In a throwback to the days of the gramophone and the hand-cranked phone box, Motorola is introducing a new windup charger for mobile handsets that should make it easier to stay in touch or harder to get away from it all, depending on your point of view. Developed with London-based Freeplay Energy Group, maker of windup radios and flashlights, the FreeCharge is designed to keep dying phone batteries going even when youre not near a power outlet. Cranking its handle for about 45 seconds provides four or five minutes of talk time and several hours of standby time. The 11-ounce handheld device, roughly twice the weight of the average cell phone, consists of a small generator unit which can be connected to your phone via a plug-in module. FreeCharge ships to retailers in March and will cost about $65.
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