Nokia plans cellphone of future

Nokia is marking a new direction in cell phone technologies, testing wireless mobile phone headsets powered by tiny fuel cells – a hydrogen-based energy source, which can increase the life of portable devices. The cells are recharged by squirting methanol from a small container into a tiny internal tank on the headset, and each charge provides about 10 hours of talk-time. Motorola, Fujitsu and Toshiba are also investing heavily in the research, mostly for batteries for laptop computers.

The company is also working to incorporate RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification, into cellphones. "RFID could be a real convenience booster," Yrjo Neuvo, Nokia's chief technology officer said. "It's two-way communication that can do much more than a bar code can do."

Another part of the phone getting Nokia research attention is the screen. According to Tero Ojanpera, head of the Nokia Research Center, the screens "don't have to be rigid, either. They could be wearable, bendable, why not stretchable," depending on the materials.

Ojanpera also mentioned much more distant technologies that could evolve out of mobile phones: a phone that uses infrared vision, or a phone that records and enhances the sounds or speech around you automatically. "So no more missed introductions at cocktail parties," he said.