nPower's PEG Personal Energy Generator up for pre-order, starts kinetically recharging gadgets in June
By Tim Stevens 
posted May 5th 2010 12:13PM
posted May 5th 2010 12:13PM
Charging battery-powered things while traveling has always been a challenge, and while there's no shortage of portable solar chargers on the market, none have exactly tickled our particular fancies. Maybe the PEG from nPower will enable us to get some juice on the go, a kinetic-based "personal energy generator" that pledges to recharge gadgets by harnessing your movement. Sadly, the company lists no actual specs for the device beyond USB 2.0 compatibility, leaving us guessing when it comes to the all-important question of "How far do I need to run with this thing to recharge my celly?" We'll find out in June when the $149 wunder-baton ships. Order now and you can get yourself a limited edition model with "First Mover" engraved on there. Better than "Late Bloomer," we suppose.[Thanks, Daniel]
Where are you supposed to insert that tubular shaped object?
@glamajamma Oh, I'm sure you can think of somewhere. This thing screams of fish oil though. Why no specs?
@MFrasier
Uhhh... you mean snake oil? Fish oil is actually proven to be good for you.
@tonicboy
Lol @ fish oil.
@glamajamma http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBsIcRZBh3A
@tonicboy i thought he was referencing a tuna-like smell if a woman chose to put it somewhere. thought i suppose you're more likely to be right.
@juanvaldez
I'll just attach it to my dog's collar and when I need some battery power I'll give him a treat!
Do we have to charge it like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S3C4AC908w
I wouldn't wanna be the first person to attempt bringing one of these on a plane.
@glamajamma Arr I think this is intended for one legged pirates, matey...
@rutter9
Red rocket, boy, red rocket!
Well you are going to look very cool with this in your hands rofl.
@kyphem lmrtfafy:
The nPower® PEG is easy to use!
1. Place the PEG vertically in your backpack, briefcase, or bag.
2. Walk or run. As you move, your PEG captures and stores your kinetic energy. –An otherwise wasted resource.
3. When your phone or other hand-held device needs a boost, simply plug your device into the PEG and press "charge."
@electrobrains
If it captures my kinetic energy as I walk or run will I actually make it anywhere or just be stuck in one spot?
The next Nokia prototype device will probably have one. At least I voted for one in the Nokia Community Contest. :p
I want one to power my e-cigarette. Exercise and addiction!
@kafreddygmailcom Careful this thing could make you go blind
Does it use Orbo?
/s
Now this is what I call a two-way...
@DoctarPeppar It's suppose to used vertically. Not saying it can't be done, but vertical is a lot harder to pull off then horizontal double ended kinetic charging.
One things for sure, they'll have to change the name before they release it in the UK.
"npower" is a major electricity provider in the UK - and currently hold the .com, so it's not like these guys didn't notice. Obviously they don't have big plans of taking it abroad! Hardly implies faith in their product.
Combine this thing with the ShakeWeight ad campaign and you're sitting in a gold mine.
@zerodb Er... ON a gold mine.
Beware: Neodymiums + HDD = :(
Are they serious? Does anyone NOT recognize this product? Seriously? It's a kinetic flashlight with a 5v regulator and a USB port. They are charging $149 for a $1 item with $10 in extra circuitry and a nifty case.
@Darkseider You are right my friend. I think they are advancing the tech some(hopefully) to incorporate better charge rates then the shake up flashlight.
@Darkseider Indeed, you are right! I was just thinking about gathering some components to put together one for myself, even adding a couple supercapacitors and Voilà!
@Darkseider Hey for $50 more they might through in a custom USB LED light attachment.
@Darkseider
So if anyone buys it, they blew it?
Is that a leprechaun flute?
Given that it probably works the same way that a kinetic flashlight works, which is to say it is based on one of the most fundamental electric devices, I would think it's probably easy enough to build one for 1/10th the price.
So how many strokes would be required to charge my iPhone?
Are weights optional: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-27-2009/moment-of-zen---the-shake-weight-for-men ?????
