NextBillion.net - Development Through Enterprise - No Electricity, No Problem: Wind-Powered Phones - Comments

caveats

_manicplanet — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 13:28:48 -0400

Interesting that the article specifically references charging while "travelling in a bus, a car or a train". I'm not absolutely sure, but isn't this just an indirect way to take energy from the vehicle engine and put it into the phone, better done by providing a direct line from a dyno? Presumably one need not be moving in a vehicle to make use of this device. The handcrank/spring storage ala FreePlay seems more promising, offhand. It would be great if anyone knew any more about charge time, wind speed/consistency needed, etc. BTW, don't your cell towers need juice?

No Electricity, No Problem: Wind-Powered Phones

Rob Katz — Mon, 16 May 2005 20:33:04 -0400

I first read about these wind-powered, off-grid cell phone chargers on WorldChanging, which cites Gizmodo as a reference. The product, designed by students at the Indian Institute of Technology, is a small (fits in your pocket) wind-powered turbine that can quickly and easily recharge a cell phone - and it costs only 200 rupees (5 dollars). It strikes me as great for off-grid, rural areas that may have intermittent or non-existent electricity.