With the growing demand for mobile computing devices, factors such as longer battery life and fast charging are becoming increasingly important. We often hear about “breakthroughs” in battery technologies, but the promised deployments have always been ambiguous or just plainly out of reach. Yesterday, however, Toshiba went a step further by promising that its first fuel cell powered device will launch in just a few short months.

The company hasn't specified what the product will be, though a mobile phone seems most likely given that Toshiba showed a cell phone based on a fuel cell last week at the Ceatec show in Japan. The upcoming products are based on direct methanol fuel cell technology, which besides offering improved battery life and faster charging, is also seen as a greener source of energy than traditional batteries.