Cell Phone Charm Doubles as Solar Charger

Tue Feb 5, 2008 11:59PM EST

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Going green is all the rage, so imagine how happy treehuggers will be when they find out Strap-Ya is releasing a cell phone charm that also works as a solar cell phone charger! And this eco-friendly charm is not only great for those of you concerned about the environment but also for frugal types who would rather steer away from battery-operated chargers currently in the market.

Tokyo Mango says the mini mobile charm stores solar energy, and on cloudy days, it can be powered with an AC adapter to provide you with three or more hours of talktime. It can be charged up to 500 times to give you plenty of backup power during emergencies when you forget to charge the phone or lose your charger. The mini charger will be available in Japan starting February 9th, and hopefully it will make its way here soon. This is definitely one gizmo we need.

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  • 1 Posted by magpagbst on Wed Feb 6, 2008 1:14AM EST Report Abuse

    i'm going to get one of these . . . this will reduce my carbon footprint to the point that i won't feel guilty about my pending purchase of a 2008 chevy suburban . . . i challenge others to do their share and sacrifice as i have to help the environment . . .

  • 2 Posted by middlenamefrank on Wed Feb 6, 2008 1:15PM EST Report Abuse

    I'm an EE with some experience with solar cells, and believe me, a solar cell that size will take weeks or more to charge up a cell phone battery. Even leaving it in the window all the time when you're not using it, I believe it's still only going to be enough to keep the battery topped off, not charge it significantly. Might be useful in that capacity though, so your spare battery is fully-charged when you do need it.

  • 3 Posted by alpyne2 on Wed Feb 6, 2008 1:42PM EST Report Abuse

    500 times - that's less than 2 years - maybe not the best bargain. BTW - if you look at the energy involved in producing this product, it probably takes more carbon to create than it can ever save. Bigger solar panels can be useful, but this seems a bit too small to do the job.

  • 4 Posted by factisnonverbis on Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:29AM EST Report Abuse

    If the device can add 10 to 20% of time between needed charges for a phone, it becomes very useful. It does not need to fully charge the phone. It really only needs to be able to extend the possible talk time to be a marketable product. If you are trying to save the environment, this may not be the best device.

  • 5 Posted by popwarsk8r767 on Fri Feb 8, 2008 10:54AM EST Report Abuse

    I'm going to get one to keep with me to charge my phone when I'm low on battery, not because it's eco-friendly. A little phone charger won't make a huge difference in carbon emissions.

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