Many semiconductor companies tout their smart battery-charger ICs that adjust charging levels, monitor cut-off points, charge different types of cell chemistries, and so on. Those capabilities help charge batteries efficiently, but often the "smarts" don't visibly help the user.

I have a still camera that takes two AA-size nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries. The camera came with a separate charger that has a single LED that goes off when the batteries have their maximum charge. I also have a camcorder that uses a proprietary battery pack that must charge within the camera. An LED on the camera flashes to indicate charging activity and the LED turns off when the battery reaches its maximum charge. Both cameras indicate the state of battery charge when I use them. Why can't the charger designers include a state-of-charge indicator, too?

To me, a smart charger should indicate where the charge is in its cycle. Are those batteries half or three-quarters "full?" If batteries for my camera are half charged, I'll take a chance and put them in my camera so I don't miss photos of grandkids. But if the batteries are only one-quarter charged, I'll let them continue to charge and use my camcorder, which doesn't provide the quality of still images I like. (Yes, I have spare batteries, too, but I don't know their charge state until I put them in a camera.)

Also, why can't a charger determine how long my batteries will retain a charge? The NiMH batteries that came with my still camera now have a short charged life, as I discovered at a wedding when the camera quit after I took four or five photos. The batteries charged normally but held that charge for much less time than usual. If the battery charger had indicated a shorter battery life or end of battery life, I would have replaced the batteries sooner.

Like most cell phones, my flip phone has a large internal display and a small external display visible on the outside. When I plug in the charger, both displays indicate the state of charge with a three-section "gas gauge" inside a battery symbol. But, the display turns off after a few seconds, so to determine the charge level, I must open the phone slightly to re-activate the display. If the battery is charging--and powered by a wall-wart supply or car battery--why not leave the display on until someone removes the charging power?

Charger manufacturers can design products that better help consumers and even adding just a few LEDs to indicate charge condition and alert us to battery life conditions would do the trick. I just hope they come to market soon. --Jon Titus.