The Shelf Potato

We love to rate innovations as “success” or “failure”. Yet most innovation suffers a far more ignominious fate:  mediocrity. And that sums up the introduction of Lithium Ion (LI) Batteries for power tools.

LI batteries offer outstanding buyer value for cordless tools than their NiCAD predecessors.

There’s a power advantage which can be used one of two ways:

• LI can be used to deliver more power in the same size package.
• LI can be used to deliver the same power in a lighter weight package.

There’s an incredible set of charging/usability advantages:

• LI batteries charge faster (a major issue for tool users).
• LI can be re-charged at any time without building battery memory.
• LI hold their charge well. After 1 year they usually retain 80% of the original charge.

All this adds up to tremendous advantages for power tool users. Yet they limped slowly onto the market. Even today, tool purchasers hesitate to pay a premium for LI based tools.

What should we learn from this market mediocrity?

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