No buildup introduction area for this post. I just love these batteries.

They look like this:

Here is why they’re great:

1) No instructions necessary.  This is pretty much the success criteria of all great design. You want a battery that works like a battery and charges via USB. Done.

The packaging they arrive in is worth mentioning:

Packaged this way, you can see everything you need to know about how these work. In the bottom configuration, they’re batteries. In the top configuration, it’s obvious that the cap easily pops off to reveal the USB prod.

Were these packaged like traditional batteries, this wouldn’t be intuitive.

2) There’s a little rubber band that keeps the cap attached to the body. Because otherwise, obviously, you’re destined to lose the caps within 30 seconds of opening the package.

3) Because they charge by USB, you don’t need to lug around an enormous wall outlet charging station as you would with traditional rechargables.

4) If you look closely, the “BCELL” part of the USBCELL logo looks like the product. If these guys were feeling especially clever, they might color the “US” portion green to fit the whole product into the logo…but that might be pushing it. (It looks like they recolored the U, S, and B in “re-usable,” which I think looks dopey, but it at least establishes some design parameters.)

There is one thing I don’t care for: It’s kind of tricky to tell when they’re done charging. The instructions (which did exist, though I threw them out immediately) described some kind of system where green lights around a ring where the body meets the cap will start flashing, or hold steady green, or blink once for yes and two for no, or something. My solution is simple: I just leave them to charge for a while. Or overnight. My laptop mouse still gets weeks and weeks of power either way, so I’m sort of indifferent.