Fuel cell tech is literally just around the corner from being inside many of our gadgets, and with this new design it could allow for some unusually-shaped gizmos. A company called MyFC is showing these bendy, flexible hydrogen-powered cells that can be draped over the interior curved surfaces of a gadget in a way that is tricky with current battery tech. The FuelCellSticker devices are just 3mm thick and weigh only 5.7 grams, and can put out 0.5V at 0.9W, though you'd stack them for more volts. There's also a more conventional-shaped model, and the company is starting to make them to order. Clever stuff. [Crunchgear]

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A couple weeks ago, Apple made its grand entrance into our Shipping Hall of Shame by sending out its new, less horrifically hazardous USB power adapter for the iPhone 3G in these monstrous boxes, despite their huge emphasis lately on going green. All those boxes really add up too, since Apple recalled every single adapter. The iPhone Blog reports that they're now shipping them in much tinier, more efficient padded envelopes.

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Researchers from the University of South Florida have developed a minuscule solar panel that's just 1/4 the size of a grain of rice. Yet when you combine 20 or so of the cells, they can create 7.8 volts of electricity. Sounds good so far, right? It gets better.

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Unlike so many other portable backup power supplies, this version from USB Geek can do more than just one boring trick. When it's not charging your portable gadgets, the power supply doubles a handy little flashlight. In other words, it's convergence that actually makes some sense. Plus, it comes with every charging adaptor you could possibly need for a fairly reasonable $US32.

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If you're planning on a long distance ski trip or a mountain climb this winter, check out Ardica's new power and heat platform for outerwear. Not only will Ardica-enabled jackets charge your gadgets (up to 11 full charges on your mobile phone and 20 on your iPod), it'll also keep you nice and warm for either nine hours on low heat or three hours on high. If you'll be in the cold for even longer than that, just bring along a second battery.

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Apple's (truly) massive recall of the iPhone 3G's compact USB power adapter makes total sense now: It's a piece of a shit. The "certain conditions" that'll make its prongs break off are basically breathing too hard, too close, since they only extend about 1/8 of an inch into the adaptor and are "held in place with some type of glue and a bit of wishful thinking." If you haven't swapped it out yet (like me), step to it (like me tomorrow). [Mac Merc]

My old office used to have those irritating IR-sensor lights, so if you were working late and popped out—say to the loo—for more than a few minutes, you'd be welcomed back to uninviting darkness: now you can have the same facility in your home thanks to Black&Decker's LightsOut. Well, actually it's quite a neat gizmo—it's battery powered, and simply mounts directly over a light switch, which it then throws for you if it doesn't detect movement in front of its sensor. Plus it turns the lights on when you enter. You can even change the "off" preset delay time, up to 30 minutes. Handy if you forget to switch the light off in your garage—like I often do. No word on pricing yet. [NewLaunches]

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This one will probably make the Greenpeace douchebags moan with pleasure: It seems that the Apple replacement parts department didn't get Steve's memo pushing for green this, recycled that, and reduced packaging materials. At least judging from the needlessly huge box used to ship this iPhone tiny USB power adapter replacement:

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Apparently not content with just one giant ongoing infrastructure project, Australia has committed to fully outfitting three of its biggest cities for widespread electric car use. In hardware terms, that amounts to 200,000-250,000 charging stations each for Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, with an additional 150 battery swap stations scattered between them. The effort will cost $1bn in Australian Dingo Dollars, which is about $667m USD. If that's not ambitious enough for you, consider this: it should be online in three years.

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In its quest to ease the life of millions of Japanese people and make them like cyborgs, telecommunications company NTT has developed a shoe that transforms the kinetic energy generated by your steps. Right now, it can generate three watts, which is enough to keep an iPod playing, but still not enough to power up your mobile phone. This is not just a concept project, however: The company is looking to have a working pair available for the masses by 2010. How you are going to connect your phone with your shoe, unless you are Maxwell Smart, it's a completely different matter. [Gear Diary]

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