EVLN(Electric Fuel = an alkaline battery: USE IT & ditch it)

[Bruce EVangel Parmenter <brucedp@yahoo.com>]

EVLN(Electric Fuel = an alkaline battery: USE IT & ditch it)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV informational
 purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
Forget the plugs! Here's how to get power on the go C.C. Holland
06/24/2001 AnchorDesk from ZDWire Copyright (c) 2001 ZD Inc. All
Rights Reserved.

While I love my arsenal of on-the-go gear, I hate having to plan for
the inevitable: power failure. Whether it's my handheld's batteries
giving up the ghost or a beep signaling the unexpected end of my cell
phone conversation, losing juice is pretty darned frustrating. I've
taken to lugging around spare AAA batteries and my phone's recharger. 
That helps, but it's still hard to conduct interviews while sitting on
an airport floor with my phone plugged in to a power outlet
strategically placed next to a trash can.

That's why I like the Instant Power Charger from Electric Fuel, on
display this week at PC Expo. It's a portable power pack that attaches
to your phone or PDA. When exposed to air, it instantly begins
charging your gadget. You're not tethered to an outlet, and you can
even stick it in a pocket--it's nicely portable, at 2 inches by 2
inches and less than 3 ounces. Image courtesy Electric Fuel IS THIS
MAGIC? Nope, just Chemistry 101. The battery packs are made of zinc
covered with a nickel-mesh membrane that allows air to flow over the
zinc. When oxygen hits the zinc, the interaction (which forms zinc
oxide) creates an electrical charge. That charge is captured and used
to create power.

(Interesting aside: The charger uses technology developed for another
on-the-road application--electric vehicles. The company originally
created a high-powered, zinc-air battery for electric cars, vans, and
buses, then diversified into the consumer-electronics market in 1999
when the EV sector failed to take off.)

Here's how the Instant Power Charger works in action. You start with a
disposable power cartridge, packed in an airtight seal, and a
connector that hooks up the cartridge to your phone or PDA. Tear open
the pack, plug in the connector, attach it to your gizmo, and you're
in business.

WHEN I GAVE IT a test run, it started powering my Nokia 8260 phone
within about five seconds of being connected. I could talk while it
was charging, just as if I'd had my regular phone charger plugged in;
the difference was that I could stroll around as I chatted.

The battery itself seems innocuous enough. Electric Fuel CFO Robert S.
Ehrlich assured me that it's safe, saying it's basically a "super
alkaline" battery. The zinc oxide by-product is harmless (it's the
same ingredient used in some sunscreens), and you can either throw
away a used battery or recycle it, just as you would a standard AA
battery.

When you're done charging--it takes about two hours--you pack the
battery away in an airtight pouch (included) to halt the chemical
reaction and preserve the battery.

YOU CAN USE IT to recharge your phone twice before you need to ditch
it; if you're charging an iPAQ, you can get up to four total charges,
and for a Palm, up to eight.

The first Instant Power Chargers debuted this past May, and a new
generation--aimed at the next crop of PDAs--is being unveiled at PC
Expo. Future applications for camcorders, digital cameras, and
notebooks are set to follow, according to Ehrlich.

It's not the cheapest solution in the world; the cell phone charger
runs $12.95, the PDA charger goes for $19.95, and replacement battery
packs are $9.95 each. Then again, as emergency solutions go, it's not
that expensive, and a sealed battery has a shelf life of about three
years.

Cost considerations notwithstanding, I plan to add one to my travel
kit (and might throw another in my glove compartment). After all, you
just can't put a price on never having to sit on an airport floor
again.

Do you think the Instant Power Charger is a nifty solution, or will
you stick with traditional plugs and cords? TalkBack to me.
 ...
 http://www.zdnet.com/
COPYRIGHT  Ziff-Davis (ZD) Publishing Company. All rights reserved
 ---
  ____              % RE for your EV %  http://geocities.com/brucedp
~/__|o\__           SJEAA EVents Officer  http://geocities.com/sjeaa
'@----- @'---(= Get Amp'd   'Electric cruis'n the Santa Clara Valley'
Renewable Energy (RE) News Editor

=====
BruceDP@yahoo.com http://geocities.com/brucedp
EV List & Renewable Energy Editor http://geocities.com/ev_list/
hybrid & fcv newsitems http://egroups.com/group/hydrogenpower

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/