Toshiba May Bid Laptop Batteries Goodbye

from the yes,-but... dept

There has been a ton of hype in the last couple of years about how fuel cells will eventually replace lithium ion rechargeable batteries. Now, Toshiba says they've developed a working prototype, that they think can be offered commercially sometime next year. Since I own a Toshiba laptop that has, without a doubt, the worst battery life of any laptop I have ever seen, the idea of a long lasting fuel cell is certainly appealing. However, I imagine it will take a few generations before the quirks are worked out. However, more importantly, I'm not sure consumers will rush to fuel cells. Certainly, they do last much longer than standard batteries, but people like rechargeable batteries - since they don't need to carry replacement parts around with them. The fuel cells require replacement methanol cartridges, which most consumers will think of as "batteries" that they need to constantly buy and replace. From the perspective of an end-user, the question now becomes if I'm willing to have to keep buying "fuel" (literally) to keep my laptop running.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Alex, 5 Mar 2003 @ 9:20am

    No Subject Given

    Right. But depends on battery life.

    If a methanol cartridge is going to last me two weeks, I want one of those laptops. If I have to buy one every six hours.....

    AND they shouldn't be ANYTHING more expensive than electricity from the wall.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    todd, 5 Mar 2003 @ 12:10pm

    wanna bet?

    my vaio had 1hr battery life at "new", now has 3-5 min (Lithium Ion), which means you can go mobile only when you run (literally) between outlets in our house.

    Li Ion batteries inside are made by Panasonic, who won't sell me (a consumer) replacements. Replacement battery = 300.

    Fun

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    todd, 5 Mar 2003 @ 12:18pm

    No Subject Given

    one more thing: these methanol cells prototypes produce 12 to 20 watts. That's not enough power to handle most laptops made in the past 5 years.

    Check your laptop's power adapter: chances are your laptop takes 50 watts or more (granted, that is often "peak" which includes powering computer AND charging a battery).


    A "top of the line" Dell takes 90W, and even the Dell "Ultra low power" Latitude X200 requires 27W, so Toshiba has some work to do.

    Now, the good news is that power output for fuel cells is often just a (linear) function of the surface area of the electron transfer membrane, so if they make these bigger, they *may* work.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Brian, 5 Mar 2003 @ 1:49pm

    approved for airplane usage already?

    I immediately was concerned about methanol flamability, but this article seems to say that methanol batteries are already approved for ailine travel.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.