[Jason Dunn]

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1022130.html

"Japanese chips-to-computers giant NEC said Monday that it has developed a small fuel cell that will dramatically improve the battery life of notebooks and that the company aims to test on the market within two years. The fuel cell would enable notebooks to operate for 40 consecutive hours, or around 10 times the life of regular lithium-ion batteries, a company representative said.

The company is locked in fierce competition with domestic rivals such as Toshiba, as well as United States and South Korean rivals that are rushing to bring fuel-cell technology for notebooks to the mass market. NEC aims to test the market in 2004, introducing a notebook that has a built-in fuel-cell battery with a life of five hours, the representative said."

More talk about fuel cells, but at least the dates aren't slipping - I've been hearing 2004 for quite some time, and it's creeping up on us...

[Jason Dunn]

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1022130.html

"Japanese chips-to-computers giant NEC said Monday that it has developed a small fuel cell that will dramatically improve the battery life of notebooks and that the company aims to test on the market within two years. The fuel cell would enable notebooks to operate for 40 consecutive hours, or around 10 times the life of regular lithium-ion batteries, a company representative said.

The company is locked in fierce competition with domestic rivals such as Toshiba, as well as United States and South Korean rivals that are rushing to bring fuel-cell technology for notebooks to the mass market. NEC aims to test the market in 2004, introducing a notebook that has a built-in fuel-cell battery with a life of five hours, the representative said."

More talk about fuel cells, but at least the dates aren't slipping - I've been hearing 2004 for quite some time, and it's creeping up on us...

[JonnoB]

High-capacity refillable batteries that you pay for on each charge or lower-capacity rechargable batteries that you charge for pennies. Will consumers have a choice or will fuel cells be thrust upon us? Someone, tell me all of the virtues of fuel cells again...

[maximus]

Fuel cells, which take in hydrogen and oxygen and turn them into electricity, do not need recharging like regular batteries. They require a refill of fuel such as hydrogen gas or liquid methanol in order to keep operating.

Then it will not pass the security screening at airports (No flammable material on board) .... I personally wouldnt want to carry a bag of hydrogen on my pocket, no matter how long this 'hydrogen bag' will provide power to my axim. I'd rather use my older 3400mAH battery that I can charge for free at home ....

[Sven Johannsen]

[quote="Maximus"]

I'd rather use my older 3400mAH battery that I can charge for free at home ....

Ahh, but it isn't free at home (unless your parents are paying for the electricity). If you stay at an Embassy Suites, however you can recharge your PPC between 5-7 every evening for free.

[droppedd]

that is interesting with the security at airports... i never thought about that.

Anyways, outside of a few portable electronics sites, most people aren't thinking about benefits to electronics from fuel cells - its big "killer app" is automobiles, where it promises pollution-free transportation. (oh and plugging your battery into an outlet is hardly pollution-free - your energy probably came from a dirty electricity plant of some sort).

But recently the claims of hydrogen fuel components have come under heavy scrutiny, with many scientists claiming that at least with current designs and margins of error for leakage and the like, fuel cell engines may be no cleaner than modern fossil fuel engines.
But longer life in portable devices is promising - if they can work through security issues at airports, and recharging issues. Would it be theoretically possible to have a dual battery - that is, you can swap in a regular battery for use on the plane? For that matter, could you retrofit devices with "battery packs" that contain a fuel cell with all necessary power conversion integrated?

[maximus]

Coming from photography background, I have already made a battery pack for my axim. It consist of 3 D sized 11.000 mAH niMH batteries ...

[Bruno Figueiredo]

Originally Posted by Maximus

It consist of 3 D sized 11.000 mAH niMH batteries ...

Come again?... What the hell are you talking about? Please explain how you did that...

OTOH, I think fuel cells are not quite the next thing (having to recharge the battery with a liquid? :roll: Where does the liquid I put there goes? Does it come with an exhaust pipe? Peewwoo :razz: ).

I think microengines are the way to go. Much more power, tiny footprint.
Or more powerfull conventional batteries...

Just imagine. Conventional 50.000 mAH batteries... A full month of use for your PDA with every charge... Weeks for your laptop... Oh that would be sweeeeet...

[MooseMaster]

So now our laptops will spew out water from an exhaust pipe? Or will it just built it all up in a small container that we have to dump every couple hours?

Fuel cells in my electronics? No thanks!!! Fuel cell for my car ... perhaps.

With the money they're spending on fuel cell research fossil fuel engines could be three times as efficient if the same were spent on them. My 160hp car gets 38mpg on average. I'd say that's heading in the right direction, more so than a 90hp fuel cell getting a measily 52mpg. And what happens when I get into a bad wreck on the interstate? Hindenburg number 2?

[iomatic]

2004 for a battery life of 5 hours? Get an Apple PowerBook from 2002, and you'll have that capacity, plus a real OS.

sorry, couldn't resist.

[cmariotti]

Okay, so maybe I am just being crazy, but I have been watching progress on a lot of fuel cell technologies and a lot of the "portable" ones seem to be rather dangerous looking in concept.

Is it me or will there be a problem bringing on a fuel cell that contains a combustable onto an airline so you can watch a DVD on your laptop mid-flight. Couldn't it be easily adaptable to be a mini-bomb? Enough to blow off a finger...

I mean, these are the same airlines that have yet to provide a power plug in the regular seating area due to potential risks (sparks)... I literally don't think this is going to "fly"... it has to be a "safe" technology (even if it is safe in engineering). Whomever finds that technology will win the portable fuel cell game.

Maybe I'm being a fool...