UltraCell's UC25 / XX25 two-day laptop fuel cell

We've been hearing the siren's call for fuel-cell laptops for what already seems like too many years now, but we'll admit nothing whets our appetite like the promise of two day run time, which is exactly what UltraCell claims they're showing off in their UC25. It's only a pre-production model designed for military purposes right now, but UltraCell apparently had it going on at IDF in SF this week, and hopes to commercialize their products by the second half of this year. Hot, as always, but until we've got them powering our respective Vaios, PowerMacBooks, and OQO / UMPCs, we're gonna have to continue wearing the skeptic's hat and hoping for a real product and not just a whole lot of hydrocarbon-free smoke, so to speak.

[PodMonkeys @ Mar 8th 2006 10:20AM]

Thats awesome!
If the military version is going to get 2 days, then the civi version should get 4 days at 10% of the cost! :D

[Special_K @ Mar 8th 2006 10:51AM]

I don't get it... Do I fill it up with water or hyrdrogen to power it, or do I still have to charge it like a normal battery. What about memory effects, will it slowly degrade over time like the iPod batteries? I must say, though, the idea of a 2 day run time is pretty drool-inducing... now just get it powering my iPod STAT!

[abigsmurf @ Mar 8th 2006 10:59AM]

anyone know how big that is? could do with some comparison pics...

[Travis Loker @ Mar 8th 2006 11:04AM]

actually they run off methanol not water or hydrogen.....this is gonna be cool! NEC was dead on though.....at the end of 2003 they said in 2 years we will have fuel cells than can go 40 hours+

[NeoteriX @ Mar 8th 2006 11:07AM]

The product information page lists the dimensions as:
9"x6"x1.6" and weighing in at .6 lbs

and it looks to be powered by methanol

[Dan W @ Mar 8th 2006 11:12AM]

steve, get on that
:-D

...well i guess that was a stupid comment...he probably has them in the ibooks already and shipping in a week...lol

..but seriously, get on that (touchscreen UMPC/ipda w/ 40+ hours would b nice)

[tactical @ Mar 8th 2006 12:08PM]

Althought this is a good start, laptops are not of a huge amount of use unless they are connected to a network. The throw away batteries mentioned in the article are not for the laptops, which use propietary batteries (doesn't yours?) but for the radios used to connect them to networks. If you have hard-wired network connections, you have power. If you are hauling batteries around in your backpack, it is not for the laptop, but for the large radio also in the backpack.

[CMfly @ Mar 8th 2006 12:24PM]

I've heard these things have been ready for a long time now.. The problem is you are not allowed to bring compressed gas of anykind on an airplane. The fact that a large percent of people bring their laptops on flights and expect to be able to use them there makes this not really marketable at the moment..

[Lowspeed @ Mar 8th 2006 2:56PM]

I don't understand how they are going to allow you to bring it on an airplane ....

[Edmond @ Mar 9th 2006 2:23AM]

I wonder how much explosive capacity this thing holds.. cuz wasnt there pretty good facial damage from exploding knock off phone batteries... I would think this thing would do a whole lot of damage.

[RB @ Mar 9th 2006 4:03AM]

That site says the fuel cell will power a laptop for 2 working days. Does anyone know how long it will last at the weekend?