Eco Factor: Fuel cell charger for portable electronic gadgets.
Fuel cell chargers offer renewable energy to charge our portable electronic gear that includes cellphones, digital cameras, PMPs and even portable GPS units, but some drawbacks have always minimized their adoption. Apart from a high price tag, the empty cartridges of these fuel cells need to be refilled with methanol or replaced twith new ones once the charge in them is over. While price still remains an issue, MTI Micro has tried to end the other problem of cartridge refueling with their new Mobion Fuel Cell Charger that comes with a swappable cartridge.
The charger allows users to replace an empty cartridge with a new one on your own anytime, while taking the other empty cartridge for conventional refueling. The company claims that one cartridge can provide 25 watt-hours of power that would be enough to charge your cellphone 10 times over. The fuel cell charger is expected to hit stores in late 2009.
The Dark Side:
The charger lacks in connectivity features with just a USB port for the same. This would allow users to just charge gadgets that support USB charging. We expect the company to make some changes to enable gadgets that are usually charged via the wall AC socket, to be charged using this renewable source of energy.
Via: GoodCleanTech
