Well lookie here, induction charging has reared its electromagnetic head in the convenient form of a AA battery. That's right, instead of custom modules fitted to your battery powered devices a la the SplashPad , the AB-001 from AAK Corporation of Japan claims to provide contactless charging to any device sportin' them AAs. The NiMH battery is rated at 1.2-V and takes about 11 hours to fully charge over a lifetime of about 500 charges. Sounds great, right? Now the rub: instead of just setting your camera, toothbrush, penlight or any other AA-powered device near (or on) the charger for a top-up, it appears that you have to remove and then drop these induction AAs into the charger's cup, turning all that contactless charging into nothing more than novelty. While it's all a bit dubious at the moment, our Japanese bureau is on it and we'll holler back atcha later once they get the scoop.[Via Engadget Japan : This just in from our Japanese bureau, you dont have to remove the battery(s) IF you can stuff the device into the small recharge pot, and if the device will not be affected by the presumably strong magnetic field.