Toshiba recently announced that it has developed a new type of rechargeable battery, dubbed the Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB). The company claims the new battery will charge to 90% of its full capacity in under 5 minutes and has a life span of over 10 years.
Alluding to the massive battery recalls earlier this year, Toshiba said its new battery is structurally resistant to internal short-circuiting and thermal runaway, thus unlikely to break or catch fire. The company plans to start mass production in March 2008, but unfortunately will be focusing on industrial markets only. SCiB batteries will reportedly show up in hybrid and electric cars by 2010 but hopefully they'll make an appearance in laptops and other portable devices eventually.