just that, a useless sticker.

Re:Haux?

[Lonewolf666]

IAAEE, and the claims look more than suspicious. let's look at them point for point:

Absorb the electromagnetic waves generated from the battery.
A battery does not generate waves. It might create a small magnetic field when current is drawn from the battery (like any cable does when it carries an electrical current).
Anyway, why is that field harmful and needs to be absorbed? Pure FUD, apart from the point that I sincerely doubt some "ceramic nanomaterial" is suitable for absorbing magnetic fields.

Generate a flow of negative ions.
Even if we ignore for a moment that generation ions takes energy (where is the power supply?), what is this good for?

Interact with the battery's internal electrolyte and ions.
Unlikely, batteries have air-and watertight cases. How would the thingy act through that barrier? No explanation is given.

Bottom line:
This is most likely a case of fraud. And Cowboy Neal INAEE (Is not an electrical engineer) either, otherwise he would not have posted this story in the first place.

Re:Hmmm...

[teddaman]

From Florida Division of Corporations search... BATMAX CORPORATION PRINCIPAL ADDRESS 2665 S. BAYSHORE DRIVE SUITE 703 MIAMI FL 33133 Registered Agent Name & Address WORLD CORPORATE SERVICES, INC. 2665 S. BAYSHORE DRIVE SUITE 703 MIAMI FL 33133

Re:Why can't I believe this works?

[hairykrishna]

I have degrees in both physics and material science. I am 99.99% certain that there is no way this sticker is doing anything.

Re:4:47 Friday 28 January 2005

[Tim C]

shoddy (possibly non-existant) fact checking

I refer you to the FAQ [slashdot.org] - there is *no* editorial fact-checking performed here.

Re:Haux?

[harrkev]

Master of Science, Electrical Engineering -- one step up from a bachelors degree.

Re:Eric reads between the lines

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice call, see clip from http://www.batmax.com/faq.php

8 - Can I use BatMax with a fresh new battery ?
Yes, the performance is improved and the battery will be able to maintain its entire capacity for a longer time.
The ideal situation is to use BatMax with a fresh new battery.

Re:Haux?

[Xoder]

Any device that uses or produces electricity produces electromagnetic waves. Otherwise known as EMF and EMI.

Except that this device works at DC, so there's no EM waves (which would require a frequency greater than the 0 Hz of DC). There would be a (small) magnetic field.

Also they never said that they were bad and need to be absorbed. The material reflects the waves back into the battery at a different frequency to increase battery preformance. That is why the IonX material is sandwiched between 2 layers of silcon and produces a small negitve charge.

If they can make a passive device that can change the frequency of incoming EM waves, they're wasting their money on cell phone batteries.

And I am an Electrical Engineer.

Re:Cool!

[cyclist1200]

I'm excited. Now I have stickers that magically extend my batteries' lives, as well as stickers that magically de-toxify my car's gasoline! [snopes.com]

I wonder if the "nanoceramic" uses "holographic frequencies" too...

Re:Cool!

[Doc Ruby]

Thanks for the backup. On Slashdot, just being right, and specifying firsthand evidence, doesn't quell the calls of "idiot" - nerd a priori logic is more powerful than truth. Neither does backup, but it feels better :).

BTW, to keep it all scientific: I stuck the booster onto a battery. When I used my spare battery, without the sticker, the calls would drop again in my house, so it wasn't just a coincidental Verizon signal boost from their cells at the same time as my sticker installation.

Re:Right, and I have a bridge I'd like to sell you

[Celandine]

Five to 10 microns is the length of fifty-thousand atoms. You will NEVER get an electron with wavelength that big emitted from anything, ever.

Sure you will: it just needs a speed of about 100 m/s. Google for `de Broglie wavelength'.

Not that this isn't total bullshit; just not for that reason.

Who's behind BatMax

[Animats]

Anonymous businesses are illegal in many states, but they're usually not as anonymous as they'd like to be.

Whois is "Domains by Proxy", so that's not immediately helpful.

BatMax, Inc. is a valid Florida corporation, but their mail drop is "WORLD CORPORATE SERVICES, INC., 2665 S. BAYSHORE DRIVE, SUITE 703, MIAMI FL 33133". Again, not too helpful.

The USPTO shows a trademark for BatMax: "BatMax Corporation, Suite # 3A, 9250 West Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor Islands, FLORIDA 33154". That's a condo in Colony Bay Harbor Condos. It's a small residential building, and doesn't look anything like the "picture of BatMax skyscraper headquarters" [batmax.com] on their web site. The building pictured on the web site is Espirito Santo Plaza [espiritosantoplaza.com] in Miami, which is still under construction although partially occupied.

From a BatMax press release [prweb.com], we get a name: Alain Aisenberg, and a phone number, [phone].

We find Alain Aisenberg talking about BatMax on an MIT mailing list. [mit.edu]. There, he gives his cell phone number.

A public records search [privateeye.com] finds that name in Miami, and gives us enough information to run a background check.

But I'll stop there.

and if you stick it to your head....

[Wilk4]

... and if you stick it to your forehead, it'll actually make you smarter!

You see, it absorbs all the dumb thoughts that go around in your brain, preventing the crystallization of the pituitary gland, and raising your resulting IQ to 248!

sheesh, they have pretty pictures so they obviously spent well on webdesign and marketing and so forth to look legitimate, but a magical sticker that just goes on the outside of batteries to make them work better doesn't pass the 'thinking-about-it-for-more-than-2-seconds' test.

Gotta like their FAQ: "Why don't the handset and battery manufacturers include BatMax's technology in their products ? Answer: Because, at the moment, the integration process and material costs can adversely affect the end user price, but discussions with cellphone and computer manufacturers are actually in process. Actually, several manufacturers and cellular carriers are planning to distribute BatMax as a branded accessory." --- of course the real reason is that battery manufactuers realize this is complete garbage...

... of course, if you stick it to your genitals, it solves all your recharge problems there too... ;-)

Re:Who's behind BatMax

[xfmr_expert]

This schmuck also has a BS patent on a "modular computer user interface system" [uspto.gov] which appears to be nothing more than a numeric keypad that attaches to the computer. There's also portable telephone with simplified operation [uspto.gov] and Kid Phone [uspto.gov] You ought to read the MIT mailing list post too. In there he claims that this little patch increases computer speed to. This is absolute "As seen on TV" bullshit fraud. I'm amazed that the editors posted such blatant crap, and even more amazed they left it up without even a comment.