The concept came about in 2004 from collaboration between the KDDI Corp. and Toshiba to utilize a better way of powering our mobile phones. Later on at 2009’s Ceatec show held in Japan, the concept was unveiled in a prototype created by both companies. The phone ran off of a prototype methanol fuel cell and included a lithium ion battery to help the unit deal with surges in energy use. The battery was optimized to offer users 320 hours of power, a significant increase over current standard battery capacities. The main benefit of such a power source is that the methanol can instantly be refilled rather than waiting for a power outlet to gradually recharge the cell phone. The fuel cell itself was gargantuan in proportion, almost as big as the phone, which is probably why it was scrapped. The cell was supposed to be out for consumers to buy in April or September of 2009 and apparently died a quiet death in the ‘good idea, bad visualization’ cemetery of conceptual technology. If anyone has heard what actually happened to this or if it was just put on ‘the back burner’ somewhere, post a reply because this still seems like an interesting idea that should have been engineered better.
Eavesdropper