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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Phone Charger 'Upp' Launches in UK Apple Stores

Dagless said:
Doesn't sound so bad. Would come in handy when I go camping. At the moment I just switch my phone off but it also means I don't get to shoot video or check my emails or messages.
Last time I went hiking I couldn't be informed a relative was injured so... yeah.

I know there are solar chargers, a friend has one but they haven't been so useful in the UK!
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A very high capacity external battery costs $40 - $60 and assuming you judiciously use airplane mode and don't use it as a TV every night should keep your iphone going for a week. Buy two of those and you will have still spent less and have less to carry and you can go crazy with your iphone over a week camping trip and you won't run out.
 
aberrero said:
This seems really pointless, like every other attempt at using hydrogen.
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that was said about cars and most other new things. why do something new when the old thing works so well. was the first iPhone great compared to the 6?
 
MentalFloss said:
Yes, and the fossil fuel that was burnt to generate the electricity you use to charge your devices just regrows on a tree.
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For cell phones, the fossil fuel is meaningless. You will use more fossil fuel making a one day trip to another town two hours away than you will use in your lifetime recharging your cell phones.
 
cocky jeremy said:
No thanks.

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You can buy chargers for $35 that will charge your phone 4-5 times and it never needs a new cartridge. These things are pointless as hell.
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well if you buy a cheap one maybe but my big mophi only does a couple full charges and ir was 100. but why do you need that just carry an extension cord around with you. remember it was said no one would need personal computers too.
 
I bought a 20,000mAh battery pack for £50 that kept my phone and a friends ipod touch going for a week with 30% of its battery left at the end.
 
For all the stupids who are complaining about this

Its a hydrogen fuel cell so its not meant for your daily commuting or at work place. The primary intention is when you stuck up at places where you cannot find wall outlet and but still need a power source to operate. Like outdoor photography, or a long trail run.

And for people who are complaining about the cost of recharge, its a refill, you are not buying a cartridge again. Read the article completely before jumping up like baboons on LSD.

It gives a week's worth of charge. A week. Try getting that with a 16000mah battery pack !!

And about recharging the fuel cell, you will need to do that initially inorder for the fuel cell itself to operate and generate power. Though not specified, my guess is its use the power generated from there on to charge the device as well as operate the fuel cell.

Hissing noise - Its an effing fuel cell !! where do you think it has to vent out the water vapor. A worm hole ??
 
Why?

So many better options available, I have two of these.

Gives me approx 6 full charges iPhone 4s, 3 full charges iPhone 6+ & 1 full charge iPad air..
 
Cloudsurfer said:
I'd rather see an atomic battery powered power bank that lasts about 20 years before you trade it in.
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I think you're joking (?) but I would totally get one if I could. Imagine if the phone simply never needed to be charged!. There were batteries like that for some of the first pacemakers in the 1970s. Stupid greenies made all the cool tech like that go away.

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joltball said:
Its a hydrogen fuel cell so its not meant for your daily commuting or at work place. The primary intention is when you stuck up at places where you cannot find wall outlet and but still need a power source to operate. Like outdoor photography, or a long trail run.

And for people who are complaining about the cost of recharge, its a refill, you are not buying a cartridge again. Read the article completely before jumping up like baboons on LSD.

It gives a week's worth of charge. A week. Try getting that with a 16000mah battery pack !!

And about recharging the fuel cell, you will need to do that initially inorder for the fuel cell itself to operate and generate power. Though not specified, my guess is its use the power generated from there on to charge the device as well as operate the fuel cell.

Hissing noise - Its an effing fuel cell !! where do you think it has to vent out the water vapor. A worm hole ??
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So like, for next time I'm at the North Pole in winter? Ah I see who the target demographic is now.
 
$9 a week and a massive outlay for the device! Go away.

Wasn't it only only recently that a report suggested it costs less than $1 to charge the iPhone over a year. So, $230 for the device and $468 a year OR carry a charger and pay $1.
 
hugodrax said:
I predict this product will be a flop on the market and would be forgotten.
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Depends on how big a market they want/need/expect.

This is obviously a niche item. Noted elsewhere, it's a fine solution for someone who wants reliable independent power for a week of heavy use where outlets are not likely available.

One scenario: disaster relief work (a la Hurricane Katrina / NOLA) where cellular communications is available (via temporary & repaired towers) but local power infrastructure is either completely wiped out or very erratic; if you're going to help in such a disaster zone, dropping $250 (up front, mere $9 recharge) for a solid independent highly-portable phone power source may be a no-brainer and a trivial cost compared to its usefulness and extensive larger costs you'll be expending.

