Intel has lined up a consortium of hardware makers to work on
developing batteries, fuel cells and related technologies that
offer longer battery life for mobile computers.
The Mobile PC Extended Battery Life Working Group held its first
meeting at the Intel Developers Forum in California to discuss
organisational issues and its initial development priorities.
Alongside Intel, executives from Acer, Asustek Computer, Compal
Electronics, Dell Computer, First International Computer, Fujitsu,
Inventec, Legend Group, LG Electronics, Matsushita Electric
Industrial, Microsoft, NEC, Samsung Electronics, Toshiba, Quanta
Computer and Wistron are working together to find ways to extend
the life of laptop batteries up to eight hours or more on a single
charge.
"We have to expand the focus beyond the processor alone," said
Anand Chandrasekher, vice-president and co-general manager of
Intel's Mobile Platforms Group.
"One of the challenges collectively for us as an industry is to
extend battery life beyond eight hours," Chandrasekher said. "It
requires us to come together as an industry. The CPU and the
chipset account for only 30% of the power consumption of the
[laptop] platform."
The first products resulting from the group's work are expected to
hit the market in 2004, Chandrasekher said.