Think of all those consumer electronics we power with disposable batteries. Now think about how all those batteries find themselves in the dumpster, headed for land fills. Rechargeable is definitely the way to go. With the Apex USB charger, four batteries can charge in four hours by plugging into your computer's USB port. The unit is small, just four inches square and one inch high, perfect for traveling. However, unlike the USB cell batteries, which have gotten a lot of attention lately, they do not have a USB port directly attached to the battery case. Not as cool perhaps, but probably more useful, since most laptops tend to have only one or two USB ports, and you get to choose whether to charge AA or AAA batteries in the pack. Not only that, it makes a great carrying case for your spare set of batteries; as you use one set, the other can be charging nicely or stowed and ready-to-go.