Hitachi Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has developed a prototype personal digital assistant (PDA) powered by a fuel cell that runs about five hours. Hitachi plans to make the PDA more compact and extend its operational hours in the hope of launching sample shipments in 2005.
The prototype PDA weighs about 700 g, more than twice as heavy as conventional PDAs, and Hitachi plans to reduce the weight to a level similar to conventional PDAs. The fuel cell generates electricity when hydrogen from fuel (methanol) combines with oxygen, leaving pure water as a byproduct. The fuel cell used in the prototype PDA uses methanol as a source of hydrogen.
