Of course, fuel cells are nothing new in the market for smarter, cleaner energy . But Samsung is the first to apply the technique to a notebook with such long-lasting results. Samsung's fuel cell is a 1200 watt-hour direct methanol fuel cell, or DFMC, which convert methanol to water to produce DC power.

Wave of the Future?

Samsung is no stranger to fuel cells, having announced an effort to use them to power cell phone handsets in March. Since fuel cells can be replenished and offer more power than batteries, industry watchers believe the technology may solve the current power consumption problems of notebooks, smartphones, and other gadgets whose bright screens, music, and movies have turned a nuts-and-bolts data processing tool into a power-hungry personal entertainment system.

Fuel cells are also seen as an alternative to combustion engines that power everything from the smallest sports cars to Mac trucks, releasing by-products widely seen as the catalyst for global warming. In contrast, fuel cells, which produce only water as a by-product, also use no heavy metals or acids that clog landfills and run the risk of polluting vital water supplies.

Two Versions

According to Chosun Ilbo, Samsung expects to release the docking station-cum-fuel cell for mass production by the end of 2007, and has begun research on a second, smaller cell that can use only a coffee cup's worth of fuel yet power a notebook for up to a week.

For road rogues and other high-frequency travelers whose laptops have become a link to the office, a link to home, a way to read the news, watch movies, download music, blog, and share photos--often all at once, for a day a time--a better power source will be a boon.

And given this year's notebook battery fiasco, in which Sony batteries in Dell, HP, Lenovo, and other notebooks leaked, sparked, or even exploded, the high-tech industry--and the consumers who pay its bills--may give fuel cells a closer look than ever before.