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DoCoMo Will Launch Fuel-Cell Mobile Phones By 2005

Posted by timothy on from the sooner-rather-than-later dept.

prostoalex writes "Japan's major telecom provider NTT DoCoMo plans to use fuel cells for its 3G phones. 'Users of cellphones with a fuel-cell battery would carry a cigarette lighter-type fuel container to refuel the battery', says Reuters."

23 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. For the user to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Will that fuel also be compatible with the user? For internal use that is... ;-)

  2. On Man! Carry a can of lighter fluid like stuff? by Jackson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hmmmm. I am kinda of taken back at the thought of carrying a can of flammable (I assume) stuff to recharge my phone?

    How may days / hours do I get on a "can"?

    Jackson

  3. This is cool by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Funny

    Users of cellphones with a fuel-cell battery would carry a cigarette lighter-type fuel container to refuel the battery.

    A propane tank with a shoulder strap and you're good to go for 10 years.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  4. Hype & Buzzword by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is entirely motivated by hype and the desire to use a buzzword.

    Isn't it far easier and cheaper to just to plug the phone in occasionally and carry a spare battery if you have to?

    Energy storage in fuel cells is actually quite expensive, especially compared to electricity. The main advantage is far longer battery life. But for phones, which last for days anyway, why?

    1. Re:Hype & Buzzword by spydir31 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Another benefit is that the consumer now needs to regulary pay for the fuel,
      thus creating a constant source of income for the companies

    2. Re:Hype & Buzzword by badasscat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Isn't it far easier and cheaper to just to plug the phone in occasionally and carry a spare battery if you have to?

      In a word, no. Have you ever looked at the prices for cel phone batteries? They're generally only slightly less than the cost of the phone itself. For my $99 phone, a spare battery is $80. Some batteries are even more expensive than that.

      And having to plug the phone in occasionally? Do you understand the concept of a mobile phone? How are you going to plug in a phone on your average train, plane, or automobile? (If you can do it, you generally need yet another special attachment, such as a cigarette lighter adapter. This basically defeats your point, which is that it's simpler just to plug in once in a while. It isn't.)

      Energy storage in fuel cells is actually quite expensive, especially compared to electricity. The main advantage is far longer battery life. But for phones, which last for days anyway, why?

      I suppose it's pointless to tell a Slashdot reader to RTFA. Battery life on 3G phones is not very long - this is their main drawback and the reason why adoption rates have been low. Lots of people have been saying it's going to take a major breakthrough in battery technology to really improve the situation for small, high-tech devices like 3G phones and even current laptop computers - fuel cell technology is that breakthrough. Eventually, we'll all be using fuel cells for our portable devices. May take 20 years for the switchover to be complete, but it'll happen. It has to, given how power-hungry we've become.

    3. Re:Hype & Buzzword by gad_zuki! · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >. For my $99 phone, a spare battery is $80. Some batteries are even more expensive than that.

      That's standard cell phone pricing. They subsidize the cost of the phone with contacts, promotions with manufacturers, etc and also heavily mark-up accessories like batterys, cases, etc. Worse, you usually have to buy accessories retail so there's another mark-up.

      Don't think this kind of pricing will magically go away. They're still going to mark-up to whatever the market can bear. Currently, what protections do we have the cells phone companies and laptop companies won't mark-up their fuel cell carts? None. There isn't some standard cartridge they're going to use, so it'll probably end up just like the inkjet market - cheap to get in, but not so cheap to continue. The ink may cost only a few pennies, but the pricing scheme will determine what we really pay.

      There are third generation wireless devices out there and the battery power isn't bad at all. My Sidekick uses GPRS all day and I can almost get two days worth of use out of it.

      Personally, I don't think they should design past 18 hours per charge. That's a whole waking day and people might as well get into the habit or recharging every night or have an extra battery handy if they want 3G tech.

  5. Just what I need. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Methane two or three inches away from my nose. Another brilliant idea from DoCoMo.

  6. Is it not dangerous ? by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I had an accident with my bicycle the other day : I landed on my trusted Alcatel cell phone and it splintered into a million pieces. I hate to think what would have happened if the phone contained flamable liquid or gas under pressure.

    Then again, I also landed on $.50 my gas lighter, which was in the same pocket as my busted phone : *it* decided against breaking apart and cracked one of my ribs instead. So I guess the fuel cell phone has a chance to be safe, but still ...

    Also, doesn't such a device emit CO2 and/or water in the process of generating electricity ? where do the exausts go ?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  7. So now we can look forward to by blamanj · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...people holding up their cell phones at rock concerts?

