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The Fuel Cell: The Potential to Power Gadgets Forever
Toshiba has finally announced that it is ready for market with its long-awaited methanol fuel cell for powering all kinds of gadgets. The Dynario is the first direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) to go on sale anywhere in the world, which gives an idea of why it's strictly aimed at early adopters for now.
Toshiba says it's offering just 3,000 of the ¥29,800 (£197) devices in an effort to decide whether or not to ramp up production and push down the price in future. Come 29 October, Japanese tech-heads will be able to squirt 14ml of methanol (50ml bottles are an eye-watering ¥3,150, or £21, a pop) into the Dynario and then use it to charge the equivalent of just two mobile phones via a USB cable.
Pricing issues aside, DMFC technology is clearly one to watch, as it frees gadgets from the tyranny of needing a hit of AC every few hours. The science of how it works will likely matter not a jot to most people. If the Dynario is a success, we can expect the fuel cell market to rapidly become crowded with other manufacturers looking to reap the rewards and extend the life of all manner of mobile devices.
With the endless potential possibilities, what does the fuel cell mean to you?
Source.
- daveyy.
Toshiba says it's offering just 3,000 of the ¥29,800 (£197) devices in an effort to decide whether or not to ramp up production and push down the price in future. Come 29 October, Japanese tech-heads will be able to squirt 14ml of methanol (50ml bottles are an eye-watering ¥3,150, or £21, a pop) into the Dynario and then use it to charge the equivalent of just two mobile phones via a USB cable.
Pricing issues aside, DMFC technology is clearly one to watch, as it frees gadgets from the tyranny of needing a hit of AC every few hours. The science of how it works will likely matter not a jot to most people. If the Dynario is a success, we can expect the fuel cell market to rapidly become crowded with other manufacturers looking to reap the rewards and extend the life of all manner of mobile devices.
With the endless potential possibilities, what does the fuel cell mean to you?
Source.
- daveyy.
Tags: cell, forever, fuel, gadgets, potential, power
Views: 1
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by reaper on -
the hard part of new technology is making it not only affordable for us consumers, but also profitable for the toshiba to produce
if its lighter than a lead acid battery and doesn't burn up when overcharged like a lithium polymer then i'm all for it :)
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Permalink Reply by David King on -
I'll second that, it would just be so useful :)
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Permalink Reply by Gary Bing on -
Plenty. The Honda Accord was offered as a 6cyl hybrid in 2007. It was sold only that year and the gas millage wasn't so hot. The following year we saw the first of a production based fuel cell (hydrogen powered) car available for general use. You can only lease it, so in a way it is similar to GMs decision to only lease their EV!. GM made the mistake of building an alternate fuel car for sale only to have to buy each one back, not wanting to support it with a parts inventory ( yes there was a car you could drive with a positive cash flow, the owners of some held out to GM with ransom demands making quite a lucrative deal for themselves. The Accord in question can be had for $600 a month. While that may seem steep it includes full coverage insurance and all maintenance and taxes The caveat is you have to live/work near Torrance (their research facility) or Santa Monica, or Irvine California. The car gets about 270 mi. per full fueling. A lengthy process and interview used to be required. ( I don't know about now as I've heard people who had them said their process was relatively painless. You got to like the burgundy color "And don't even think about changing it." It is a shame that GM has spent countless years and billions and the only competition they have to offer is the Volt. They may not be in business or as we know it to be. We finally are going to get equipment that will run on one universal charger, but it looks like that will even be phased out soon. We already have solid state drives. We had touch screens for years. Remember that restaurant or store? I used one in a Mall over 20 years ago to locate a store. Some things are really not new at all, just a new incarnation of the same. But I hardly consider that new Accord just a new car, it is a new technology that is a reality. We have had voice recognition software for a while now. I had Via Voice from IBM since 2000 and it's still in a drawer with the headset in it's original packaging. Why am I/we still using mice and keyboards at $100 a pop from the "greatest" of Logitech? "Power to the people" just maybe redefined if it hasn't been already. A DVD writer used to be the equivalent sum of a new car, remember not that long ago. Already LCD screens are going to go by way of LEDs. I still have my laser discs and player from 1995. Now there is Blue Ray already and that bastard Blue Tooth which is already showing long in the tooth. "Fasten your seat belts it's going to be a bumpy ride."
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Permalink Reply by Gary Bing on
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PS. In the movie when she delivered the line from the back seat of the car, front seat belts weren't even a commodity yet. (It may well not even been invented yet, ironically.)
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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Interesting insight there, and I guess in many ways you are right, but I personally like the idea that even though it's based on things that were invented oh so long ago, they have evolved to become even better, and it is kind of nice to see where they came from and what they used to be like. Technology will never stop evolving.
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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kinda amazing in that sense.
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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yeah I know, hopefully it might evolve though..
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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ah, how technology advances :)
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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but they do run for longer than a battery and so you won't need to do that as often..
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Permalink Reply by WereBo on -
Maybe I'm getting too cynical in my old age, but I can see this becoming another 'cash cow' for the manufacturers, the same as printer inks.
Printers are dirt-cheap, but the inks cost a small fortune, relative to production costs.
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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I hate to say it, but that sounds true :/
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