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Chargers/Batteries

Plug’s beefy battery can power anything you need off the grid

Once a novel idea, our growing need for smartphone connectivity has spawned an endless supply of battery chargers. Many of these range from tiny keychain trinkets to more substantial slabs that offer two to three charges of smartphones boasting the biggest internal batteries.

To really stand out, though, you need to something big and different. ChargeTech knows this as the company has released a series of portable charging units including this charger charger that can keep a series of charging bricks topped off.Aafter hitting Indiegogo back in 2014 with what it claimed was the world’s smallest battery pack with an AC outlet, it’s with Plug, which houses a massive 48,000 mAh battery and two AC outlets as well as a USB-C port. How is capable of outputting  250 volts, which means it is robust enough to handle a desktop computer, a monitor, a television, a blender and many other electrical items one normally wouldn’t expect to use away from a wall.

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Chargers/Batteries Smart Home

Orison smart home battery takes charge of off-grid power needs

High energy costs continue to put a strain on the budgets of many families. The U.S. energy grid is also overburdened and sometimes unreliable, especially in the summer when many people are running air conditioners. Renewable energy sources including solar and wind, meanwhile, are widely considered to be major parts of the solution, but they tend to be intermittent -– limited to when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.

Orison patent-claimedis a plug-and-play energy storage system that’s designed to work in any country, whether the user gets energy from the grid, the sun or another source. The battery system automatically stores energy when utility rates are low, and then uses that energy to power the user’s home or business when rates are high. During a power outage, it can automatically power a home or business and make sure none of the stored energy is sent back to the grid. By localizing energy distribution, users can save money while lowering peak demand on the grid.

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Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

The EVO companion is a Swiss Army knife for the mobile world

Walking around with a sliver of plastic, glass and electronics in the pocket that is essentially a full fledged computer is the fundamental appeal of the smartphone. Unfortunately, many have to make sure they bring along the requisite charging cable, a case, a power bank for extra power, etc., suddenly making that sliver of engineering not as portable.

At just the size of a key fob, the EVO smartphone companion consolidates a wide range of products into one, easy-to-use gadget. For starters, EVO replaces both a user’s charging cable and wall adapter for an iOS or Android device with its built-in USB cable with Lightning attachment. In addition, EVO’s Bluetooth connectivity lets it act as a remote to control music and camera functions from afar. That Bluetooth connectivity works as a safety net, too. It’ll automatically lock and unlock the connected smartphone based on the proximity of its owner, doubling as a Bluetooth tracker to prevent users from walking away from their phones or losing their keys completely.

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Chargers/Batteries

ATOM battery pack charges everything under the sun and then some

One of the biggest issues with the many pieces of technology that make life so much more enjoyable, productive, and fulfilling is their incessant need for electricity. Everyone has experienced that moment where their laptop, phone, or wearable was on the cusp of death, instantly ruining future plans. In this day and age, that just shouldn’t happen.

The team behind the ATOM is on a mission to make sure of that. The ATOM is an small, unassuming black box comprised of a universal power outlet and a battery pack with a rapid charging USB port. The battery pack’s tiny size betrays its monstrous capacity for power — 30,000 mAh to be exact.

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Chargers/Batteries

Batteriser promises to give your batteries up to eight lives

Remember batteries? They used to show up in things like pagers, digital cameras, voice recorders, flashlights and other things that smartphones replaced.  They’re still used in many toys, remote controls and relatively high-tech products such as cordless mice and keyboards as well as smart door locks. And when they run out of juice, they have to be replaced.

Rechargeables are one way to cut down on their consumption. But rechargeables aren’t recommend for all devices and recharging them can be inconvenient. This tends to lead to a lot of waste that could be cut significantly if batteries lasted longer, the goal of Batteriser. According to the campaign, we tap only about 20 percent of an alkaline battery’s energy before it gives up the ghost. The invention is an ultra-thin sleeve that greatly extends the life of the battery with a tiny amount of circuitry that regulates the battery’s voltage. One demonstration shows a flashlight maintaining its output for hours with Batteriser on its batteries while its brightness goes down significantly without it.

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Aquatics

Inflatable SipaBoard propels paddleboards with engines, removes remnant exertion

Paddleboarding has become one of the most popular forms of water entertainment. Riders stand on top of the board and simply paddle around. However, this is one of the more serene, slower-paced water sports out there.