Looks like part of the time machine in Napoleon Dynamite to me.
looks like this has been out for a while
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10255908-54.html
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/06/0627_fresh_entrepreneurs/38.htm
Says it can produce 2.5 watts
I wonder who will be the 1st phone manufacturer to have a built in kinetic charger in the actual phone (it'll have to be micro size of course)
@TheLight
probably nokia, everyone will dismiss it, 3 years later apple will take the idea and everyone will wonder why no ones ever thought of said thing before ;P
@HoldenMccrotch
That would be because Nokia will implement it so badly no one will even be able to find the feature.
Then 3 years after Apple does it Nokia will still be selling the same crud in a different plastic case as it did 6 years before
and then Nokia will attempt an amazing innovation to stem the loss from doing nothing for nearly a decade.
That Innovation will be known as "Sue" and will take another 3 years to bring home the bacon by which time Apple will simply get "Creative" on them letting Nokia make accessories plus a little cash sweetener which will be chip change by then.
In another 3 years no one will even remember Nokia made phones, thinking of them as a dock and case maker for Apple.
@Cy Starkman
Ok, I'm somewhat of a tech junkie and I'm all for innovation with whomever would incorporate it in the most efficient way. Anybody remember the winding record players and watches? How about Old Grandfather clocks? Get where I'm going.. HOW ABOUT SOMEONE TAKE THIS TAKE THIS MILLION DOLLAR IDEA: Create for all these NEW BATTERY DEVOURING DEVICES a Mechanical Rechargeable Battery...by using the mechanical potential energy from pressing keys on the phone and swiping the screen(subsequently the piezo-electric effect- pressing down and the key coming back up creates kinetic energy and swiping creates friction which we all know can shock you and the next person you touch(more energy)) and catch the current in a internal battery that the device can either run directly from or use as a back up for when removable battery is dead! Whoever thought, a device with 2 different types of battery sources! Its centuries old technology forgot about. With that implication we could all walk around for hours and hours texting and browsing with no worries.. charger? i left mine at home in this perfect world ;-)
but then again this isnt a perfect world
sorry for the rant..lol
Why the hell don't they put a charging device inside the Shake Weight?! The perfect travel companion!
okay, so as it moves up and down it generates electricity..... now if we could only think of something to combine it with
https://shakeweight.com/flare/next
Whenever I sit, I can't help but bounce my leg constantly. It drives my wife nuts, but with this device, I could power my devices! My house! Whole cities, even!! MY RESTLESS LEG WILL POWER ALL!!!
The creator was interviewed on NPR this past fall? Sounded like it was designed for sticking in a backpack ideally while hiking the Appalachian trail (believe that's the story of when it was designed).... so perhaps a full day of walking about but... when off the grid...
and now for the obligatory shake weight parody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-z85Pku9uE
First time seeing the photo I thought to myself "You would just have to grip it from the middle and vigorously shake the tube up and down to generate power, something tells me nerdy Engadget commenters would be able to solve the global warming problem with this thing!" Please, lets not get explicit.
Check out this month's INC magazine article on them. It says it will take
"several hours" of walking to charge an iphone. http://bit.ly/bxSlTd
My PEC Personal Engadget Comment is ready to be posted.
What if I fill the trunk of my EV with lots of these devices, would that give an infinite autonomy car? :P
How did this not qualify as a Crapgaget?
Ok, so at $150, it's clearly a pretty expensive charging option. That seems pricey to me, but who am I to evaluate production costs and the whole early adopter tax. Maybe it costs a lot to do a 1000 unit production run.
But here's what really gets under my skin:
For $150, instead of just INCLUDING the device adapters for say, an iPhone, Blackberry, and generic mini USB - they create SIX SEPARATE SKUs!
Really? Someone is paying $150 to early adopt your new untested product, and you're going out of your way to nickel and dime them by only including a 10-cent plastic adapter for ONE of their devices per order?
That right there, immediately turned me off. Admittedly, for camping trips, this sounded like a neat product. Compared to a portable solar panel, the $150 for this even seemed semi-reasonable. But this company's tacky cheapness was an immediate deal killer. I will not purchase from them.