Research In Motion introduced its first colour-screen BlackBerry handheld last week. Not only is the device streets behind the competition when it comes to features, it is expensive. Expected to cost nearly HK$6,000, the new BlackBerry 7230 is a technological dinosaur compared with many products from Palm, Sony-Ericsson and Nokia. BlackBerry fans have in the past argued that a colour display is a nice-to-have, rather than a must-have, feature that drains batteries. They are prepared to live without it because having a longer battery life is more important. They have a good point. Many colour devices, such as the Microsoft Smartphone QTek 7070, have dismally short battery life. In addition to juice-sapping features like a colour display and backlighting, wireless functions such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, games, Web-browsing, digital cameras and multimedia messaging use up power quickly. The QTek lasts about five hours with normal phone usage, some game playing and some multimedia messaging. Handsets should ideally last eight to 12 hours without a recharge. Today's most advanced mobile phones are more computer than phone. Top-of-the-line models from Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola have e-mail, embedded digital cameras, Bluetooth, games and stereo sound. Combination devices such as Palm's Tungsten W or O2's xDA have larger colour displays and are jammed with more applications, requiring even more power. The problem of battery life has long dogged portable devices. Limited battery life is one of the main complaints of users of laptops, personal digital assistants and mobile phones. At the same time, consumers continue to demand more from these devices, which in turn requires manufacturers to incorporate applications that consume even greater amounts of power. While battery technologies have made big strides in the past 15 years, even the best, such as lithium-ion cells, only power one to two hours of heavy use. Device makers face weight constraints when it comes to batteries. They have to be small and light enough not to add substantial bulk, and they must be able to last a while between recharges. Some devices come with power management software that extends battery life by up to 20 per cent by putting infrequently used functions on standby or disabling them. Some devices use low-power chips from Intel and Transmeta. If you are working in a well-lit room, you can reduce screen brightness to save power. Small measures such as these can conserve an hour or two of battery power. Consumer electronics companies such as Sony, Sanyo and NEC are doing a lot of research on extending battery life and looking for alternatives to nickel cadmium batteries that power most portable electronic devices. Several technology start-ups in the United States are racing to produce the first commercial fuel cell for portable products, potentially a multibillion-dollar business. Many are working on methane-powered fuel cells, already used in some cars. Motorola demonstrated a methane-powered fuel cell for mobile phones in 2001. The cell is a little longer and thicker than the average mobile phone, and stores methane in an area the size of a ballpoint pen's ink holder. A chemical reaction releases oxygen, heat and electricity. The electricity then either powers the device directly or charges another battery. While Motorola has yet to roll out a commercial product, methanol fuel cells are expected to power laptops and mobile phones in two years, maybe less. NEC is working on a methanol cell, expected to be in production by 2005 at the latest, that will give 10 times more power per weight than lithium-ion at the same cost. If successful, NEC's new fuel cells will be able to power mobile phones for weeks without a recharge. A highly flammable liquid, methanol overcame an obstacle last year when it was approved by the US Department of Transportation for use on board flights. PolyFuel, one of a handful of start-ups focused on developing fuel cells for portable devices, demonstrated a hot-swappable, recycleable fuel cartridge for laptops at the Intel Developers Forum in February. The fuel cell could give 10 hours of continuous power. PolyFuel expects to bring the product to market next year. Got a gadget idea? Drop Carolyn a line at carolyn@scmp.com