Sony has developed a powerful lightweight battery...

Sony has developed a powerful lightweight battery that could replace nickel cadmium and lead acid batteries, a spokesman said. The manganese lithium battery developed by Sony Energytec has 2.4 times the power but only a quarter the weight of a high-capacity nickel cadmium battery. It could be sold as soon as next year for use in portable video cameras, compact disc players, cordless phones and laptop computers, the spokesman said.