Fuel cell phones and cameras Video
Fuel cell phones and cameras Video Transcript
^B00:00:00 [ Music ]
>> Methanol cell is safe. Is safe...
>> Peng Lim, CEO of MTI, wants you to know that you won't end up as a big ball of fire if you use a methanol fuel cell.
>> Methanol is also called wood alcohol, so it does not create flame by itself.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> You have to be -- ignite, you know, just like paper...
>> Okay. All right.
>> ...or alcohol or anything like that.
>> People have been promising that fuel cells will replace batteries since Lyndon Johnson was sitting in the White House. Technical problems, price, and customer wariness, though, have always pushed them out.
>> Great. And in '09 we'll have fuel cell products in the market?
>> We are certainly working toward '09 as a launching of the product. That's correct.
>> More importantly, consumer electronics makers are showing more interest. Here's a Samsung Blackjack prototype with an embedded fuel cell.
>> If I flip that around, it is powered by a fuel cell.
>> Oh yeah. Interesting.
>> So it's just embedded fuel cell inside.
>> One of the more interesting ones is a methanol energy pack for professional photographers. Now, they carry batteries. And Peng knows one that carries five separate batteries. With methanol, they can carry one.
>> With the fuel cell, you just pop in the new cartridge with the methanol. And then you can get, you know, energy keep on going again.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> There's no reason for you to recharge from the electricity any more.
>> Okay.
>> Then there are these. These are prototype universal chargers. They connect to PCs, phones, or MP3 players with a USB cord. No more taking 18 different power cords when you travel.
>> All you need is one of these, and maybe another cartridge.
>> Right.
>> And then just cable.
>> Here's another myth Peng Lim wants to dispel. Although fuel cells produce carbon dioxide, they're fairly environmentally friendly because you don't have to charge them from the wall.
>> Carbon dioxide actually suck to recycle it back into the air.
>> Okay.
>> But very, very small volume, actually, smaller than a human breathing.
>> Okay.
>> Yes. That's right. We do produce carbon dioxide, too.
>> Don't hold your breath for methanol fuel cells, but you could start seeing them next year. I'm Michael Kanellos for News.com. ^M00:01:56 [ Music ]
Related Videos
Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group, says they're pleased with the start of their cell phone chip business. With CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos, he talks about what's happened this year.\r\n
Oorja Protonics has built a methanol fuel cell for powering those massive forklifts you see wandering around the stock room at Costco. CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos goes for a test ride.
Moving pictures: Intel's new portable device
Intel's Bryan Peebler shows CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos a prototype of the company's new portable device that can store and play digital audio and video.
Sights and sounds of Michael Kanellos
CNET News.com reporter Michael Kanellos is saying goodbye, but before he goes, take a look of some of the Kanellos moments we have collected over the years.
Silicon Valley's Luxim has developed a lightbulb the size of a Tic Tac that gives off as much light as a streetlight. CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks to the company about its technology and its plans to expand into various markets.
See new tech from Japan before it hits the U.S.
Think CES is the ultimate consumer electronics show? Think again. Japan's Ceatec just wrapped up, and CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos brought back footage of some of the best tech we've yet to see in the U.S. Take a look at what's on the horizon.
ZAP to anywhere in this electric car
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks to ZAP CEO Stephen Schneider about his company's egg-shaped electric three-wheeler and how it can be charged in any 110-volt outlet.
Inside the impending AMD and ATI merger
The chief technology officers of AMD and ATI, Phil Hester and Bob Drebin, talk to CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos about the upcoming merger of their companies and the competition with Intel.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks with Jeff Morrill of Vectrix, a company offering an electric scooter that hits 60 mph. See the vehicle in action and hear about its patented brake technology.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos talks with Jeff Morrill of Vectrix, a company offering an electric scooter that hits 60 mph. See the vehicle in action and hear about its patented brake technology.
