Nokia Developing Self-Charging Cell Phones

By Allen Tsai | Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:18 am

Scientists at Nokia have developed a way to recharge cell phone batteries with movement, rather than using a charger, similar to methods found in high-end mechanical watches.

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The Finnish company has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, registering ownership of a technique to "harvest piezoelectric kinetic energy" from the movement of the handset -- similar to how self-winding timepieces harness energy.

Manufacturers have long been looking for alternative methods to generate and store power as more robust smartphones increase the need for longer-lasting batteries.

In the past, companies like Apple have filed patents for solar panels on its handsets, while Japanese tech giant Toshiba started selling a portable fuel cell to recharge gadgets on the go. Rival Samsung even designed a series of prototypes with integrated fuel cells to power phones with water.

Several green companies in Japan and Taiwan have pioneered fuel cell technology to convert hydrogen into energy, but to date, only a few eco-phones -- mostly just made from bio-plastic materials -- have made it to market, including the Samsung Reclaim for Sprint, Motorola Renew for T-Mobile and the solar-powered Samsung Blue Earth device.

Posted In: Innovations & Inventions (238) | Nokia (556) | Green Technology (49)

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