GreenTech: Who needs solar power when you've got pedal power?
Solar powered gadget chargers may be all the rage these days, but what do you do if your iPod runs out of juice while you're spelunking? Well, I certainly hope your solution isn't to pull a pedal powered generator out of your pocket, because that just seems kind of dangerous if you're in a cave. But if you're sitting at home and trying to think of ways to get a bit of exercise while keeping your phone or MP3 player charged, this Chinese pedal powered doohickey could be just what you're looking for.
This little charger packs what looks like a pretty hefty battery, and it even has an LED flashlight on the front in case the power goes out. I wouldn't normally bother to point that out, but there's a big shiny picture on the product homepage showing off the flashlight, so I guess it must be important.
If you get tired of pedaling with your feet, you can also place the charger on a table or desk and use it as a hand crank. This ¥14,800 ($141 US) generator isn't the only pedal powered gadget charger we've seen. But it's certainly the blue-est. That's got to count for something, right?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-08-2008 @ 1:30PM
Adam said...
What's the point? It's made in China, so I imagine you'd have to use it for a few years non-stop just to off-set the pollution from the factory where it was manufactured ... I mean, it's kind of fun reading foreign sites in English (and I'm sure their English is a helluva lot better than my Chinese) but there's no claim as to how "green" the manufacture of this product might be, so without tracing it back to the impact of its manufacture, it's well, I guess I need to go Google for a company that makes a pedal- or hand-crank-driven generator without causing more net harm than good.
I kind of like the idea though. It's not the first time someone thought about trying to capture the energy generated during a "Spinning" class (or for that matter all the energy expended in a typical gym.)
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5-08-2008 @ 3:52PM
Deborah said...
get out of my head, china!!
*is trying to get her university to finagle the eliptacle machines & stationary bikes to provide power for the gym*
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