We know what you're thinking: "I'm totally not going to buy this." After all, who really wants a kludgy recharger that isn't reusable without buying an extra fill pack? For those still willing to give this idea a chance, you may want to point your attention to smartplanet's review of the Medis 24-7 Power Pack, which utilizes liquid fuel cell technology to output one-watt for charging small handheld devices. In testing, it took around an hour to bring a halfway charged iPod touch to full capacity, which is pretty much right in line with estimates. Unfortunately, we're still not digging the "recycle or refill" approach, though we are appreciative that Medis is pushing the former. Give the linked writeup a look -- maybe you'll fall strangely in love, after all.

If you find yourself burning through your MacBook or iBook batteries at an alarming rate, perhaps you require a charging solution that's, shall we say... more robust. That's where Oncore Power's psychotic 6-bay charging station comes into play. Never again will you have to suffer the indignation of a powerless laptop with the company's all-in-one solution to charge every brick in your arsenal at once. The device will juice up three batteries at once, letting you stagger the two bays of three slots so you're always one stylish wrist snap away from sweet, sweet power. Sure, it costs $395 (and presumably more for the version with included batteries), but you can't put a price on peace of mind, can you? Oh, wait. You can. It's $395.

[Via Macworld]

Not that charging stations are a total rarity at airports, but Samsung is giving a nod to the little guy by adding a new fleet of 'em at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Unlike some alternatives, Sammy's stations deliver juice to cellphones, laptops and all manners of other gadgets gratis, which -- let's be honest -- is exactly how it should be. 22 new stations will be installed at MSP and ready for use prior to July 4th, so feel free to drain your lappie right on down prior to landing / connecting in the great state of Minnesota.

[Image courtesy of Really Sarah Syndication]

Motorola so had this down pat last year, but we suppose O2 is just showcasing its pedal-powered charging system now that such devices are all the rage. Just days after we had a look at two unorthodox chargers from Orange, along comes rival O2 with a bicycle-related alternative. Reportedly, the eco-friendly device will be demonstrated at the O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park, but unfortunately, each of the demo bikes will be stationary. Still no word on whether O2 has a mind to take this thing commercial, but for cyclists the world over, here's to hoping it does.

[Thanks, Adam]

For those fortunate enough to be planning a trip to this year's Glastonbury, you can rest assured that forgetting your mobile charger won't be the worst thing that could possibly happen. Reportedly, Orange will erect a seven-meter high recharge Pod tent in which patrons can stop by and reinvigorate their winded handset. Said tent will boast 500-watt solar panels and a 500-watt wind turbine in order to generate electricity for the lifeless phones, and Orange is hoping to juice up 100 devices per hour. If only such conveniences were everywhere...

[Thanks, Adam]

Oh sure, there's a plethora of portable USB chargers out there to keep most every cellphone around juiced up for one last call, but those handling a Palm handset with the polarizing Multi-Connector have long been shut out cold -- until now. Tech Center Labs has just come to the rescue with its Tiny Emergency FuelCell, which holds a single AA and enables power to be passed along to Centros and any other Palm / Treo device with the proprietary connector. Best of all, the pocket-friendly device is just $9.95 (or $10.95 with a bundled battery). Not a bad way to spend a Hamilton if you're a Palm lover.

[Via Palm InfoCenter]

Oh yeah, we've seen dedicated battery pack extenders for a plethora of the most popular gizmos, but IOGEAR's looking out for the run-of-the-mill crowd with its GearJuice Rescue Charger. Essentially, the wee device accepts any 'ole AA cell, and upon plugging it into your mini-USB-equipped PDA / mobile / DAP / fish tank, it provides an infinitesimally small boost of power. Okay, so it's said to give you an extra 15 minutes of talk time, but we'd probably go in with even lower expectations just to be safe. It's available now for $11.99 (battery not included).

[Via Gearlog]

We know, it's tiresome scouring the streets for an AC outlet when you've got oodles of sunshine surrounding you. That's where Devotec Industries' Solar Charger comes in. The smallest (and freshest) addition to the company's line weighs in at under 80-grams and measures just 95- x 43- x 10-millimeters, and packed within you'll find an 1800mAh battery. Of note, users can also juice up the device via USB or AC for when cloudy days swoop in, and it comes bundled with a slew of tips to handle the most popular handsets out there. Yeah, it does take a full day of sun (12-hours, to be precise) to get this thing fully charged (or 4-hours by AC / USB), but then again, it'll only set you back £19.99 ($40).

