Sugar-powered phone concept robs us of perfectly good Coke
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 12th 2010 12:52AM
posted January 12th 2010 12:52AM
[Thanks, Rob]
posted January 12th 2010 12:52AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Wouldn't the inside get sticky or something?
@U238Shell THATS WHAT SHE SAID!
Classic.
@IAMKITTY Oh man...nice...michael scott lives...
Coke? With sugar? Maybe in China. In America you'll get good old fashioned high fructose corn syrup. And like it.
@Samurai Jack
Bring back the real cane sugar! Enough of this HFCS nonsense. Hell, I'd even pay a few cents more for it if it meant that.
In San Diego some places sell Mexican coke with sugar, it's much better tasting and even comes in a glass bottle.
@blakeem On the north end we have Canada for the sugar version.
@paul34 I'm drinking a Mexican Coke right now.. A gas station next to where I work (in Georgia) just started selling them, and they're also now selling them in cases of 24 at Sam's and Costco's. Also Pepsi Throwbacks are available in some Target and other stores until February sometime, which are made with sugar too.
@blakeem Amusingly enough, the Mexican Coca-cola is all the rage in the ASIAN markets up here in the SF bay area.
Of course, it's not like we don't have plenty of Mercaditos to keep us supplied. Heck...they even sell it in the ethnic foods section at at Target these days...
@Samurai Jack
Pepsi actually just launched their big throwback marketing campaign in the United States that includes retro looking Pepsi and Mountain Dew cans along with Pepsi Cola that is again made with sugar.
@DaveBach Yep, they also have throwback Dr. Pepper. It may still have other artificial ingredients, but it comes with real sugar instead of corn syrup. There's definitely a taste improvement.
@blakeem
Mexican Coke is all over LA....on the rare occasion I drink the brown stuff that's the only one I'll have!
Coke can eat thru cement! No surprise it could power a nokia!
Do it take Diet?
@IAMKITTY IT BETTER! Regular is for powering humans.
Sucralose diet is theoretically possible, but saccharin and aspartame, probably not.
@IAMKITTY
calories is a measure of energy. Without calories there is no energy to power the device. Oversimplification sure, but good enough for online.
I can see the headlines now...
"A few months after the release of the sugar fuel cell Nokia phone, soda theft has spiked 300%"
I can see the headlines now...
'A few months after the release of the sugar fuel cell Nokia phone, soda theft has increased 300%'
@Plazmic Flame
I'm done posting on this website, lol
Isn't Coke expensive? How much is an ounce today?
@jamesFF A twelve ounce can is about 0.60 to 0.75 USD. So about 0.05 USD per ounce.
@jamesFF
I guess it depends on whether charging a "average" LiIon battery * 4 (to cover the upper end stated in the article) would cost less than $0.05.
However, if it is the sugar they're after (and not HFCS as has been mentioned by others), why not just do a simple solution of very concentrated sugar water? It'd be way cheaper to make than coke. Well, maybe not, since you'd be using real sugar.
@jamesFF
Wow... No one got the joke.
@dickweed
It's a tech blog. How many people here do you think have been to any real parties?
@jamesFF
most people sell by the gram
@(Unverified)
Where the hell are you buying your coke? Last I checked a normal priced 24 pack is $8-$9. That is still under $0.40 per can.
@Xindii90 Where the hell are you buying YOUR coke?! You buy it in CANS and in PACKS OF TWENTY FREAKEN FOUR?!?!
Crazy Americans.
Over here in London, we have to buy it in little folded over bits of paper. Moderation is the key...
@bakertony Yeah, would you like a four pack or a six pack?
@vlad the inhaler
pffft, ballers buy by the oz. 8-)
@paddyoc Lol, Coke powered batteries? No thanks. A half liter bottle here is like 17 kr. (3.31$ and a half liter is around 16,5 ounces)
overclock the feul cell with mountain dew
@vlad the inhaler
+100
:'D
@vlad the inhaler +coke , Nice one!
it looks like a soda drink :S
@condimentstation
or up your nose.
err..does it vibrate? XD
@domopod
LOL! What happens to the coke ;)
Adding a few Mentos then turns it into a pipe bomb...
@TIMMAH haha
Waitasec...sugar is a better battery than LiOn, by 3 to 4 times? How the hell is this possible? And if it IS possible, why hasn't it been employed for decades???? Something doesn't wash here.
BTW, you can get Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback at many stores in my area - chock full of real sugar (not cane but still fantastic). Its a limited time thing, unfortunately. I don't know why they do it like that, the stuff flies off the shelves every time they bring it back.
@psycros
Mostly because the stuff flies off the shelves every time they bring it back. If it was a regular product people wouldn't buy so much of it.
@psycros
Sugar has incredible amounts of energy stored within its molecular structure. The way you express how much physical energy is in food is by the number of calories. A single nutritional calorie is really a kcal (kilo-calorie, 1,000 calories). A calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a ml of water by one degree Celsius. So since there are 1,000 calories in a nutritional calorie, there is enough energy in a single (nutritional) calorie to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by a degree or to raise the temperature of one ml of water by a thousand degrees. In a single can of Coca-Cola, there are about 145 nutritional calories, so there are 14,500 calories. So this device is incredible, but it only harnesses a small fraction of the energy in the soda.
@psycros
Probably because it's extremely difficult if not impossible to "recharge" sugar, without using more sugar...
What happens to the soda when all the sugar has been leached out of it? Is there any way to tell that it's been used up aside from onscreen indicators?
@Unverified User
you check it by drinking using the built in straw
@dzeikei Haha, that's right.
It seems slightly sad that years, decades of battery advances are pretty much suggested to be misled. Does this mean solid-based batteries are a mistake? I hears fuel cells are the next big thing, and I can think of no better proof than this article.
@condimentstation
I can just see it now, Audiophile claims that monster brand sugar makes their mp3s sound better than plain supermarket sugar, more timbre better dynamics.
Next they will bring out organic robots powered by sugar and oxygen... Oh we already have those...