I haven't looked into rechargable bat's for a few years, so it's interesting to hear your observations on them. It makes them worth reconsidering. I know that most of the devices that I have using rechargable's are now Lithium Ion, like my laptop, cell phone, and camcorder, and they are worlds ahead of what similar devices had 10 years ago. Remember the NiCad batteries that would suffer from memory if you didn't manage them well?