The Sounds of Charging

Cellphones have an uncanny knack of dying at the most inopportune times: Late at night, stuck in ridiculous traffic, lost in the middle of no-where or while you're being chased through a forest by an Axe-wielding cannibal.

Fortunately, plenty of brainpower has been applied to the dilemma and a host of options have been created that will take care of your needs in roughly 75% of the scenarios mentioned, and plenty that are slightly less intense.

Some are really eco-friendly too, like the thermo-electric charger that uses an open flame or the solar powered version. And for those who live in places that are overcast and not amicable to an open flame, there's the laborious last resort of a hand wound charger. We even found some hand held wind powered options.

If powerpoints are in short supply the Flipit charger leeches power from an outlet already in use, but our choice for sheer novelty and potential is the wearable battery charger that converts sounds into electrical power. UK service provider Orange, as part of their sponsorship of Glastonbury annually unveils an eco and festival friendly initiative. This year they revealed the Sound Charge. It leaves quite a lot to be desired in the aesthetics department.

No more stumbling around in the dark wishing your torch app and GPS had enough juice left after shooting hours of footage of your favourite bands. Finding your tent just got that much easier.