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Mobile Fuel Cells Soon?
Mark Leaman writes "Motorola has made a strategic investment in Vancouver based, micro fuel cell developer Tekion with a view to the inevitable rise of the fuel cell as a power source for mobile products. Tekion is creating a new "personal power source", known as the Formira Power Pack, that will fit inside mobile products and enable consumers to stay connected for as long as needed. "
will . . . enable consumers to stay connected for as long as needed.
The problem is this: battery life is never long enough. This is true for three reasons. First, as battery life improves, consumers come to expect more. Second, electronics manufacturers will see the marketing opportunity in "we have the smallest $gadget on the market", and will put in the smallest acceptable battery. Third, as we have seen with computers, manufacturers will continue to pack (some useful, many not) features, sapping that additional power.
Granted, fuel cells have considerable energy-density advantages over current chemical cells, but it will never be enough until we have devices that will *never* need a recharge, battery replacement, or refill.
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Honestly, if 1.5hrs talk time on a cellphone is too little for you, then you made a poor choice when deciding which phone to get (ie the features vs battery life dilemna). I keep my old feature-free Nokia 6310i for when I just need a phone, and my nice shiny new 6680 for when I want to pose with a fun gadget.
We've already had batteries exploding in Nokia phones, can you imagine it with fuel cells - "Oh, the Humanity!".
Jolyon
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I'd like to think that one benefit of a fuel cell is that it can be recharged more rapidly. Given the choice between an 8-hour traditional battery that needs me to be tethered while it's charged, and a fuel cell with a 2-hour life that can be recharged in 2 minutes from a bottle, I'll go for the fuel cell. For most people, it's not battery life that's the problem, it's recharge time.
Boy, that's a light press release. The main question is unanswered: what does it use for fuel? Gin? Composted elderberries? It says "non-flmmable." Does that mean that the fuel cell itself won't catch fire while you're using it? Does it require a handy liquid-hydrogen refill tank?
And what the HELL is the deal with the light-blue on white typeface?
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere idiocy.
Even if something like this isn't as portable as modern flip phones, it could still mean the difference between communicating, and not being able to when electricity from the wall
You just need a big supply of "highly purified and modified formic acid" and off you go! This sounds suspiciously like inkjet cartridges to me.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Granted, this means you won't be refilling from a gallon jug -- you'll be locked in to some form of replaceable, well-sealed cartridges.
And I think this is my point. We're talking about a supposedly convenient new thing... but it only works if you have access to carefully sealed, probably proprietary injectors of nastiness. A pocketful of Li-ion batteries would probably be just as easy to maintain, and still get you that long usage. Just develop some nice little solar handkerchief to unfold and charge them, or something. But I don't find much liberty in having to depend on a source of formic acid - however stabilized - for my phone to work. It's just like printer ink.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.