IDF Intel yesterday claimed its notebook battery co-development alliance with Matsushita's Panasonic was already yielding cells capable of running a portable PC for up to 12 hours.

That's in the lab, of course, but the chip giant said the technology brings its goal of eight hours' battery life by 2008 well in sight.

In the meantime, Panasonic will ship a Lithium-ion battery early next year that offers 30 per cent more power capacity for a given size than today's mid-range notebook batteries, but only 11.5 per cent more than top-end cells.

The new battery adds a small amount of nickel to the standard Li-ion cell's anode. The upshot is a lower 'end-of-discharge voltage' - the voltage at which the battery needs to be recharged. That, in turn, means a longer run-time.

Mooly Eden, VP in charge of Intel's Mobile Platforms Group, said the technology would not be exclusive to Matsushita/Panasonic. ®