Why Is a Laptop's Battery Dearer Than a Lawnmower's?

Barence writes "PC Pro's contributing editor Paul Ockendon has bought a new lawnmower powered by lithium-ion batteries — part of a recent flood of such lithium-ion-powered garden and workshop tools which are taking over from NiCd and NiMH thanks to lighter weight, longer life and lack of the pernicious 'memory effect.' This is pretty much the same battery technology used in laptops, mobile phones and MP3 players, so volume manufacture is already established. Yet laptop manufacturers charge more per Watt-hour than lawnmower makers. This blog investigates whether such a seemingly ludicrous situation can be justified."

Coming soon

[Yvan256]

Lawnmower-to-laptop battery adapter. Wheel Cart not included.

Electric Lawnmower

[happy_place]

I really like the idea of a battery powered lawnmower, as opposed to the electric lawnmower I had as a kid back in the 70s. My parents were foolish enough to think I could use it without running over the cord... boy did I prove them wrong.

Re:Size matters

[iamhigh]

And let's not forget that one of them sits near your balls, which means I am willing to pay a little extra to make sure it doesn't leak or explode. I imagine insurance, increased product testing and more regulations all add to the price difference as well.

Re:Such a what?

[Spazztastic]

Mod Parent -1: Blasphemy

Re:The Market

[MiniMike]

I just wish some of this technology transfer would work the other way too. I would love to have a laptop powered by a small integrated gasoline/diesel (diesel would probably work better) engine, and would be willing to pay more per hp than for a lawnmower engine. However, I don't want it to also cut grass- the thought of powered spinning blades under my laptop is not appealing.

Re:Coming soon

[OzPeter]

Lawnmower-to-laptop battery adapter. Wheel Cart not included.

That was also mentioned in TFA .. along with some ludicrous idea about being able to swap batteries on a laptop when their charge had been depleted. Obviously the author is not an Apple fan-boi

Hmm .. After that statement I think that I will proclaim "OzPeter's law" as a corollary to Godwin's law:

"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Apple approaches 1"

Manual Lawnmower!

[afc_wimbledon]

Avoids the flex problem, is always charged up, is a lot cheaper to buy and free to run, and as a bonus I get exercise when I cut the lawn! (OK, OK, my *girlfriend* gets exercise when *she* cuts the lawn because I can't be bothered, but the principle's the same!)

Re:Size matters

[Anonymous Coward]

If the batteries are next to your balls, I don't think you are using the lawnmower in an approved manner.

Re:Well that's easy...

[Lumpy]

Noooo....

Laptop batteries are made to higher standards..

we cant have laptop batteries bursting in flames or exploding. so we pay more for them to be made better!

Re:Well that's easy...

[superslacker87]

True, look at North Korea or Soviet Russia.

In Soviet Russia... battery charges you!

Re:Did You Guys Actually Click To Page 2?

[Tim C]

Click to page 2? Some people barely even read the summary here!

Re:Such a what?

[ThrowAwaySociety]

Or someone has a vocabulary big enough to use the word "ludicrous" without having learned it from a Mel Brooks movie.

The OP is just noting that the article horribly mis-spelled Ludacris' name, right?