Monday, June 21, 2004
New Fuel Cell Technology to Possibly Power Pocket PCs at Some Point In the Future (Maybe)
Posted by Pat Logsdon in "HARDWARE" @ 01:00 PM
You'll notice that my headline is a bit guarded, for several good reasons. While this both looks and sounds cool, it won't actually be available to consumers any time soon, and you'll need to buy methanol refills. It's also pretty bulky, but admittedly nothing like Hitachi's "Hernia-O-Matic" fuel cell PDA. For those of you who are more technically inclined, here's what the company says about how their technology works:
"The Mobion™ technology architecture uses a proprietary approach which manages the water flow internal to the fuel cell with no pumping required. By eliminating the need for cumbersome water management “micro-plumbing”, Mobion™ technology can result in several key and distinct advantages for OEM system designers and end consumers, including:
• Powerful – longer run times between charges
• Manufacturable – less system complexity, small and light enough for handheld devices
• Affordable – utilizes many existing, proven and highly available materials
Oh, and here's another one of those little catch thingies (emphasis mine): "[The MTI Mobion technology] represents a number of scientific breakthroughs that the Company believes will ultimately enable it to power portable devices 2 to 10 times longer than an equivalent size battery pack, while allowing for instant, cord-free re-charging." I don't know about you, but my "Weasel Sense" is tingling. So while it's theoretically possible that their fuel cell could last 10 times longer than an equivalent battery, they're not really sure. In the same spirit of this statement, I'll make my own prediction: All PDAs will be powered by Moon Monkeys at some point in time. I feel comfortable making this statement because the kinetic energy of Moon Monkeys has yet to be accurately measured.
Space simians aside, we HAVE been hearing about fuel cells for a while now, and this one DOES go the extra mile by showing something that integrates with an existing Pocket PC. Now that we've seen it, I think we need to ask if we're willing to go to a store to pick up a replacement/recharge cell. In my opinion, that's a step backward; I did that with my Casio E-10 5 years ago, thanks. What's your take? If you could get a fuel cell that lasts 10 times longer than your current Li-Ion battery, BUT you had to buy a replacement every few weeks, would you do it?
