Gizmo

Sidewinder Hand-Crank Cellular Phone Charger

Have you ever had a cellular phone conversation like this: “That’s nice that your new curtains match the sofa Aunt Judy, but can you just put Uncle Frank on because I need him to bring my extra keys over. I’m locked out of my house.”

Of course the Aunt Judys of the world want to talk and talk and talk. And they tend to be oblivious to the mechanics of cellular phone batteries and their tendency to die suddenly, leaving you on your doorstep with no easy way to get hold of

Uncle Frank and your extra key.
Fear not, the Sidewinder is here. This 2.5 oz gizmo can be used to hand crank power into your cellular phone to give your battery a little extra boost so that Aunt Judy gets explain all about her new living room and can still get Uncle Frank out of the basement to bring you your keys.

The device is about half the size of those premium bars of deodorant soap, so it’s small enough to fit in a car glove box, a purse or briefcase.

Using it is fairly easy. You attach it to your cellular phone with an included cable customized for your phone brand. A hand crank that folds out from the gizmo and all you do is crank like crazy for a few minutes to power up your fading battery. This can give you enough juice to finish that emergency call. Two minutes of cranking, for example, can give you about six minutes of talk time. And if you have really good arm muscles you can crank and talk for a long, long time.

The device works with most cellular phone brands and since the cable can be removed from the device you can order a new one (at reasonable cost of US$4.95) if you change phones.

One bonus is a little white LED light built into the device so that you can also use it as an impromptu crankable flashlight. This is very useful if you realize that you don’t need Uncle Frank’s help this evening because there’s an extra key hidden in a dark crevice in the brickwork by the door.

Approximate price: $35 CDN, $24.95 US
More info: www.sidewindercharger.com
Where to buy: Sidewindercharger.com will ship to Canada and the U.S.

-Andy Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

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Copyright © Cyberwalker Media Inc. 2002