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Mophie cuts the price on the Juice Pack Boost and Powerstation, raises the battery capacity
Most companies here at IFA figured if they were going to haul it all the way to Berlin, they might as well unveil their products on a stage -- you know, with some prepared remarks, a press release and maybe some disco music to get people pumped (okay, we haven't been subjected to that yet). But not Mophie. The company has a habit of releasing its products quietly, demonstrating its unannounced wares in plain sight. That's how we happened upon the newest versions of its Juice Pack mobile chargers, the Boost, Powerstation and Reserve. Of the three, the latter got the biggest makeover, with a more compact shape and a pop-out USB connector that's attached to a plastic cable. As a result of that diet, though, it now has a battery capacity of 700mAh, not 1,000mAH, although its price is about to go up to $35 from $30. The good news is that Mophie lowered its prices for the other two, all while expanding the battery capacity. The Powerstation now has a 4,000mAh battery and costs $80 (down from $100) while the Boost is rated for 2,000mAh and costs $49.95 (a $10 price cut). In case you're interested in this sort of thing, we've got hands-on photos below, and Mophie says the lot will hit the Apple Store in about two weeks. %Gallery-132566%
Strawberry Tree brings free, solar-powered charging to Belgrade's BlackBerrys, more (video)
Dead battery in Belgrade? Head to the city's Obrenovac district, where a group of students has developed the world's first public charging station powered entirely by solar energy. Known as the Strawberry Tree, the structure's 16 ports support a variety of handhelds, allowing pedestrians to juice up their cell phones in just ten to 15 minutes, at no charge. Its built-in batteries can also store up to a month's worth of back-up energy, enabling the station to hum along at night, or even during Serbia's less sunny seasons. In the first 40 days following its November launch, the Strawberry Tree logged some 10,000 charging sessions -- or about ten charges per hour. Creator Miloš Milisavljevic was just 17 years old when he came up with the idea, and now, at the ripe old age of 22, is looking to plant new stations across other Serbian cities, through his Strawberry Energy NGO. He says these installations won't generate much revenue from consumers, but that's not really the idea: "Energy from the sun is free, and it would be unethical to charge people to use the Strawberry Tree...We are trying to inspire young people to think about the source of the energy they use, and behave and act responsibly." You can check out the Strawberry Tree in the video below, or find out more about Milisavljevic's ideal-driven endeavors in the full PR.
Panasonic Chargepad wirelessly juices up mobile chargers, nothing else
We've seen plenty of wireless charging solutions that employ inductive power and other technologies to charge devices directly (heck, your next car may even have a Powermat in its console), but Panasonic's Chargepad may be the first such product to charge, well, other chargers, rather than gadgets themselves. At launch, the Chargepad will only be compatible with two models, the QE-PL101-W and QE-PL201-W, which you can use to juice up cell phones and other USB-compatible devices on the go. We'd love to see the company embedding inductive charging components in its cameras and other devices instead, but if you're an early adopter who happens to live in Japan, then you can expect to pay between $110-130 (open pricing, depending on battery capacity) for the Chargepad and a mobile charger when these hit stores on June 24. Update: As reader SegueToNowhere points out, the Chargepad has a Qi logo, meaning it should work with your favorite Qi devices.
YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly
Green lovers have been patiently waiting for the commercialized version of OLPC's pull-string laptop charger, but in the meantime Easy Energy's YoGen should tide yank-happy hands over. Pulling the charger's lawnmower-style ripcord generates enough power through its patented alternator technology to charge up phones, iPods and a slew of other handheld gadgets. According to YoGen charging time is similar to that of standard AC adapters and gadgets can be brought back to life with just a few pulls -- as can be seen in the incredibly realistic videos below where YoGens magically appear to save the day, jump start an iPhone and help a man lie to his wife. Formal launch is due at CES, but those that can't wait to strengthen their hand muscles can preorder one now on YoGen's website for 40 bucks.
Crapgadget CES, round 4: kinetic energy charger
You have to hold it vertically.
O2 showcases pedal-powered cellphone charger
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]
SAIT and Samsung team for smallest fuel cell charger
There's a big difference between "smallest" and "small enough," but SAIT and Samsung SDI might've just crossed the gap with their new joint-developed fuel cell mobile charger. The device, which the companies claim is the world's smallest fuel cell charger yet, can pump 2W of juice, and supposedly charges mobile devices in 1/5 the time of competing offerings. At 5.3 ounces, and measuring a mere 5mm thick, it shouldn't be much of a problem at all to slip this into your bag, letting you extend the life of your PDA, phone, camera or PMP. In tests the charger has completed 200 continuous charges, and is nearly ready for market -- with over 120 patents involved in making this thing tick. The unit is based on small user-replaceable methanol cartridges, providing "limitless" power if you're willing to spring for enough fuel cartridges. There's no exact word on when these things will hit retail shelves, but Samsung expects chargers like this, along with fuel cell-based laptop batteries to be commonplace in 2-3 years. [Thanks, Mike]
Xantrex PowerSource Mobile 100 brings the volts
We've seen plenty of mobile chargers in our day, but the Xantrex PowerSource Mobile 100 claims to be the first to power multiple devices simultaneously at different voltage and power levels. The $130 unit includes a pair of USB ports and an AC plug, making it a quite convenient way to power your phone, iPod and laptop all at once. Xantrex promises plenty of power, too: 2 hours for laptops, 12 hours for portable game systems, and a spankin' 72 hours for the iPod nano. Of course, the lithium-ion based PowerSource is a decent bit heftier than a spare laptop or phone battery, but if gadget diversity is your game it doesn't seem you can go far wrong here.[Via MobileMag]
