Eneloop: Difference between revisions

In November 2011 Sanyo started production of third generation Eneloops promising 1,800 charging cycles. The standard third generation cells have metallic lettering and the product number ends with "B" (e.g. HR-3UTGB). <ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Announcement-eneloop-3rd-gen-2011.pdf Third Generation Eneloop product announcement] October 6, 2011.</ref> On April 26, 2013 Panasonic started selling 4th Generation Eneloops, which now feature prominent Panasonic branding in Japan, in regular, light, and pro versions. Overseas they kept the eneloop label with a smaller Panasonic font below the logo. <ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Japanese-vs-European.jpg Japanese 4th gen. and European 4th gen.] Available in Japan since 2013, and overseas since 2014 </ref>

'''Eneloop Tones:''' In 2010 Sanyo introduced limited edition Eneloop '''Tones''' which are standard 1,500 cycle Eneloops that come in an 8-pack of different colors<ref>[http://www.eneloop.info/news-archive/news-archive/details-eneloop-news/ad/395.html Eneloop Tones Press Release] April 22, 2010</ref>. Green and blue Tones showed up in some charger combos in the US. In 2010 '''sparkling''' Tones were advertised to be released in November<ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2nd-gen-Glitter-tones.pdf Eneloop Glitter product announcement] October 25, 2010</ref> for Eneloop's 5-year anniversary. In October 2011, eneloop tones '''chocolat''' were announced in 8 earthtone or chocolate colors<ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/3rd-gen-Tones-Chocolat.pdf Eneloop Tones Chocolat product announcement] October 25, 2011</ref>. September 2012 saw the release of two new Tones 8-packs, '''Uomo''' and '''Rouge''', with Uomo having gray and purple colors, and Rouge being shades of pink. In November 2013, a '''tropical''' assortment of Eneloop tones was released in Europe, with Sanyo branding. Also in November 2013, a retro '''glamorous''' edition of Tones was released in Japan featuring gold and silver sparkles ("pixie gold" and "pixie silver"), an animal print ("leppard"), and pink ("pink") with Panasonic branding. In October 2014, '''forest''' tones in green camouflage, silver camouflage, desert khaki, and emergency orange were released, featuring 4th generation eneloops. In 2015 eneloop introduced the '''organic colors''' with 4 unique colors in Europe, while announcing a renewed '''organic tones''' in Japan which use the same colors as their first original tones. In 2016 Panasonic EU introduced new eneloop '''ocean colors''' and in 2017 the '''expedition tones''' which are specially designed for the eneloop expedition 2100.  

The Eneloop brand has diversified into light blue '''Eneloop Lite''' cells with less capacity (950 mAh for AA cells and 550 mAh for AAA) and supposedly less cost, designed for use in low-drain devices like remotes. Sanyo claims these lighter weight versions of Eneloops can be recharged 2,000 times. Introduced in June 2010<ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/eneloop-lite-announcement.pdf Eneloop Lite product announcement] March 8, 2010</ref>.

In late 2010, Sanyo introduced black '''Sanyo XX''' cells using Eneloop technology (higher capacity than Eneloops at 2500 mAh for AA, but not as low self-discharge: more like 75% after a year and said to be good for 500 cycles). These were marketed primarily in Europe. They also appeared in metallic orange wrappers, labelled '''Harmolattice''', marketed in Southeast Asia, <ref>[http://exposureworks.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/sanyo-eneloop-harmolattice-2500mah-batteries/ Exposure Works], 4 January 2011.</ref> but Harmolattice batteries are not precharged. In 2011, Eneloop XX batteries were renamed '''Eneloop Pro''' in Japan but keep the black wrapper<ref>[http://eneloop101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Anncouncement-Pro-and-Plus.pdf Eneloop Pro and Plus product announcement] June 9, 2011</ref>. In October 2012, the Eneloop Pro was expanded to AAA size with a capacity of 900mAh, available outside of Japan as Sanyo XX or Eneloop XX. In April 2013, Eneloops will be labelled Panasonic.