Tag: battery

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Flat Attack charger lets waning phones assault its battery

It’s amazing how fast the charge on a phone can become depleted. And it’s not always easy to find a safe charging port when on the go. That’s why Flat Attack was created. This battery-operated charger only takes one AA battery, but provides 40-60 minutes of talk time, or four-six hours on standby. It charges smartphones, portable music players, and many other mobile gadgets. Since it’s roughly the size of a standard car key, it’s small enough to fit on car key ring or in a pocket or purse.

Having a personal charger at one’s fingertips seems like a great idea. But since batteries don’t last forever and this product may not get used on a regular basis, it might be nice if there were some sort of indicator to let users know when the battery is low so that it can be replaced before discovering that the battery in the personal charger is dead, too. Interested backers might also want to check out the Kodiak campaign. This campaign seeks to raise $30,000 AUD (~$25,300 USD) by December 23, 2014. For $23 AUD (~$19 USD), backers get one product with an expected delivery of February 2015.

Categories
Automotive Chargers/Batteries

Pocket Jump charges your smartphone, jump starts your car

Being suddenly stranded on the side of the road because of a dead car battery and a smartphone on its last legs can be a pretty terrible situation. With the unimpressive capacity of our smartphones, this is probably a situation that happens all too often and is dangerous because there just might not be anyone around to help. Viatek Consumer Products Group, Inc. is looking to kill two birds with one stone with their Pocket Jump, a product looking to restore motorists’ peace of mind while on the road.

Pocket Jump addresses our devices’ constant necessity for power as a portable 3000mAh or 4800mAh battery pack with the ability to recharge using a micro-USB connection or a vehicle’s own car battery through the cigarette lighter. In the unfortunate scenario that a car battery dies out, the Pocket Jump is equipped with the technology to jump start a car with that same cigarette lighter so a motorist can avoid the hassle of having to flag down another car, use dangerous jumper cables, and possibly face inclement weather while doing so.

Cars, vans, trucks with diesel or hybrid engines can all use the Pocket Jump, making the tiny device an extremely versatile tool to have handy especially because it will more or less always have some sort of charge within. The 3000mAh version goes for $40, while the Pocket Jump Plus goes for $80. The campaign is looking for $10,000 to get the product in backer’s vehicles by December 2014.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Kodiak waterproof charger brings juice, fights water

Many solutions to dying smartphones have been flooding the market in recent months. Some include portable USB cables while others opt for smaller microUSB/wall outlet types of products.

Kodiak is a product with charging smartphones in mind, but is a portable battery pack with USB ports for ease of charging. Coming in several different sizes and subsequent charging strengths, the Kodiak is completely waterproof, so it really can go anywhere that you do. Kodiak also has several color options including black, red, green, blue and camo. There’s an indicator light so that you know exactly how long it’s going to last for

Kodiak joins scores of similar products, as stated above, but ups the ante on portable chargers such as Pronto with its waterproof shell and durability. It’s also nice that Kodiak offers three different sizes, the smallest working in a pinch and the largest able to charge multiple devices several times over. The small version will cost backers $25 with estimated delivery in March 2015. The campaign is looking to raise $30,000 on Indiegogo.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries Wearables

Ampy charges from your movement, brings us one step closer to The Matrix

The ultimate first world problem is a dead smartphone. Since it usually occurs at the worst possible time, finding an outlet nearby usually isn’t easy. That feeling of having to be tethered is one of the biggest drawbacks of current battery technology, especially because more and more are experiencing very active lifestyles that involve lots of movement.

Ampy is aiming to take all of that movement and put it to good use. The product is a small box that houses a 1000mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery charged from kinetic energy. So, every hop, skip and jump you take not only takes you where you need to be but also generates power for your smartphone or any other USB-powered device. An accessory kit ensures that no matter how you move, Ampy will be able to come along for the ride, and a companion app tell you how much energy you’ve generated doing so. The portable battery market is drowning in options and Ampy makes great strides in separating itself from the pack with its eco-friendly aims, even if the solar-powered Granola Stroller costs $30 less and doesn’t exactly require you to break a sweat. Ampy is currently slated for a June 2015 delivery with an $85 contribution as the campaign has achieved success, currently sitting at $258,000.

Categories
Camping Chargers/Batteries

WakaWaka returns with a solar charging power kit

Kickstarter success story WakaWaka already has a history of creating simple, innovative devices that harness solar power into personal electricity. Now, they tackle a situation in which electricity stops being an option. The WakaWaka Base is a portable “power and light first aid kit” that includes a foldable solar panel and base that can connect to LED flashlights, phones, or any USB device to charge it. The solar panel is strong enough to charge even on cloudy days, and the base can hold enough charge to power a week of light or five full smartphone charges with no additional solar energy.

