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Nokia launches pedal powered phone charger

Dynamo-powered device means you (well, your phone) needn't ever run out of juice...

Anyone who watched the BBC’s Bang Goes The Theory show earlier this year featuring a pedal-powered “human power station” will be aware just how much cycling is needed to get even the least power-hungry household appliances up and running.

But one thing you can generate sufficient power for while out and about on your bike is a mobile phone, and let’s face it, there’s nothing more frustrating than stopping mid-ride to make a call only to discover you forgot to charge it before setting out.

Well, for Nokia owners at least, that is set to be a thing of the past, with the Finnish mobile phone giant unveiling a handlebar mounted charger that attaches to any of its phones that are equipped with a 2mm power jack.

Powered by a front-wheel dynamo, according to the tech website CNET, Nokia claims that “"To begin charging, a cyclist needs to travel around six kilometers per hour (four miles per hour), and while charging times will vary depending on battery model, a 10-minute journey at 10 kilometers per hour (six miles per hour) produces around 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time. The faster you ride, the more battery life you generate."

The price – in the US at least – is $18, and it is expected to be available by the end of the year and the handlebar bracket also doubles as a phone mount, which is good news if you have a compatible Nokia smartphone that can double as a GPS.

As CNET points out, the product isn’t exactly a first – in 2007, Motorola showed a bicycle-powered phone charger at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and last September, Dahon launched a product called the Biologic FreeCharge, costing $99, which powers electronic devices by harnessing the power generated by an existing dynamo set-up, and the same company also produces a dedicated iPhone mount.
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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4 comments

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cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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But is there a bicycle powered USB charger? If there was I might be able to keep my Garmin 305 alive indefinitely.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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cat1commuter wrote:

But is there a bicycle powered USB charger? If there was I might be able to keep my Garmin 305 alive indefinitely.

A quick Google suggests that the Dahon one mentioned in the article is the only specific one out there right now, otherwise you are in DIY land (plenty of people seem to have had a go and are happy to share their expertise online)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=bicycle+usb+charge...

Hmmm. Gap in the market for anyone with the know-how, R&D budget and money for a patent agent...  26  39

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bikeatx replied to cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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cat1commuter wrote:

But is there a bicycle powered USB charger? If there was I might be able to keep my Garmin 305 alive indefinitely.

Dahon's Reecharge is a usb charger (+dynamo +wall outlet) B)
http://dahon.com/accessories/2010/biologic-reecharge

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bazzargh | 13 years ago
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Aaagh. This'll be Nokia producing them of necessity because they /still/ don't use USB charging like the rest of the planet then...

(Although, at least Nokia used to use consistent chargers across their phone range, unlike some of the others)

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