Skip to navigation Real World Computing  Why are laptop
batteries more expensive than lawnmower batteries?  Posted on 15
Dec 2009 at 11:53  A battery-powered lawnmower brings a rant
from the normally placid Paul Ockenden  I normally restrain
myself from ranting in this column – I prefer to concentrate on
the sunny side of mobile technology – but I'm going to make an
exception thanks to a problem that’s been bugging me for a
while, but came to a head this month when I bought a new
lawnmower.  Now you’re thinking “Didn’t he do lawnmowers last
month?”, but allow me to explain further. As I’m a certified
gadget-addict, this wasn’t just any old lawnmower but a Bosch
Rotak 43LI. The clue is in that two letter suffix LI – yep, a
lawnmower powered by lithium-ion batteries.  If you browse the
Screwfix catalogue, you’ll see there’s recently been a flood of
new lithium-ion-powered garden and workshop tools – they’re
rapidly taking over from NiCd and NiMH thanks to lighter weight,
longer life and lack of the pernicious “