On Saturday morning the lights went out with an ominous clang.

My main Desktop PC was on, but since it is on a UPS, it was simply a matter of shutting it down gracefully. I have a fairly basic UPS, similar to the APC (American Power Conversion) Back-UPS ES 8-Outlet, but it suits my purposes.

After the usual checks of fuses and account payments, we assumed it was a general area-wide power failure. Later I confirmed this by phoning the local Power Authority a while later. A recorded message said the power should be back on by mid-afternoon.

That left me with a problem. I needed to mail a parcel before the Post Office closed at 1pm, and the mailing address was in an email message online. Fortunately I could access my email account with my iPhone via AT&T’s 3G network, which was up. It made me appreciate cellular data access more than ever.

It was only mid-afternoon before the power came on again, but the hours without power were quite a drag, as I still had several computer-based tasks which needed to be done.

There are probably only a handful of cellphones available with hot swappable batteries. The Palm Centro isn’t one of them. Granted, this cute smartphone has a user-replaceable battery, something the iPhone lacks. (It also has copy and paste which the iPhone sorely lacks, but that is another story).

The Centro’s ancestor, the Treo 680 definitely doesn’t have a hot swappable battery. Every time you pull out the battery it does a soft reset - a reboot which takes about a minute. In fact, that is the only way to do a soft reset. Now on my Treo 680 this doesn’t bother me, because it is the designated replacement for my electronic brain, a Tungsten C. It just so happens that since it is unlocked I occasionally put in a SIM card so I can make calls.

A hot swappable battery is more of a requirement for a business notebook, or an older PDA which relies on AA batteries. With the Sony Clie PEG-S300 you had fifteen seconds to change the battery before the data was lost.

Does it make a difference whether an electronic device has a user-replaceable battery or not? By “electronic device” I’m including everything from a Bluetooth headset to a Laptop.

When buying a Bluetooth headset, the fact that its battery will eventually go flat and cannot be replaced is no big deal. By the time that happens better ones will probably be available anyway.

How about the MacBook Air Notebook? Apple’s ultra-thin notebook is really impressive. However, it does not have a user-replaceable battery (See Engadget’s article “MacBook Air doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery“) After paying well over $1500 for a notebook, when the battery eventually goes in 2 to 3 years time you won’t be able to replace it yourself. Instead, according to Engadget’s article”MacBook Air battery replacements: $129, free install!“, you would have to send the MacBook Air into Apple, and for the price of $129 for a new battery, they will replace it for free.

So as not to only bash Apple, most Portable Media Players, including all iPods, do not have user-replaceable batteries. Even for manufacturers who used to make Portable Media Players with user-replaceable batteries, the trend also seems to be towards batteries which are not user-replaceable – SanDisk is one example.

Handheld computers seem to be split at the Palm/Windows Mobile line. Apart from their smartphones, none of Palm’s handhelds have user replaceable batteries. Windows Mobile devices generally do. Cellphones have user-replaceable batteries of course, except for the first Treos, and the iPhone.

The cost of replacing a new battery is not much when the device was designed to have the user replace it. Although you can buy a new battery for the Palm Tungsten C, it is tricky to replace it yourself. and you could damage it if you are not careful. I have an old Dell Axim X30, and I’ve replaced the battery once, simply by buying a replacement battery like the Lenmar Replacement battery For Dell Axim X30. Apart from proper disposal, it is not much of a problem when the Axim X30’s battery no longer charges.

If you could see under my workspace right now, you’d understand why I shudder to think my family has a house bunny. If you weren’t aware, rabbits are notorious for eating cords — as in power cords, cables, phone lines, electrical lines and shoe laces. She hasn’t gotten into my office, but that’s only because I work upstairs and she hasn’t learned how to climb stairs yet.

But the sad fact is that I have too many cords in my life. That’s why the Chargepod appeals to me.

This 6-way charging device allows you to charge multiple cell phones, PDAs, headsets, mp3 players, and other mobile devices with a single power cord. According to the company, the Chargepod uses voltage regulator technology and interchangeable power adapters to safely charge all of your mobile devices.

The bundle comes with an AC adapter and a car charger, as well as these device adapters: MUSB-0001 for universal mini-USB/Blackberry/Motorola/Callpod/Garmin/Other; CHUA-0011 for Apple iPod/iPhone/Touch/Shuffle female USB; CHUA-0016 for Sony PSP and Reader/Creative Labs/Kodak; SMSG-0003 for Samsung mobile phones; NDC2-0001 for Nokia mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets; and PTRA-0001 for Palm Treo mobile phones, LifeDrive, and Tungsten models.

Don’t see your devices on the list? The company sells other adapters direct.

I have another business trip coming up, and I’m fairly certain that I’ll forget one or another of my rechargers. So here’s an interesting device that could come in handy. The Datexx SuperBattery USB AC/Crank Generator provides a manual way to generate power to recharge cell phones, MP3 players, handheld games, PDAs or, no doubt, other USB-powered devices I’ve never even heard of.

Here are the particulars. It’s about a pound in weight and 2.5-inches x 1.5-inches x 4-inches in size. It has a crank on the side that you wind to convert kinetic energy (your wrist action) into electrical energy, which is stored in internal batteries. Or if your wrists are feeling particularly overworked, you can simply plug in the AC adapter and recharge the internal power supply that way.

The generator comes with four cell phone tips that you plug into the unit then into your cell phone. Sellers say the tips fit Motorola, Samsung, LG and Nokia phones. It generates USB output of 5 volts.

It includes a built-in LED flashlight too, in case your phone is so dead, you can’t find it in the dark.

Now, the product isn’t perfect. One reviewer on Amazon reports that it’s “very fickle about taking a charge, particularly from European plugs,” and that it has a “weak USB current; devices take forever to take a charge from it.”

Of course, the biggest obstacle to a device like this is that its form factor is so portable, it could be left behind as well when I travel — right next to the rechargers I meant to pack.