K2 Solar Wind Charger

With all these gadgets you depend on everyday, and all the places you've got to go, it's nice to have a recharger ready when the power gets low. Better yet to have a charger that draws its energy from the sun. I've written about mobile solar chargers before. But what if it's dark? Or even worse, stormy? Then you need a wind powered charger! Can you really carry around windmill? Yes, when it's as small as the K2 Wind and Solar Charger from Kinesis Industries. This device is about the size of a flashlight, and can recharge your phone, iPod, camera, Blackberry, or other USB devices. According to Kinesis, an hour of sun and wind will give you enough juice to talk on the phone for 30 minutes or play music for three hours. Of course, there's an asterisk, because that estimate depends on both the weather and how much power your particular device draws.

The K2 Charger is not only powered by sun and wind; you can also charge it by plugging it in at home, so you can start your journey with a full charge. That's three power sources for a hand held device, which is pretty sweet in itself. The K2 was unveiled over the weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas (see a video here). This gadget has plenty of features that make it easy to use.

You can stand up the K2 or leave it on its side for optimal sun exposure, and a clip in the bottom allows it to hang from your car, bike or ATV an recharge with wind. It comes with a built-in USB port, and a convenient screwcap on the bottom hides all the additional adaptors you need. The K2 will retail for around $100.