Cranking your phone (power)

[KevinJames]

Partially quoting article ....

By Jay Lyman
www.TechExtreme.com,
Part of the NewsFactor Network
December 21, 2001

Pairing old-fashioned cranking power with its newest cellular phones, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is set to sell the FreeCharge cranking device to fuel its phones beginning in January.

Developed by Motorola and wind-up power technology specialist Freeplay, the FreeCharge will retail for US$65 and will provide a four to five-minute charge with 45 seconds of cranking, Motorola spokeswoman Juli Burda told TechExtreme.

She said the company plans on selling hand-crank charging devices for competitors' cell phones down the road and a similar device for personal digital assistants (PDAs) is "definitely possible."

Crank and Call

The FreeCharge device, about the size of a sunglass case with a fold-out handle, can be cranked before or during cellular phone conversations, Burda said.

"The longer and harder the unit is cranked, the greater the amount of energy that is created, thus providing for longer talk times," Burda said. "The hand crank turns an internal generator that creates electrical current, which is then stored in the internal (Nickel-Metal Hydride) NiMH battery."

The device also provides several hours of standby time from 45 seconds of cranking, but Burda said talk and standby times depend on different cell phone technologies as well as carrier network factors.

Full articles at:

http://wireless.newsfactor.com/perl/story/15460.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/fo/020103/0103tentech_1.html