A cordless screwdriver having a housing (12, 18), having a handle (14), in particular one that is angled in pistol fashion, having a preferably permanently installed rechargeable battery (40), having charging contact tabs (37) for charging the rechargeable battery (40), and having an output spindle (20) is always ready for use and can be picked up quickly because it has a lithium-ion (Li-ion) cell as its rechargeable battery (40) and can be placed onto a charging cradle (22) for an unlimited amount of time, in particular during pauses between uses; the charging mode is automatically initiated and in it, the cordless screwdriver (40), with regard to its output spindle (20), is positioned on the charging cradle (22) so that it is inclined, in particular by approximately 30-45.degree., in relation to the perpendicular and the end of the output spindle (20) points downward.
