Lenmar Upgrades Battery Charger Line

LAS VEGAS— Rechargeable battery and battery charger maker Lenmar has made major additions to its Mach 1 SpeedCharger line, including a high-speed charging solution for virtually every rechargeable battery category, including digital cameras.

Two new members in the expanded Mach 1 line shown at International CES earlier this month are the Mach 1 Delta for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and nickel-cadmium (NiCd) camcorder batteries and the Mach 1 Gamma for AA/AAA NiMH batteries.

Lenmar said each model in the Mach 1 line offers significant improvements in charge speed, compared with competitive rapid chargers, helping consumer electronics device users reduce waiting time for battery charging.

Specifically, Lenmar said, the Mach 1 Alpha lithium ion (Li-Ion) charges camcorder and digital camera batteries in under 30 minutes, or three times faster than traditional chargers. It accepts a wide selection of charging plates to support 3.6-volt to 7.4-volt Li-Ion batteries from all current popular CE hardware.

The Mach 1 Delta is said to charge 3.6-volt and 6-volt NiMH and (NiCd) camcorder batteries in under 45 minutes, or two times faster than conventional chargers. It accepts batteries from Sharp, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Hitachi and others.

The Mach 1 Gamma is supplied with four 2000mAh AA batteries and has four charging slots that allow any combination of one to four AA and AAA NiMH batteries to be fully charged at one time in one hour or less, said Lenmar. The charge period is seven times faster than most chargers.

Suggested retails are $99.95 for the Mach 1 Alpha and Delta and $49.95 for the Mach 1 Gamma. Both the Alpha and Gamma are currently available and the Delta will be available Jan. 30.

All models include LED status indicators, international voltage support (100-240-volt AC), a car cigarette lighter adapter (12 VDC) that enables users to fully charge batteries on the road and a 3-year warranty.