Earth and sun and moon

by kiwanja

charger

Well, not quite. But it is another personal charging option to add to the solar and hand-crank mix (thanks to Guy Yeomans for pointing this in my direction over lunch last week).

The HYmini is a cool compact wind-powered charger with an internal lithium ion battery (there’s also an optional solar panel and hand-crank attachment). They’re still a little pricey, coming in at around the $50 mark, but I can imagine as they get cheaper seeing them attached to bikes – the perfect power solution for Bodafones and other bicycle-centric phone service providers in developing countries (photos, below, from kiwanja’s Mobile Gallery).

Motion chargers would be the final piece of the jigsaw, but are still a little way off. Trevor Baylis prototyped a pair of “electric shoes” back in 2001, walking across the Namib desert to prove that you could charge a small battery – enough to power a radio or mobile phone – through the action of walking. Nothing may have come of that, but he clearly got other people thinking. Expect announcements later this year.

10 comments

1 Ken Banks { 01.26.09 at 10:20 am }: Electric shoes to make a comeback? New charging options for mobile phones in the developing world. http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c

[Original tweet, Topsy page]
2 kiwanja { 01.26.09 at 10:20 am }: Electric shoes to make a comeback? New charging options for mobile phones in the developing world. http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c
3 changefeed { 01.26.09 at 10:22 am }: ->@kiwanja: Earth and sun and moon http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c

[Original tweet, Topsy page]
4 Alfie Dennen { 01.26.09 at 10:36 am }: as an apology of sorts for my unthinking mobile RT (yesterday?) http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c thanks v much @kiwanja

[Original tweet, Topsy page]
5 alfie { 01.26.09 at 10:36 am }: as an apology of sorts for my unthinking mobile RT (yesterday?) http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c thanks v much @kiwanja
6 The HYmini, a cool compact wind-powered charger - Pocket.info - Mobile 2.0 - Pocket.Info - Mobile News { 01.26.09 at 2:58 pm }: [...] on Ken Banks' Kiwanja.net, a revolutionary way of capturing renewable power for your your mobile phone: The HYmini, a [...]
7 The HYmini, a cool compact wind-powered charger | Flexta : SMS { 01.26.09 at 4:22 pm }: [...] on Ken Banks’ Kiwanja.net, a revolutionary way of capturing renewable power for your your mobile phone: The HYmini, a [...]
8 The HYmini, a cool compact wind-powered charger - Mobile News { 01.26.09 at 4:27 pm }: [...] on Ken Banks' Kiwanja.net, a revolutionary way of capturing renewable power for your your mobile phone: The HYmini, a [...]
9 Ken Banks { 01.26.09 at 4:38 pm }: @whiteafrican Re: Powering personal devices… Add to that a wind-powered generator (for mobiles). http://tinyurl.com/bthg3c

[Original tweet, Topsy page]
10 The HYmini, a cool compact wind-powered charger | OntoreBangladesh { 01.27.09 at 3:05 am }: [...] on Ken Banks’ Kiwanja.net, a revolutionary way of capturing renewable power for your your mobile phone: The HYmini, a [...]