Batteries That Last 10 Years Developed By Hitachi [Batteries]

Doubling the Li-Ion battery life from 5 years, Hitachi reckons its new technology which extends the life of batteries will also cost less too—thanks to reducing the amount of cobalt used. Hitachi hopes to get them onto the production line in the next year.
[Gizmodo via Akihabara News]

Hitachi builds 40.26mph elevator, fastest in the world

Buildings are getting higher, and nobody wants to stand around waiting for an elevator. Hitachi aims to fix that with its latest elevator, a 40.26 mph (64.8 km/h) rocket that's the fastest in the world.
It's installing the new 1,080 m/min lift in the 698-foot G1Tower, a building constructed by Hitachi in Hitachinaka City, Japan specifically for testing elevators. The tower's construction will be completed in April.
The new elevator goes so fast it needs its own air pressure control. Maybe they could use one of these in the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai). But maybe not, the Burj's elevators are almost as fast, flying at 40mph. Time for a race.
[DVICE via JCN Network]