Sanyo recently announced a new line of batteries in their Eneloop series of rechargeable batteries called Eneloop Tones. Boasting eight new colors instead of the normal white batteries, the new cells look great in a drawer and on the store shelf, but are a bit harder to appreciate once they’re inside a Kairo hand warmer or any other powered product.
That’s not to say these are totally useless. It’s actually quite nice to see batteries that aren’t trying to look tough and long-lasting, and are more geared towards making digital life more pleasurable, even by just a bit. Since Eneloop batteries are already incredibly popular and known for quality, you can actually feel a bit more at ease opening up a device to recharge dead batteries that still look alive in a way.
Sanyo also announced a new version of Eneloopy, their mascot dog that acts as a gauge for measuring your battery’s charge with a light-up nose.
It’s always good to see lots of color in products, and Japan has been excelling at bringing even the most banal products to life by such small changes.
Michael is CEO and Co-Founder of the 
