Handheld electronic devices play a key role in our everydaylives. Because dependability is paramount, handhelds arecarefully engineered with lightweight power sources forreliable use under normal conditions. But no amount ofcareful engineering can prevent the mistreatment theywill undergo at the hands of humans. For example, whathappens when a factory worker drops a bar code scanner,causing the battery to pop out? Such events areelectronically unpredictable, and important data storedin volatile memory would be lost without some form ofsafety net—namely a short-term power holdup systemthat stores suffi cient energy to supply standby power untilthe battery can be replaced or the data can be stored inpermanent memory.