At Yankee Group we often to discuss the notion of Anywhere as a liberation from wires, schedules, and fixed locations. The freedom is wonderful but it comes at a price – the ever present need for a power up. To prevent power drain many a consumer either a cripple their devices (such as disabling WiFi or 3G), buy extra batteries, or carry a multitude of power cords, power backs, and car adapters with them wherever they go.

But all this trouble could be coming to an end.

Today was a curious day. I had a briefing with a company named Lilliputian Systems which makes fuel cells for consumer electronics and suddenly my Google Reader was flush with stories about similar companies (I always find it ironic when something comes to mind and suddenly you can’t escape it). One story was about Medis which appears to have a similar idea to Lilliputian. Boston Power is taking a different tact, making embedded solutions similar to what is available today but promising the battery will not degrade and can be recharged faster.

The unifying theme between these stories is that power is becoming an important frontier for Anywhere. Being free cannot come at the cost of not using devices to their fullest. The fuel cell technology is of particular interest because of its application. It would eliminate the constant need to recharge, especially while traveling. Basically a consumer buys a power pack which runs off a butane filter which can then charge various devices such as a smartphone, MP3 player, etc. The number ranges from 10-20 of full recharges for smaller devices. While the cost of refill butane filters is still undecided anything less than $5 could be particularly compelling.

Such a device would eliminate the need to sit uncomfortably while recharging at airports, prevent iPods from discharging before a movie ends on a plane forcing you to watch Mamma Mia (yes, these butane filters are allowed on planes and surprisingly so was the aforementioned movie), and in the long term creates a low cost solution for perpetual power. It may not be the primary way consumers power devices but it certainly could offer interim power when needed most.

As we move towards an increasingly Anywhere world it becomes imperative that users are powered up and with many innovations coming in 2009, we are headed on that path.