While the Moore's law premonition has largely panned out in the field of processing power, battery capacity hasn't followed the same exponential curve. Aside from environmental impact, the consequences of this have traditionally been that mobile devices are more expensive and pack fewer capabilities then consumer electronics designed for wired use. One need only briefly look at the desktop/notebook and home/portable console divide to understand how mobile cousins of contemporary products are habitually catching up.

Traditionally, battery companies have sought to infuse batteries with more power to extend periods where recharging isn't required. Though fuel cell powered electronics have the promise of significantly prolonging battery life, the highly flammable nature of methane has led airlines to prevent their use onboard planes and eliciting fear in those who would worry at the possibility of their methane powered 9G iPod leaking toxic vapors in their pocket. BBC published an article today that delineates the future of battery power, including fuel-cells, improved lithium-ion batteries, hybrid fuel cell-lithium batteries, and hydrogen pellets.

Read the article.

The other solution to extending battery life is engineering processors that consume less energy then current chips. Read a CNET article published last night about a start-up company that is preparing to announce a new chip architecture which cuts microprocessor power consumption by about 80%.