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Originally published on 02/28/2002
Batteries are holding us back. In late-model gizmos, the fast CPUs, radio circuits, and color screens combine to draw alarming amounts of power.
While hardware manufacturers continue to make progress both in lowering the power draw of electronics and in the development of new battery chemistries, there are still precious few modern battery-powered devices that you can safely take away from the house for more than a day without also carrying the devices' rechargers.
That's part of the pitch from Electric Fuel, a company that makes disposable zinc-air batteries for PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras, and video cameras. For PDAs and phones, the products are pitched as emergency power; for cameras, they're sold as convenience power supplies aimed at professionals and vacationers (zinc-air batteries store much more power than other batteries of comparable size and weight).
Frankly, since most chargers are pretty small and light these days, I don't mind carrying a few when I travel, although I do find it extremely inelegant that each gizmo jealously mates only with its own charger. Electric Fuel also makes universal power adapters (both AC and car) that recharge various devices through specific (and very lightweight) adapter cords, which of course also connect to the company's batteries.
The technology is sound and the flexibility of the system is impressive. But to me the technological victories shrink compared to the big challenge Electric Fuel faces: convincing consumers to spend money on disposable batteries when they've been drilled for so long on the financial and environmental benefits of rechargeables.
- Rafe Needleman
email: rafe-needleman@catchoday.com
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