i have a mogul at sprint... all i can say is goodby sprint... and good by mogul

Kurian, you need some better math skills. $34 for 5 50 mil cartrages.
Each refill of the device takes 14 mil of methanol.
250 mil for $34 = about 18(17.85...) refills for $34
Each refill charges 2 typical devices. .
that's about 35 recharges for $34
That's about $1 per recharge as quoted in the article.
A typical cell phone uses 1500 mAH of power
Average Electric cost + delivery in NYC (where I live) = $0.3 per KWH
Guesstimating that the charging losses are 33% of total power delievered that's 2000 mAH or 2WH
(PSU efficency, internal resistance of batteries, etc)
Electric cost using NYC's extreemly high cost = $0.0006
Conclusion: It ain't about the cost but the convince.
who would this be good for, campers/hikers, business travelers (possibly not fliers depending on the FAA's decision)
Economical this is not...

For one, there are systems to defeat missiles that are too heavy to put on fighter planes but are being considered for civilian airliners; no I am not talking about chaff and flares; both of which are on things as small as fighter planes. Currently, the reason they are not on civilian airliners is due to the fact that they are expensive, and not considered worth the cost. That system, who's name I forget at the moment, could easily be put on this thing, and likely will be.

Beyond that, you would always have some fighters or bombers available to return fire at any site who launched at it. Considering the thing can be unmanned, this is a good thing. It puts fewer of our troops at risk while at the same time offering them the advantage of eyes in the sky that can stay there for a long time. Again, this will protect them from ambushes.

To James Barsby:
Friendly fire incidents are due to two basic problems poor intelligence and poor communication. A system like this will go a long way to helping solve both of those problems, and is the best way to prevent such tragedies.

Wwhat said "They'll probably end up putting a howitzer in there at some point, the bastards."

Um, it's the military. They put guns on things. How does that make them bastards? Just curious. If they stole your car, and put a gun on it, I would understand your comment, but in this case, a vehicle they are paying for the development and production of, um, what's the problem?

they are cheaper than UAVs with longer loitering times.

Your comment makes no sense Shinigami

exactly my thoughts. i was going to upgrade my Mogul to the TP2, but not now.

wow those are some strong responses. I've been with Sprint for 7 years primarily because they are cheap, and more recently ATT service sucks in NYC, so no Iphone for me. Granted, I like UK version of the HTC Hero better, but CNet's picture shows it to be a more standard looking phone. I think you guys are over-reacting quite a bit here; it doesn't look like dog vomit. The guts of the phone are unchanged, and pretty damn good. The form factor isn't great, but jees man, compare it to the Mogul, which i do own from sprint, and well, it kind looks a lot like it. I'm betting that's what Sprint had in mind, since the Mogul did sell pretty well.

FYI, I do not work for Sprint, never have, and I am an EE.

i would love all of this stuff

sounds good to me

i would like one of these.