This growth is primarily due to the power-management needs of notebook computers. Other industry trends pushing smart battery development have been the emergence of dual-battery notebooks, docking stations that include charging bays, and flexible battery form factors to fit the requirements of thinner, more compact notebooks.
Definitions still vary among the industry participants.
Some batteries claim to be smart if they provide no functions other than protection from overcharging, undercharging, and short cicruiting. A battery pack includes more than one cell, depending on the application in which it is being used. This report discusses the battery pack market, not the battery cell market. Although the notebook computer segment is the most heavily invested in smart batteries, the technology is also used in other market segments, such as camcorders and cellular phones, as the cost of electronics has gone down. This is particularly true for lithium technologies, which are currently the highest priced of the smart batteries.