10W solar charger for $9.99

How do you feel about using the power of the sun to power your gadgets? Now you can, and it won't cost you much: a 10W slim solar power with USB socket can be yours for under $10.

Which smartphones charge faster?

No matter how large your smartphone battery is, Murphy's laws dictate that you'll run out of juice precisely when you'd need it the most. To fix that, you can either lug an external power bank around (which will most likely be out of juice as well), or hope the fast charging technologies really work as advertised and grab a quick charge in 15 minutes or so.

NomadPlus makes your iPhone charger mobile

You've probably heard of Nomad before. They have some clever power charging cable-adaptors that are sure to have caught your eye; and now they're back with a very clever system that allows us to turn a regular iPhone wall charger into a portable battery you can take anywhere.

StoreDot promises to charge your smartphone in 30 seconds

One can't talk about mobile devices without complaining about batteries. We're used to seeing news regarding revolutionary battery technologies, but they come and go... and nothing truly revolutionary ever comes to the market. Now, an Israeli company called StoreDot promises to charge your future smartphone battery in just 30 seconds.

While we don't get a week-long smartphone battery, a fast charger that can fully charge your smartphone in under a minute can be the very next best thing. How often you notice your forgot to plug your charger just as you need to head out, and see its battery level in the red? Even if you're one of those people that has a mobile battery pack, chances are it will too be out of charge when you need it the most. Being able to fully charge those devices in less than a minute would truly be amazing, and might help ease the pain waiting for those "revolutionary" batteries.

StoreDot says this ultra fast charger technology would cost twice as much as a regular battery/charger, but that's a small price to pay - and I'm sure most will agree. The only bad part about it is that this miraculous charger is also years away from arriving to the stores. We can (hopefully) expect to see it by the end of 2016; and we'll still have to wait what battery experts will have to say regarding its effects on battery longevity.

Build your own wireless charging stand for less than $30

More and more people are falling in love with the added simplicity and comfort of wireless chargers. But sometimes you may not find the exact thing you're looking for. In those cases, maybe you'll be better off building your own wireless charger stand, like my frind André Henriques has done - and has shared with us to prove you can do it at an extremely affordable price.

André bought a micro wireless charger, but it's small size didn't make it easy to place and keep the phone in the right spot. So, he decided to fix it, using a stylish (and low cost) smartphone stand, and placing the wireless charger on it, so it would always be in the right spot and without any chance of the smartphone sliding out of place.

There's a very short item list, and the "do-it-yourself" part is well within reach of anyone who can tape two pieces together. Best of all, the end result looks nice enough to be displayed without embarrassment even in a stylish desktop.

So, here's what you'll need:

1. USB power supply (about $5 at DX.com)
2. Wireless charger (about $21 at DX.com)
3. Acrylic smartphone stand (about $3 at Ebay)

Qi Wireless Charger adapter for any smartphone

People keep asking me about wireless chargers, particularly those without compatible Qi wireless charging devices that wish to cut the last remaining cord that keeps them "tethered". Not everyone has a Nexus, Lumia, or other factory Qi compatible device. In some cases, you can get specific Qi adapters for your smartphone model - particularly in the case of high volume models like the Galaxy S - but if you can't find a suitable Qi back cover or Qi foil for your smartphone, there's one last way to do it.



What you'll need is something like this universal Qi adapter that you'll just need to plug into your smartphone micro USB port, and tuck away beneath your phone's back cover (if removable) or hidden behind a smartphone case to keep it from dangling away.

Sure, this means that you'll lose access to your micro USB port - and it won't be practical to plug it in/out constantly. But considering most people already do their data transfers and photo backups using WiFi, and syncing cloud services, that might not even be a real problem.

For me, having gone completely wireless - even for charging - has been a joy. No longer do I have to go through the daily routine of trying to plug the usb cable in the dark, figuring out it must be in the wrong orientation, trying again, figuring out that I was right the first time, etc. etc. Now I just leave it over the charging base and it's done!

I just wished the one's I'm using didn't do such a loud "beep" when it detects a device and starts charging - it's kind of annoying at night (guess I'll have to open them up and figure out a way to make it quieter.)

Qi Wireless Charger for iPhone

Just the other day I shared with you just how fond I've become of wireless chargers that you can use with the Nexus 4, 5, 7 and other Qi compatible devices... and how it made me think how even the friendlier lightning cable can be cumbersome on the iPhone. I've looked around trying to find a Qi adapter for the iPhone, but all I found out were ugly and bulky cases. Well... look no more, it seems we're finally about to get exactly what we wanted (at least until Apple decides to make its iPhones and iPads Qi compatible): the iQi mobile for iPhone.

This Indiegogo project uses the same concept as the tiny adapters for some Android devices that stay hidden behind its back covers. It's a very thin and flexible Qi receiver module you can plug into the lightning port and bend backwards, staying hidden behind any flexible iPhone case.

