Bank of America is selling something called a "SafePass Card" for a flat, one-time $20. they claim (i tried to link to the pop-up where this is written, to no avail. just trust me, it's on the BoA website):
background: They've offered free SafePass services for anyone with an account there for a year or so now. enabling safepass adds an extra layer of security by sending a randomly-generated 6-digit code to the mobile phone of your choice. the code expires as soon as you enter it. once you've signed up, you can't log in to online banking without that 6-digit code, so you must always have your phone with you to sign on. i always have my phone with me, so i was somewhat interested....

back to my frustration/confusion: this card supposedly generates 6-digit codes (#1) without battery power and (#2) without mobile device reception. #1 is highly improbable. i'm 99.9% sure there's no solar cell or dynamo involved, so i assume it's just a lie. of course, most people won't contend it because they'll lose or break the card before the battery dies. but what really drives me nuts is #2. i can't even IMAGINE what they MEAN by that. how can a card, unable to communicate with the bank's website, replace the free service that works with cell phones?!?

i've googled for about an hour and can't find any answers. someone, please help me out here, or at least confirm that i'm not missing some really obvious explanation for this!