Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it has developed a prototype personal digital assistant powered by a fuel cell that runs for 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, a Hitachi official said.
The prototype PDA weighs about 700 grams, more than twice as much as conventional PDAs. Hitachi plans to reduce its weight to a level similar to that of conventional PDAs, the official said.
A fuel cell generates electricity when hydrogen from fuel such as hydrogen or 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.