No matter how awesome this thinergy tech is, it's not super-unity. So unless you have a source capable of generating more power than a running device uses, it doesn't help; the only believable (to me) energy sources discussed so far are mechanical (for some minority of users who are active enough with their tablets in a pocket) and PV with a direct sky (if not sun) exposure (for a partially overlapping minority that use them outside or at windows a major portion of the time). The other stuff is just too niche (thermal -- requires wrist-strap or similar, which I like but few do), or too weak after collection inefficiencies.

ok, but what about nokia's recent
experiments and advances into harvesting
trickle energy off of the wireless signal?

-I guess this technology is moot if our
tablet becomes a gsm phone though...

Not enough for something like the N810, at least not now. You could potentially run less powerful devices, like a dumbphone, especially using e-ink displays and such, but it'll be a while if ever before we can get high-end smartphone or tablet power densities.

Huh? Seems equally relevant, just a slightly different power profile due to the extra radio...

keep in mind that i was stating to use all four methods with each one having it's own thinergy cell. Diversity is good.

You can't always be next to a
witricity http://www.witricity.com/index.html
or
powercast http://www.powercastco.com/

Wouldn't that add quite a bit of bulk + cost (not just the cells, but the actual collector stuff for all methods) ? Also, it would probably make even more sense to combine the multiple methods filling ONE cell you would have more current and smaller variations in the charge profile.

I think that all the mentioned technologies, on their own generate very little (milliwatt range) and combined are still in the milliwatt range. It is possible to reprogram the IC in the battery to use lower power input, but then you wouldn't be able to use the AC adapter that comes with the N8X0. I have already done some experimentation using several of the technologies mentioned and the sheer size to get a decent output makes it not practical now, but with miniaturisation and constant improvement, who knows, a year, three at most?

All I want is a source generating enough power for the tablet to have infinite standby time. That would make it practical to use as a fridge computer, and I'd buy an N800 for this purpose right away.

I don't mind charging the device when I've been using it, but charging it every couple of days whether or not I've used it ... that just sucks.

Solar, even indoors in a kitchen, should be capable of generating enough power for this.

Regards,
Roger

But... if it's for a Fridgeputer... why don't you just stick a solar panel beneath it ? There is plenty of energy, it's just the form factor and use-case limits you (or, in the case of a fridge, doesn't).

Although sticking a solar panel on a device that uses hundreds (if not kilo)watts of power does sound weird in itself for some reason

If it's for a fridgeputer, why not just plug it in to AC power 100% of the time?

It's more than a dream. What's forgotten so far in this discussion is there have also been significant advances in power consumption REDUCTION for electronics very recently. TI has developed IC architecture, for example, requiring about a third of current amperage. Combine power needs reduction with advances in power generation/recovery and the opportunities are tremendous.