We'll be honest -- we weren't exactly feeling blueLounge's grossly overpriced SpaceStation, but its boldly-named The Sanctuary actually strikes us as quite useful. The gadget organizer allows technophiles to stuff their handhelds into this black or white container for easy carriage / storage, and moreover, it includes a built-in panel of labeled plugs in order to connect all your gizmos to power at once. The unit comes with a dozen connectors for the most popular items around, but since it's universal, your options are bordering on limitless. Heck, there's even a USB port thrown in to charge any oddball device you may have laying around. Yeah, $129.95 is still a touch steep, but for the avid traveler who can never find room for 12 or so AC adapters in that carry-on bag, it's probably well worth the cost.

[Via iLounge]

We've seen self-healing materials and artificial arms, but a team of researchers hailing from UCLA have taken two fabulous ideas and wed them together to create "an artificial muscle that heals itself and generates electricity." Put simply, the contracting / expanding of the material can generate a small electric current, which can be "captured and used to power another expansion or stored in a battery." The scientists have relied on carbon nanotubes as electrodes rather than metal-based films that typically fail after extended usage, and in an ideal world, the research could eventually lead to (more) walking robots and highly advanced prosthetics. Integrate an AC adapter in there and we're sold.

[Via CNET]

We've heard of firms tinkering with the idea of converting excess heat directly to energy, and apparently, a team of scientists from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have done just that. Oddly enough, the researchers admit that they're still unclear on how their findings actually work, but they've nevertheless discovered how to increase the conversion efficiency of converting waste heat to energy "by a factor of 100." The authors of the report suggest that clothing constructed of material embedded with thermoelectric modules could one day "recharge mobile electronic devices off the heat of one's body," and while we're certainly stoked about the idea, we're already conjuring up awful images in our minds about what this garb will actually look like.

[Via textually, image courtesy of FourEyesJokeShop]

We were already fans of the Rotaliana MultiPot, which disguised a device-charging station and a lamp as a flowerpot, but we tend to charge our devices in the bedroom -- which means the company's new MultiBook is even more useful. Appearing at first to be just another hardcover book, the MultiBook opens to reveal several plug outlets and a lamp, and also features an alarm clock with a concealed display on the spine. That pretty much covers all the bedside bases -- but given the surprising violence with which we greet our alarm clock every morning, it might be best to keep all this stuff separate. Only available in a 220V version right now for €152 ($222), no word on when it might come stateside.

[Via Oh Gizmo]

USB devices do everything these days, including charge your gadgets with only the power provided by your breathing: specifically, the act of moving one's chest in and out. Just in case you thought this required sticking a gadget down your throat, see the image above and note that it's attached to the outside of the model's chest. The instructions for building your own breathing powered USB charger are over at instructables, and the kit only requires simple equipment like a spare CD drive, some elastic bands, and an electric circuit. You've got all that lying around, ain't ya? Well then, stick it all together and get breathing. Unfortunately, it only produces around 5 volts, so you'll have to breath a lot whole lot to get any meaningful charging time from this invention. And don't even think about attaching it to the cat.

[Via Gadgets-Weblog]

Not even a week after startup WiPower boasted about its breakthrough in wireless power, Murata and Seiko Epson have announced plans to "jointly development a non-contact quick charging system." Reportedly, the technology "leverages electromagnetic induction," and both the charging stand and a given mobile device would be "respectively equipped with coils that generate power." As for the production, it sounds like Seiko Epson will hone in on the "transmitting side, or primary side," while Murata "will be involved in the production of the rechargeable Li-ion." The overriding goal is to recharge a handset "in about 10 to 15 minutes in a non-contact manner," which would purportedly push power transmission efficiency from current levels of 30- to 50-percent to nearly 70-percent. Oh, and we've already been assured that these "will not generate heat."

Just over eight months after the USB Implementers Forum completed the micro-USB specification, the Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) has recommended that the protocol be accepted as a universal standard for charging and syncing mobile devices. Reportedly, the "OMTP's paper recommends that the micro-USB standard" be adopted across the mobile industry in order to "streamline the whole value chain and provide end users with a larger choice of the most popular peripherals." Still, we're not told when handset manufacturers will start offering up the new port en masse, but at least we're makin' progress, eh?