The Japanese have come up with a very clever idea to charge your mobile – using steam-power.
The gadget, named Hatsuden-Nabe, plugs into the usb port of a mobile phone, MP3 player or GPS and the receiver in the form of a cooking pot made of a special ceramic turns heat from the boiling water into thermo-electric energy which actually charges the phone. An iPhone was timed to fully charge in 3 to 5 hours.
The Hatsuden-Nabe charger was inspired by the string of natural disasters which struck Japan earlier this year. Hundreds of thousands were left powerless, seperated from family and friends with no methods of contact and the only heat came from lighting campfires.
Osaka-based TES NewEnergy revealed the gadget last month selling for ¥24,150 (around £185 British) and aims at marketing to the world for countries with poor power grids such as African nations whose people travel long distances for energy.
Not to trivialise the fantastic inspiration behind this gadget, but with festival session upon us there’s alot of revellers who could use something like a boiling pot charger – it’s got to beat the goofy looking Orange mobile charging t-shirt that’s out there.
Please follow us on Twitter as well as our official Facebook page – be sure to leave your tweets and comments!