  8. Fuel Cell power... by bad_fx · · Score: 5, Informative

    Everyone who's asking about the potential battery life/ polution from/ etc the fuel cells might like to read this article in scientific american. It's pretty old but gives a fair idea of what the technology involves. And heres a couple more.

    Basically they have the potential for much longer battery life (magnitudes greater than lithium) and produce water and C02 as waste products. and cheap vodka could potentially be used for the fuel :)

  9. Re:On Man! Carry a can of lighter fluid like stuff by cmeans · · Score: 4, Informative
    The US DOT has already approved fuel cells on airplaines.

    --
    Give a hand, not a hand-out.
  10. 10 years by spydir31 · · Score: 5, Funny

    which is probably what you would go in for, too :)

  11. more info by wilgamesh · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The reuters story was a little short on info. FuelCellWorks has some more info.

    I think some people think the idea of refueling is a bit arcane sounding, but the point of fuel cells is the higher energy density and the somewhat increased flexibility we have in creating new technologies to exploit the form of the energy. Batteries haven't improved by much in many many years of research.

    According to FuelCellWorks, the DoCoMo phone will have up to 300 hrs functioning time. This is an improvement on my current cell phone, which lasts about a week. Furthermore, the use of little canisters for refueling is pretty much like carrying around a spare battery. It gets around the recharge problem. If I'm in a rush, I don't want to have to stick my phone into the power socket for half an hour.

    At some point, I think we won't need to refuel. DoCoMo or someone else can make a device that will use electricity to regenerate from the fuel cell waste products back into fuel. Highly inefficient, but convenient when you run out of your little canisters

  12. What about taking it on a plane? by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Don't they screen for flammable containers, especially under pressure?

    On a related note (gee-wizz tech that has drawbacks), those new PDA's and cell phones with builtin cameras: you can't take those into secure or otherwise classified facilities. Something to think about if your travels take you thither.

    --

    They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  13. hmm by inertia187 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...fuel-cell battery would carry a cigarette lighter-type fuel container...

    "Hey buddy, can I bum a charge?"

    --
    A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
  14. Re:On Man! Carry a can of lighter fluid like stuff by nfotxn · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Hmmmm. I am kinda of taken back at the thought of carrying a can of flammable (I assume) stuff to recharge my phone?
    Um, ever used matches or a lighter?
    --

    _nfotxn

  15. What would Jesus drive? Probably an Econoline. by MsGeek · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, most carpenters and handymen I know of are too poor for that, and certainly the Carpenter of Nazareth would be similarly tapped out. Most have aging light trucks or panel vans. What would Jesus drive? Probably something like this. (No, I don't think Mike Watt is God, but I think they jam together on occasion.)

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
  16. Won't it suck when... by theantipode · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... your phone doesn't pass emissions tests?

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall
    With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
  17. A better solution by Burz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Instead of carrying around an ultra-expensive fuel cell outfit, try this instead:

    1) Get a small AA or AAA battery pack with the same voltage rating and power connector as your phone

    2) Fill it with Titanium-Alkaline or Lithium photo cells (very high-capacity compared to recharables)

    3) Keep this on hand for backup power just like you would the tech-fetishist hydrogen tank. If after 6-36 months you run low on backup power, just buy more batteries at any nearby store that sells cameras, etc. If you noramlly keep your internal battery charged, then the external cells could last you for years!

    Savvy people have done this with camcorders, phones , PDAs and even laptops for years. You can even get AA/AAA packs shaped like the mfg.'s rechargable units that fit right onto your device.

  18. "Hello, 911????!!!!..." by psyconaut · · Score: 3, Funny

    ....I'd like to report a fire...yes, it's my cellphone....please come quick.... *HAND BURNING*....quick, I said!!!!!.... *DIALTONE* ;-)

    -psy

  19. From disposable batteries to disposable cartridges by aquarian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now that we've moved to rechargeable batteries for everything, they're not making as much money selling us disposable ones. I guess getting us hooked on disposable fuel cell cartridges is a way to make up the deficit.

    Of course, there's no technical reason we couldn't refill our own cartridges with methanol, but like wiht inkjet cartridges, they'll probably put chips in them or something to keep us from doing that. Flammability? Safety? Bah... it's about money, the old razor blade business model.

  20. Not that dangerous by xtal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People forget that the lithium ion cells they use all the time - cell phones, notebooks - can cause real injury if they go ary, too. There's a large energy density in those cells, and large energy densities mean capability for disaster. Overcharging, shorting, physically deforming, any number of things could cause a charged lithium ion cell to catch fire or explode.

    If you'd carry a lighter with you, they're certainly going to be no more dangerous. Likely a good deal safer, even.

    --
    ..don't panic