This is quite exciting - fuel cell recharging stations for small portable devices. Finally, fuel cell technology is getting small enough for desktop use. However, this is at best, an interim step to a proper fuel cell system for portable devices. It's really more like a gimmick for now. While the Hydrosticks look like regular AA batteries, they are not. You cannot plug them into your devices to charge them. You can only plug them into the MiniPak charger to charge your devices using USB cables, etc. In addition, the Hydrosticks are recharged using regular wall sockets. If you have a wall socket handy, why bother using the MiniPak??? Note that they call it a desktop fuel cell. At home at least, you would be better off using a direct connection to your charger - one less device in the power pipeline, and fewer cables to deal with. I'm not knocking this off just yet though. It is still an exciting development. It will probably be useful on the go, but that will also depend on the size of this "desktop" recharger, and the storage capacity of the Hydrosticks. If they cannot beat regular Li-Ion battery packs, then it would be easier to just stick with Lithium battery technology for now...
I'm looking forward to the day where our mobile devices will be powered by fuel cells, but at the moment, it seems that Li-Ion will still be with us for a very long time more
Yup. As evident in the latest models of the Apple Macbooks that feature double the recharge cycle lifetime of current standard Li Ion
