Latest prototype phone based on fuel cel from CEATEC

The newest mobile phone prototypes on the basis of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has its debut Tuesday at the Ceatec exhibition in Japan. 

Change handset Toshiba T002 is shown by the Japanese carrier KDDI, as a device for research and development and shows some improvements in the technology is based on earlier prototypes, but there is still no word when a phone-based technology is available. 

DMFCs produce electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air. The only byproducts are a small amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide, so DMFCs are often seen as an environmentally friendly source of energy than traditional batteries. 

In the prototype cell phone, fuel cell unit contains a lithium-ion batteries. The battery is needed to peak electricity demand of mobile phone between the times when it is inactive and when it is used to fulfill a call or surf the Internet. The fuel cell is in the best position to provide a constant supply of electricity for the battery serves as a buffer to ensure that the phone is functioning smoothly. 

This combination gives the phone a general life expectancy, with a cargo of methanol, about 320 hours. It is capable of processing about three days longer than the T002 phone business. 

But the biggest advantage of DFMC is the battery life, but it can be refilled by methanol in seconds instead of waiting to see one or two hours to recharge the battery with electricity. 

For now, the addition of a fuel cell, the thickness of the phone is about twice the corresponding retail version of the phone. However, showed at 22 millimeters, the latest version is about half the thickness of a prototype a few years ago and KDDI, said it continues to work for a thinner device. 

The phone has been developed on a fuel cell from Toshiba. 

Toshiba was the promise of a battery charger business on the same fuel cell technology for several months, but has yet to announce a commercial product. Two months ago, said the new president of the company would start by the end of September, but the deadline has expired for a few days without further information on the device. 

The charger is a portable device that uses that can recharge the batteries for portable devices like cell phones, music players and portable games instead of plugging into an electrical outlet.