Mobile Phone Fuel Cells slated for 2007 launch

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via Yahoo! News

Japan might be the first country in 2007 to use fuel cell technology for its mobile phones. The years have seen DMFCs (direct methanol fuel cells) being promoted as an alternative power source to the popular lithium ion batteries as batteries can be recharged instantly by inserting a fuel cartridge recharger. Unfortunately, the prototypes of DMFCs were considered unwieldy due to their size and weight, and is not commercially viable to date.

Facing this challenge, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI have drawn up plans to have fuel cell rechargers for mobile phones in shops around Japan 2 years from now. NTT DoCoMo already has a prototype charger on display at the Wireless Japan Expo. Co-developed with Fujitsu Laboratories, this device will satisfy over 45 million subscribers who are always on the lookout for a quick power fix.