World’s Smallest Phone Charger Achieves Kickstarter Funding Goal
Fuel phone charger claims to offer 20-30 minutes of emergency battery life
A team of entrepreneurs claim to have invented the world’s smallest phone charger and have achieved their funding target on Kickstarter for the Devotec Fuel Micro Charger way ahead of time.
The key-ring sized charger boasts a 220 milliamp battery that is designed to provide an additional 20-30 minutes extra talk time or a few hours on standby in an emergency.
Devotec spent months searching, testing and evaluating the smallest and most efficient parts so that they could put in a battery.
Fuel micro charger
The Fuel charger is powered through a micro USB port and retains the charge for at least one month, although the creators say it could last for up to three months. Since micro USB is the standard charging connector for most mobile phones it is almost universal, with the notable exception of those manufactured by Apple.
However, the creators have said they are working on an iPhone-version of the charger that would also be able to power an iPad Mini, but not an iPad due to the higher current and the fact that the additional charge would just not be worth the effort.
Devotec’s team of PhD scientists, MIT graduates, Harvard MBAs and ex-Motorola employees usually work on solar powered Bluetooth speakers and solar chargers and have strong links with manufacturing in China.
They say the product is ready to go, but having agreed pricing and lead times for the aluminium casings, they need the funds to pay for the first production run and some certifications.
At the time of publication, Devotec had achieved its goal of $20,000 with 24 days to go, with 1,202 backers supporting the project. At the moment, $18 will get you a Fuel charger, less than the $24.99 it will cost when it goes to retail. The first raft of chargers should be available in July 2013.
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