It's a simple yet clever idea, and I wouldn't be surprised for it to be copied by many other makers (as we speak). It costs $25 for the adapter alone, or $50 with a Qi charger (though you can use it with any other Qi charger if you happen to have one already).

Though wireless chargers are less efficient than a cable, I think its worth while... as it provides a truly universal system that gets rid of cables and sockets and such. You simply place your device over a charger and it's done!

The only drawback is that you'll use up the lightning port in your iPhone. For me it's not a big deal, as I only use the lightning cable to charge it up and do all my transfers wirelessly. But if you still use cable sync to iTunes or to get some photos, this iQi charger adapter might become cumbersome to use. You'll have to figure out what you value most for yourself.

USB Charger Monitor on Kickstarter

Not every USB charger is alike, nor are the USB cables we use to charge our portable devices. If you're wondering why sometimes you smartphone can be fully charged in under an hour and sometimes it takes "forever", you'll love to know you can figure it out using this small USB passthrough dongle that popped up on Kickstater: the Pratical Meter.

You just insert this dingle inbetween your USB cable and USB plug, and you'll be able to see how much "juice" is flowing.

In the case of an iPhone, the difference between having just a single led lighted up or all of them is the difference between charging it up in 1.5h... or having to wait 8h. But the best part is that you can use this power meter to measure any other kind of portable device using a USB charger.

For instance, if you're out on the woods relying on a solar USB charger, you'll be able to see at a glance if you're actually charging up your device.

For just $19 dollars, including a fast charge USB cable with miniUSB, microUSB, and Apple plug; there's not much to say against it. I've already backed up the project - now I just have to wait till September and hope they don't face any unexpected delays.

Charging an iPhone with Fire

Imagine you're out in the wild, lost, and your trusted smartphone - your last link to civilization - is finally running out of power (not that it would take that long... considering most smartphones can't even last more than a couple of days).
Oh no! What are you going to do?

Well, you might have a solar powered smartphone charger... but maybe it's pitch black, in the dead of the night, and you really need to have your iPhone running.

How about charging it with a camp fire? It might sound kind of crazy, but it's actually possible, thanks to the amazing properties of a peltier thermoelectic plate. This amazing device can heat and cool its surfaces depending on the polarity of the electric power flowing through it. But, just like many other electric devices, it too can work in reverse: meaning, if you can provide electricity to heat it up, you can also heat it up to generate electricity.

And that's exactly what's happening in the following video. (As always, it's a "don't try this at home unless you know exactly what you're doing and you're willing to bet your iPhone on it"! :)

Pocket Sized Fuel Cell Charger

No matter what smartphone you have, from the cheapest models to the latest and greatest high-end devices... there's one thing that unites them all - and I'm not talking about rings in a Tolkien story ;) - ... battery life. That's right, no matter how powerful smartphones are these days, they can hardly go a couple of days without requiring a charge; and they can even end up not making through a single day, if you happen to use them intensively!

So... how can we expect to be able to use our mobile devices in a truly mobile way, far from the nearest power outlet?

The answer may be arriving sooner than we'd expect, if we're to believe this Lilliputian Systems fuel cell pocket charger. It promises to completely charge your smartphone a dozen times before it runs out of fuel, which means you'll get a couple of weeks - or more - of stress free time away from any traditional power source.

Unlike some previous fuel cell solutions, which ended up having no real advantage over an external LiIon battery pack with similar volume, this one seem to really deliver what we'd expect.

Guess it won't be long before people will be requesting to "fill up" their mobile devices... :)

BlueLounge Sanctuary - Relaxed Recharging

Tired of having your home filled with messy cables hanging around everywhere? Wouldn't it be nice if you could simply recharge your mobile devices by simply putting them to rest in a small tidy box?

Well... hoe about you enter in 2012 with that in mind and get rid of cables once and for all? Or at least, hide it away from sight... as wireless electricity transfer seems to be forever delayed.

This The Sanctuary by BlueLounge does exactly that. It's a small box (black, white or wood) that comes with lots of different power adaptors for hundreds of different devices - from iPhone, iPod, USB devices to lots others with "custom" plugs - and it will make your forget all those cables and wires you had before.

The price is a bit steep (around 125€) and reminds us that you could achieve the same effect with any "old box" you may have around, or even buy a cheap one for this effect... if you're into the DIY stuff.
If not, this might just be the perfect Christmas/Anniversary gift you were looking for.

iPhone Secret Charging Tricks

There's nothing more annoying that plugging your iPhone to an USB charger and getting the dreaded "Charging is not supported with this accessory".

How can it be that generic electricity isn't good enough for Apple's devices?
Well, thanks to a hacker, we have now found why this happens, and it's all due to some secret resistors on the USB data lines.


Reverse engineering Apple's secret charging methods from adafruit industries on Vimeo.