SipaBoard hopes to amp up the volume on paddleboarding. This newfangled inflatable floating platform comes with an electric engine to get you moving faster. With three hours of life, the engine is strong enough to propel boarders upstream for more difficult waters. The engine runs on a battery pack that can be recharged. Multiple packs can be used for maximum runtime on the water. Simple buttons on the board help control the engine for uncomplicated use. In addition, a compressor helps inflate and deflate the board quickly.

Theproduct joins other paddleboarding enhancers such as the Roll-Up Sail, which provides extra speed as well. SipaBoard pushes the envelope further with engine power, a new development for this sport. For their own, backers must donate $1,490 for this product. SipaBoard is looking to raise $150,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Cooking

GoSun Grill captures sun’s rays to char your burger even at night

Grilling is one of the preferred ways to cook, especially in the summertime. Most require propane or charcoal to work, however, making them less than convenient at times.

patent-claimedThe GoSun Grill changes all of that with its solar technology. Fold out the reflectors in the sunshine for two hours and enjoy hours of cooking time. The thermal battery stores the solar charge and lets the grill be used at any time, even at night. This grill can roast, boil, steam, or bake anything you want. It doesn’t require any dirty fuel and is completely portable. The grill cooks anything evenly from 360 degrees for delicious, cleanly-made food.

The GoSun Grill certainly changes the game of grilling. Not only does it display awesome potential for cooking, but also demonstrates the power of developing solar technology. For one, backers will need to fork over $399 with delivery in September 2015. GoSun hopes to raise $140,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Quick Cool offers personal phone fan with not-so-quick delivery

With welcome warmer days ahead, people are enjoying rising temperatures, but forgetting how hot it can really get.

Now, anyone with a cell phone can cool themselves down. The Quick Cool is a small 2”x2” fan that can plug into any phone via a USB cable. It has a battery life of around four hours and can easily be recharged. Once production starts, the product will be available in a variety of colors.

While the Quick Cool does have the convenience of working with phones, an obvious question looms: Is such a device actually a beneficial? A fan sucking up a phone’s battery life doesn’t seem desirable in the slightest, especially since most phones can barely stay alive for a full day. There are also a multitude of small portable fans already out there. Additionally, the device’s 2”x2” size doesn’t seem large enough to really make any kind of real difference from a cooling perspective.

Still, interested backers can have one of their own for $40 if they’re willing to wait until April 2017 for delivery. Quick Cool is looking to raise $8,000 on Kickstarter by April 29.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Shake the VAGA HandEnergy to charge your phone, burn your lunch

Throughout the day, many people are understandably preoccupied with ensuring that their smartphones, tablets, and laptops are sufficiently charged and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Unfortunately, finding the requisite “juice” can often be challenging as outlets can be scarce and portable batteries themselves need to be charged as well.

A novel solution to this problem would be a battery capable of charging itself as opposed to one which requires an outlet for charging. Thankfully, this product exists and is called the VAGA HandEnergy. The VAGA HandEnergy is a compact, handheld device that uses kinetic energy to produce power that can be used to charge smartphones. All you have to do to generate a charge is shake the device your hand. Although the device features a single USB port, the campaign isn’t clear about whether or not the VAGA HandEnergy can charge other devices like tablets as well. In any case, there are a wide variety of colors to choose from, so backers won’t be without choice. The product is priced at $39, with an unclear ship date and a $50,000 campaign goal.

VAGA HandEnergy may seem like a novelty product, but alternative means of generating energy is a growing market and the VAGA HandEnergy therefore finds itself in good company. Products like Hydrobee also seek to cut the cord on outlet dependence, making both devices ideal for always-on-the-go types who absolutely need their phones on, fully charged, and ready for anything.

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Chargers/Batteries

Lightors Monster batteries finally recharge the way everything else does

The main problem with standard alkaline batteries is that they have to be thrown away after a few hours of use—an inconvenience for users and the environment. Typical rechargeable batteries do away with that issue, but require the use of a separate cradle or other charger.

Lightors Monster batteries largely overcome both of those issues. They can be recharged more than 500 times, and don’t require a separate charger to house the batteries while charging. All that users need to do is plug a micro USB cable into the internal port on the batteries, and it will start recharging instantly. Lightors batteries hold promise thanks to their convenience, especially while traveling. The fact that they don’t require a separate charging device while at home or in an office, however, is not a huge selling point. That’s because they still require a separate device for recharging in the form of whatever device is attached to the other end of the micro USB cable.

Lightors come in a choice of AA or AAA batteries, and will ship two-packs of either battery type in July of this year to backers that spend $8. Its creator set a goal of reaching $15,000 by March 14.