Lilliputian Systems Can Keep Your Smartphone Charged For A Solid Two Weeks!

Tech:

Now this is sure to spark some interest for anyone who owns a smartphone.

Tired of having your smartphone connected to wall-charger to stay connected with the rest of the world? Well the people at Lilliputian Systems has created a portable fuel cell USB charger  that can fully charge your smartphone or other electronics 10 to 14 times before you plug your device back into a wall charger.

Yes you heard that correctly, that portable charger pictured above can keep your phone charged for a solid 2 weeks without the use of any other power-source. This new charger will be able to charge any device that has a USB cable, so you can keep your iPhone, iPod, Android, or GPS charged. 

Seems too good to be true right?...well ...yes there is a catch. In order to charge your devices, for two weeks at a time, you will need to purchase individual fuel cells that will cost "about the same as coffee from Starbucks," said Mouli Ramani, vice president of business development at Lilliputian. In layman terms a fuel cell (in this case) is essentially a plastic cartridge filled with butane. You can think of it as cartridges the size of a normal cigarette lighter.  

Lilliputian stated that the first store to sell the portable fuel cell charger will be Brookstone at a price that has not yet been released to the public. You can expect to see this on the shelves within the next year though.

Now I personally hate the fact that this will be in the hands of Brookstone shoppers first because that only means high price tags. The cost advantage towards owning this product does not seem to last when you start to think about the added costs over time. Lets run through them.

1. The upfront cost to pay for this charger at Brookstone will be high (my speculated "fair" price tag from a store like Brookstone: $25) 
2. The cost to refill your fuel cells every 2 weeks (~$3 per cartridge) 
3. The time and money in travel to purchase the cartridges bi-weekly ($3 in gas.....may be a bit liberal)

That is over $30 in just the first 2 weeks. Now add the costs up for the first year and we have a price tag of $337.....a bit ridiculous (that is if you use this all the time)

So I raise this question. Is this necessary considering the added costs? What about the fraction of the cost to just plug into the wall and purchase an extra battery to replace the dead one once the other dies? That is what I have resulted to. You can find 2 or 3 batteries for your phone on eBay or Amazon for a cost of $3...and guess what...They work completely fine! (Not to mention they come with an extra battery charging dock)   

So I am going to stick with my own method before I make this unnecessary purchase (because isn't Brookstone just filled with unnecessary crap that we never actually need)....of course I say this now and one day I will find myself out in the middle of nowhere with no battery left....then I am screwed.

For the science and more info behind this product check out CNET's story