YOU may forget it as you're not amid the intended market, but there is a vibrant (albeit small) market for "a little ways off the grid" power.
 
joltball said:
Its a hydrogen fuel cell so its not meant for your daily commuting or at work place. The primary intention is when you stuck up at places where you cannot find wall outlet and but still need a power source to operate. Like outdoor photography, or a long trail run.

And for people who are complaining about the cost of recharge, its a refill, you are not buying a cartridge again. Read the article completely before jumping up like baboons on LSD.

It gives a week's worth of charge. A week. Try getting that with a 16000mah battery pack !!

And about recharging the fuel cell, you will need to do that initially inorder for the fuel cell itself to operate and generate power. Though not specified, my guess is its use the power generated from there on to charge the device as well as operate the fuel cell.

Hissing noise - Its an effing fuel cell !! where do you think it has to vent out the water vapor. A worm hole ??
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As I explained in a previous post, a single Alkaline D cell contains more energy than an Upp fuel cell cartridge. Alkaline batteries are readily available nearly everywhere for a tiny fraction of the price of a fuel cell swap. The economics and ergonomics of the Upp device are atrocious.
 
selfsilent said:
$9 a week and a massive outlay for the device! Wasn't it only only recently that a report suggested it costs less than $1 to charge the iPhone over a year.
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That's assuming there's consistent access to working power outlets. For some, there is great value in being able to live out of a backpack for prolonged periods, either completely without access to outlets for a week or more, or with more need to recharge than outlets are available.

Scenario: someone walking the Appalachian Trail (2000 miles) may very well find a smartphone valuable for communications, mapping, and information/entertainment, but finding someplace to recharge can be quite spotty; this product is ideal for that, having a suitable up-front cost (having filled a backpack full of ultralight self-sufficiency items at a premium cost), easy refills (arrange delivery at points along the way), and makes possible something which is highly desirable yet nigh unto impossible otherwise (compact dense lightweight data storage, maps, GPS, and phone). The market for high-dollar ultralight backpacking gear is very small but very robust.
 
bsimpsen said:
The stated capacity of a $9 replacement fuel cell is 25 Watt-Hours. The capacity of a fresh $1.25 Energizer D battery is 31.5 Watt-Hours.
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NOW we're getting to some sensible objections.

Looking elsewhere, the realistic performance of a D cell is somewhere around 15 Wh. That certainly makes battery options the viable winning alternative.

Don't discount the fact that new technologies usually arrive more expensive than established alternatives, but making them available funds further development and starts creating economies of scale. $9 vs $1.25 is close enough that some may go for the former on general principle ("hey, someone has to play early adopter") or find some special niche where it's advantageous. I'd rather see fuel cells in use than throwaway chemical batteries (and I'm not a "greenie/tree-hugger" in any way). Like most renewable energy tech, I applaud the effort on geek/tech/conservation grounds and look forward to the price coming down to something actually competitive.

So...you could run an iPhone for a good normal/solid-use week on a single D cell?

(Some of the hate on this thread is needlessly visceral.)
 
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A few years ago sodium borohydride fuel cells were on the market as cell phone chargers.

They didn't lived up to their hype - supposedly could output up to 5W, but I never got more than 1W continuous out of them, and they often simply stopped working after an hour or so.

So I won't believe the 25wh capacity claims until reviewers confirm.

Lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs are right now the best option for portable cell charging while off-grid.

joltball said:
Its a hydrogen fuel cell so its not meant for your daily commuting or at work place. The primary intention is when you stuck up at places where you cannot find wall outlet and but still need a power source to operate. Like outdoor photography, or a long trail run.

And for people who are complaining about the cost of recharge, its a refill, you are not buying a cartridge again. Read the article completely before jumping up like baboons on LSD.

It gives a week's worth of charge. A week. Try getting that with a 16000mah battery pack !!

And about recharging the fuel cell, you will need to do that initially inorder for the fuel cell itself to operate and generate power. Though not specified, my guess is its use the power generated from there on to charge the device as well as operate the fuel cell.

Hissing noise - Its an effing fuel cell !! where do you think it has to vent out the water vapor. A worm hole ??
Click to expand...
 
Make sure there are not any sparks.

Oh, the humanity!
 

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