Now that the vast majority of us have smartphones, we are becoming scarily reliant on our chargers. But that doesn’t have to be boring, so here are eight really cool-looking ways to add juice to your device.
BikeCharge Dynamo
Why not charge your phone while you cycle to work with the BikeCharge Dynamo? You’re pedalling anyway, you may as well gain everything you can from that juice.
There are three lighting modes, an in-built 1000mAh battery, a battery power indicator and a “new” more durable structure. Although this isn’t the best looking of this list, it is one of the cleverest. However at US$129.00 it’s a bit… much.
Electree
The Electree is certainly the weirdest charger included, with its design imitating a bonsai tree, the leaves in this case being small photovoltaic panels.
“It allows you to recharge your mobile devices without using any other energy than light,” says the maker.
It works indoors (exclusively) and is best beside a window, soaking up all those rays of light. It was only a limited number that ran, and it was a serious wedge of cash.
We found a price of US$450, but we think they’re all gone now, unfortunately.
BOLD Knot
This “cat-approved” BOLD Knot charger is on the more affordable side of things, coming in at US$39, having already reached US$60,000 on Kickstarter, four-times its target, with a few weeks to go.
It can halt the drain of juice on your phone for up to three hours, which works for us. Also, it can charge your phone at twice the speed when hooked up to a power port.
“The Knot uses a fashionable, knot-shaped design, which also features a tiny battery pack with just the necessary juice to save one’s smart phone battery, providing up to three hours of extra talk time, 2.5h of internet or eight hours of music.”
Solar Window Charger
An oldie but a goodie, this simple XModo Solar window charger genuinely looks cool. And is only US$30 on Amazon (about 50pc more when buying direct for some reason). And works, ish.
It comes in black, white, green, red and silver, but takes about 15 hours to fully charge your device. And you have to make sure direct sunlight is getting to it for the duration. Still, every little helps and all that.
Credit Card Charger
At just US$15, this Credit Card charger is the cheapest on the list. Fitting in your wallet and just a quarter of an inch thick, this slimline device can add 25pc to your phone’s battery (although it’s only for Android and Windows phones).
The Foaster
How about this dual-charging fake toaster, called the Foaster? It’s actually very clever looking, however it fell 65pc short of its targeted US$44,400 Kickstarter campaign.
It should cost US$59 a pop, which isn’t cheap, but when it looks this cool then sometimes that doesn’t matter too much.
It works on both iOS and Android devices, and can charge up to four at once when the Foaster’s knob is pushed down to reveal a few more ports.
Robot Head Charger
Apparently this Robot Head Charger is the top-selling portable charger in Japan, which is a nice bit of worthless information.
It looks funny and packs a punch. Costing around €40-45 it has a 6000mAh battery, with its eyes indicating the remaining power level.
It’s small, light and “based upon the lovable cardboard character known as Danbo”.
Flux Capacitor
This. Is. Cool. Any fan of the Back to the Future series would happily plump for this Flux Capacitor, surely.
It just plugs into the cigarette lighter and is a bit big and bulky. But it looks great, so we’ll allow it. It’s around €22.
