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by Phil the Gadget Guy

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

I was absolutely ready for Super Bowl XLI. I had my new Samsung 40-inch LCD HDTV and the recently released DirecTV HD DVR set up and ready to go.

This Super Bowl, I had a high-def signal and could replay any part of the game. More importantly, I could repeat what I consider the best parts of the Super Bowl broadcast—my favorite commercials (rerun in slow-motion whenever buxom babes appear), shots of the sideline cheerleaders (again, why man invented slow-motion) and the halftime show, with Prince's gyrating dancers (and the admittedly remote possibility of another costume malfunction, but the higher likelihood of a revealing wet blouse as a result of Miami's gametime downpour).

So last Sunday at 5 p.m., with less than an hour and a half to go, I was ready for Super Bowl XLI.

Or so I thought.

Picking up my universal remote, I went to turn on the TV... and nothing. I pressed the power button again. Again, nothing.

The two AA batteries in my remote had died. So I went to the drawer where I keep new batteries. Once again, nothing. Not a single AA battery anywhere in the house.

However, I did have a new product sent to me by Moixa Energy. This English firm makes a rechargeable AA battery called the USBCELL (available at usbcell.com; two batteries delivered to the U.S. cost ?11.40, or about $22.34).

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This battery is unique because it's charged by popping its green top, inserting USBCELL into a computer's (or PlayStation's or Xbox's) powered USB port, then replacing the battery top so it can be used as a regular AA battery.

After five hours in a USB port, these Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries are about fully charged. A lighted ring on the gadget shines solid while charging, flashes as charging nears completion and goes out when the battery is fully charged.

One hour of charging in my laptop computer was more than enough to get my remote through the Super Bowl. It was also enough to get me through about 100 slow-motion replays and watching my six favorite commercials a dozen times.

USBCELL saved my Super Bowl LXI. Just as my DVR saved the best commercials in this year's broadcast—a tie between Snicker's' "Manly Men" and Anheuser-Busch's "Mutt On Parade."

February 8th, 2007