Toshiba is to make good on its pledge to launch external fuel cell chargers for portable gadgets on a commercial scale, if somewhat later than expected.

The company made the promise late last year, stating that its first fuel cell-based chargers would appear by the end of March 2009.

Five months on from March, Tosh has confirmed plans to launch an external battery charger based on direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology within two months.

The charger will be capable of recharging the batteries of several portable gadgets, including mobile phones, MP3 players and handheld consoles - according to IDG Newswire - without the need for a mains connection.

Toshiba will follow up the external fuel cell charger’s launch by turning its attention to DMFC chargers for repowering laptops promised. ®