Does it create a cell tower for you to connect to, as well? I am not certain where these people are planning on camping, but where I go it is sans cell towers.

Anyone remember this....

[yosemiteoutside.com]

It could be adapted for a cell phone.

what they really need to develop is a burn-you-own-poop portable biomass-based generator.

Pretty sure it does not create it's own cell tower, as far as burning poop goes, maybe there would be a way of using some of the energy generated by a camp fire to make some electricity for charging. I've a friend with a fold open solar array that swears by it when camping. He charges his cell and a few AA batteries every day.

Surely this is just asking for someone to slash open your tent and look to steal the cellphone while you're away.

-Perros-

@ 6 oz, I'll take 5 of them, stake them out in a field as my own little wind farm. Then I'll run a TV and satellite, electric chainsaw, or maybe a portable AC unit back in the tent. Nothing says civilization like spitting right in Nature's eye.

This would rock in some parts of the world where you can get cellphone reception in the middle of nowhere because it's cheaper to put up towers than run cables through the jungle. I went to the Philippines with a professor studying bat ecology a couple years ago. We could get reception on a mountain in a national park but had to walk 1/2 an hour down to the village to charge her phone. =D

cool. one more way for the next unabomber to keep in touch with the world at large while remaining off the grid. :D

As far as using the camp fire heat... you can always use the tried and true method for power generation: you boil water, and have the steam turn a turbine, which in turn operates the generator that charges your cellie.

@junyo
Even with 5 of them you'd get a "whopping" 2.5W, which isn't going to power jack. That's nearly 2 pounds for just the generators; how heavy (and bulky) do you think it's going to get once you include everything need to keep them from blowing away?

By contrast, a 5W solar cell will weigh about 3lbs, will be unlikely to blow away, and be no more bulk than a single one of these. That'll also run you around $50, so unless these things are about $5 each they just aren't going to make any sense for either dollar/watt or weight/watt.

In short, as was joked with their last mention on Gizmodo, these really do blow!

it looks like someone put a gigantic propeller beanie into some wood *lol*

Wind requirements of 12mph? If I am in 12mph sustained winds, I am going to rethink the tent and get a sailboat!

Orange is French, not english! They are a part of France Telecom. apart from that, cool idea, and it'll probably relatively cheap as a dealie with waterproof cellphones or old nokias (those things are like 1st gen Gameboys, they'll go through hell and back, just pop the battery back in and the shell back on, and BOOM they work).

P.S: Yes, I'm French.

Thanks for the comments, give me a break, this is a prototype.
The boring stuff:
'Betz law' suggests a power rating of 1 watt for a 12" (30cm) diameter propeller at 80% efficiency in a 10 mph wind, so some improvements are needed, we have about 50 planned.

So this is the figure we will be aiming for in the production model.

Also remember, the wind can blow 24/7 unlike the sun's relative short 'window of opportunity'.

Cheers

Ben.

@gotwind

No, you don't get a break. If you demo something you damn well better expect to get feedback on what you show. Even if you double the output it still doesn't appear to match what you can get from solar. And while the sun might not shine all day, it certainly rises a lot more reliably in most places than the wind blows over 10mph. Don't defend what is clearly a poorly conceived product. Stick to large scale wind farms, which absolutely crush solar right now, and leave the small scale stuff alone if you don't actually have anything useful to offer.