|
6th July 2005 - NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that
the company together with Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
has developed a new and improved prototype methanol
fuel cell for 3G FOMA® handsets. The new prototype
enables eight hours of continuous talk time, three times
the capacity of the existing prototype, while weighing
the same, 190g. The new device is expected to greatly
extend usage time once it goes into commercial production.
DoCoMo improved the capacity by increasing the methanol
concentration from 30% to over 99% and developing a
method of recycling the generated water. DoCoMo unveiled
a prototype micro fuel cell using methanol as an inexpensive
source of fuel last September to meet user demands for
more convenient handsets with greater power capacity
and reduced environmental impact.
|
|
Power consumption demands are rising as FOMA users take advantage
of new services and handset features such as videophone and
flat-rate monthly billing for data services such as i-motion™
and i-appli™ In addition to its work on micro fuel cells,
DoCoMo is trying to increase the capacity of its lithium-ion
batteries, the most commonly used battery in handsets today.
Further work on the prototype, a cradle-shaped device, is
expected to be completed by the end of March 2006.
The jointly developed fuel cell prototype will be exhibited
at the DoCoMo booth at Wireless Japan 2005 to be held from
July 13 to 15.
Back to
News Reports
|
