Given this baseline, let us look at the various battery types. The alkaline and lithium are non-rechargeable while nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and nickel-metal-hydride (NMH) are rechargeable. Another important distinction is that the alkalines and lithiums are 1.5v batteries, while the NiCds and NiMHs are only 1.2 volts. This latter figure sharply reduces the 95LX's operating range.
The lithium technology is brand new to AA size batteries. It has advantages over alkalines in terms of capacity, weight, shelf life and operating temperature range. Its increased capacity is the advantage most relevant to 95LX users -- 52 hours of use as compared to 30 hours for alkalines. This is a major increase in performance, but it does come at a price. The batteries will cost $5-$7 a pair and be made available in the USA by Eveready under the "Energizer" name (previously referred to as "LithEon" batteries). Considering that alkalines are available at less than $1 a pair, there is no financial advantage to using lithiums yet. However, their greater life makes them more convenient to use. If this is important to you, they are definitely a good value.