Ideal for any storm preparedness kit, camping gear, or car trunk, the WakaWaka Base ensures that nobody ever has to worry about being stranded and having their phone battery die on them or having to wander around in the dark. WakaWaka needs $70,000 to test, manufacture, and release the Base. The peace of mind the Base provides costs only $89, and will be out in May 2015. This kind of product innovation is what makes WakaWaka products so popular, and there’s no reason why any smartphone user or homeowner should be without the WakaWaka Base.

Categories
Cooking

The Egg boiler tells water it can go to shell

We love eating eggs and there are a million ways to prepare them: boiled, sunny side up, scrambled, over easy, and the list goes on. However, eggs are delicate and to get a hard boiled or soft boiled egg, it’s difficult to tell how runny the inside is without cracking the egg open. The Egg is a portable egg-boiler. Set up to four eggs inside, close the lid, and hit the button. When it’s done, you’ll have perfectly soft boiled eggs. The Egg comes with size and temperature monitors for the eggs, runs on ion battery and allows the owner to calibrate how cooked they want their eggs to be, much like a toaster. The Egg can be used anywhere from picnics to camping trips because it doesn’t require water to use. This British product will cost backers £75 (about $121) on Kickstarter with estimated delivery for April 2015. The Egg is looking to raise £50,000 (about $80,000) in its campaign.

While a little steep in price, The Egg offers a cool kind of convenience unthought of before. Not only is it useful that The Egg soft boils eggs to perfection, but it’s also portable, a nice feature. The Krups Egg Cooker boils eggs in a neat, little package as well, but plugs into the wall and requires water. In order to up its game in future models, The Egg may want to consider adding more slots for more eggs. Even so, for quick, easy, albeit expensive egg-cooking, consider donating to The Egg.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries Lighting

The Phantom toots its horn as a desk light and wireless charger

Here we have something for art deco lovers that doubles as a desk light and wireless phone charger. The fact that Phantom is shaped like a horn may make it especially appealing to musical types. In addition to wireless convenience, there is still a USB port charger available so that more than one device can apparently be charged at a time. Phantom seems to be primarily compatible with Nokia 1520 and LG Nexus5, though it appears it may be able to be adapted for several Samsung and Galaxy products and some iPhones.

In a similar vein, check out Granola Strolla for something more eco-friendly in nature. The Phantom campaign seeks to raise $2,900 by October 30. Early bird backers can get one product for $55, which is half off of the anticipated retail price, with an expected delivery of January 2015.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Tiny TravelBuddy charger/portable battery props up in a plug

Smartphones always seem to run out of juice at the worst moments. And as we become increasingly dependent on them, it will continue to happen more and more frequently. TravelBuddy makes sure that when you’re caught with a dead battery and no cord, you’ll be just fine. This small battery plugs into the wall and into your iPhone, without a cord. It provides fast charging on the go. The best part is that it’s a keychain, so you’ll always have it on hand. Coming in five different colors, one TravelBuddy will cost backers $30 at an early price or $35 regularly. This product hopes to raise $10,100 on Kickstarter. Hopefully, TravelBuddy will be compatible with other types of smartphones in the future. Another drawback of the TravelBuddy is that you’d still need an outlet in order for it to work, unlike the similar Buckle Charger. Still, outlets usually aren’t too hard to find and if it charges the phone fast, then all the better.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries Sports

Chargeboard is a rolling generator for a skater

Say what?! A skateboard that charges stuff? Yup. Chargeboard rolls around, generating its own power, and uses that energy to charge your devices. It delivers 5 Volt power to your iPhone by way of a convenient dock with enough juice to charge the phone up to eight times. Not only does it charge the phone while you’re just chilling, man, but it also lets you play music with an audio jack through Chargeboard’s speakers. An additional external USB port is compatible with lots of other devices as well, we’re talking to you Android. The skateboard itself is a sleek-looking wooden longboard. One will cost backers €380 or €360 if they’re early enough. This cool product from the Netherlands is hoping to raise €50,000 on Kickstarter. While Chargeboard is only really relevant to people who enjoy boarding, it’s still a cool product. Yes, it can play music and all that jazz, but it’s also an example of how easy it is to use renewable energy to power simple things. All in all, a fun product for boarders and a great example of sustainability in action.

Categories
Home

Amazing Spider Fan won’t spin webs, will quickly convert ceiling lights to fans

Stuff that requires no tools to install and saves the user money. Now that is a winning combo! And Amazing Spider Fan seems to have come up with just such a blend. The creator claims that if a person knows how to screw a light bulb into its socket, then using these battery operated foam ceiling fans will be just as easy. Ceiling fans are a great way to cut down on energy bills, keeping homes cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. While this particular product is apparently only able to be used in the summertime, every little bit of savings helps! The fan can be easily removed in order to change locations or store for the winter once the warmer months are over. The product is apparently not yet available for use, but backers can help it along with their contributions, including invites to product demonstration parties for $100, and hopefully, an opportunity for input at those parties to make this idea even better.