These gadgets represent the best green mobile phone technology has to offer. Battery technology and charging innovations address the biggest problems with today’s smartphones. How do we get our phone charged and keep it charged in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way possible. Using these green mobile phone technologies, we can really boost our eco friendly footprint.
NoPoPo
Far from being the antithesis of a radical right-wing movement in America, the NoPoPo (non-pollution power) Aqua Battery is from Japan, and can charge using almost any liquid from beer, juice, coca-cola; and yes you can even use urine if you so feel inclined to! So how does it work? Well, you just put the battery into a liquid and then, using a syringe to suck it up, squeeze it into the battery.
They come in a range of battery sizes. The batteries can be re-filled up to 5 times and with just a few drops of water being able to produce up to 1.5 volts @ 500mA of current. Tests by the manufacturer support the claim that a single AAA version battery can run a small hand-held torch light for anything up to 20 hours.
Just how much better are they for the environment? Well they’re very clever batteries that use 100% non –toxic materials; they don’t contain any harmful materials or substances such as hexavalent chrome, lead, cadmium or mercury, yet they can still hold a charge for up to 20 years.
Reverse Electrowetting
Just imagine what it would be like if you could walk, talk and power your mobile up at the same time? Sounds like science-fiction, well it’s not, your body and its efforts are an absolute power house. You know the story of how so much heat is lost through your head? Well, heat is energy – at the other end of the body, nearly 20 watts of power is lost as heat every time your foot hits the ground!
Imagine if you could collect all that heat loss and store it to provide you with a cheap and alternative power source for your mobile phone? The human body can generate up to a kilowatt of power when in sprint, which has got to be one of the cheapest and environmentally friendly ways we’ve heard of yet. Usain Bolt has probably generated enough energy to power his smartphones for life.
So how could you do it? Well a couple of American engineering experts, Tom Krupenkin and Ashley Taylor, have come up with a technology that they call Reverse Electrowetting. It’s really a case of harvesting all the metal microdroplets in the soles of your shoes and you do that by converting the energy of moving liquid droplets into electrical current.
Well, to start, you have to use two layers of nanometer thin film and in between them place an electrically conductive liquid, so when the top layer is pushed down on to the bottom layer, this compresses the liquid, bingo – you’ll start to produce electricity. If you do the maths, you need 1,000 droplets on a 40 centimetre square area, then you’ll be looking at generating up to 10 watts per step, you could potentially charge up your mobile in a 2 hour stroll.
Another innovation is that instead of just plugging a cable in, Krupenkin and Taylor are looking at it being transmitted to your mobile phone (or lap-top) wire free. This reminds us a lot of the festival wellies that help you get a charge in the middle of nowhere.
So with all that electrical power generator under your foot, running out of power half way through your conversation could be a thing of the past. All of the above could make this the best green mobile phone technology. What do you reckon?
Booster Brolly
A little on the history of the umbrella before we get to this great technology. Some experts suggest that the humble umbrella has its origins some 4,000 years ago from the likes of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and China. The theory goes it started out as giant leaves strung out on bough like limbs. The word Parasol derives from the Latin word, prepare and with a Booster Brolly, you’d be prepared for a sudden ran shower and have the ability to charge your phone using the sun while you stay out of it.
Well, whoever came up with the idea, we are sure they would be pleased with this latest collaboration of Dr. Kenneth Tong of University College London and Vodafone. The Booster Brolly is a green friendly mobile phone charging umbrella designed for those melting under the sun or queuing in the rain looking to power up their phone or other USB driven devices. The designers suggest you can charge your phone up in less than 3 hours depending on the sunlight there is and it’s aimed at campers and festival devotees doing their thing in the mud.
The device has 12 solar panels and does the ‘converting light to an electrical charge thing’. The power is then stored in the Brolly’s handle where it’s held in high capacity batteries so you can then power out through a USB connector. For the ultra trendy, you’ll be pleased it has a hands free mobile phone docking station.
The price? No idea, but its funky and fun innovation on an old idea and a good solution if you’re stuck in the mud somewhere and can’t get to a wall socket.