Airplane USB charger!

[Jawo]

Sorry if repost, but saw this over on Fark, and it was too ingenious not to post over here.

It's a drip USB charger that powers anything that can charge from USB...not a continuous flow though
Text

 

[neutralizer]

Just to let you know it's already on the Anandtech news section.

 

[mugs]

Woah :Q

Kind of expensive though.

 

[intogamer]

any 3rd party ones yet? 😀

 

[Jawo]

Thanks for the info neutralizer...usually just keep a atot tab open though

 

[IronWing]

That is so cool! I had no idea you could charge an entire airplane off a USB port. :Q
So what happens when you takeoff, wouldn't the cable come loose? Or does the plane just stay in one place on the treadmill so the cable is okay?

 

[IronWing]

So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Originally posted by: ironwing
So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

Careful, your ignorance is showing.

I've been considering making/selling a battery-based product for this that will let you charge an average device(iPod Photo, say) up to 10 times before needing to be plugged in. I'm not sure if it'd sell from a small business, though- I'm sure it would from Belkin or Apple, but probably not a no-name business.

 

[Rock Hydra]

3-5 minutes for one minute of play? So...playing while charging would only extend the battery life, not keep it from running down. Would I seem to be corrrect in that assumption?

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra
3-5 minutes for one minute of play? So...playing while charging would only extend the battery life, not keep it from running down. Would I seem to be corrrect in that assumption?

You would be correct. Unless you can find an in-flight channel that plays nothing but a continuous loud noise, don't expect a neverending power source. It is a great idea for a product though. On a long flight an extra hour or two of battery life would be awesome.

 

[Dunbar]

Originally posted by: ironwing
So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

Since the headphone jacks are rated in milliwatts the answer is no.

 

[iamaelephant]

Originally posted by: Rock Hydra
3-5 minutes for one minute of play? So...playing while charging would only extend the battery life, not keep it from running down. Would I seem to be corrrect in that assumption?

I think you misintepreted the article (or I did). I think it charges the device for 1 minute for every 3-5 mins that it is plugged into the earphone jack.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Dunbar

Originally posted by: ironwing
So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

Since the headphone jacks are rated in milliwatts the answer is no.

😀 It'd be the same as if everyone was listening to music or the inflight movie through their headphones - at full volume.

Re: TitanDiddly's post - I have such a device for my DS/GBA
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-b5-49-en-15-thunder-70-xxz.html
(my only complaint is that it requires a PSP power cord to charge... but I found a A/C adaptor with a similar voltage and the same size plug that worked fine.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Dunbar

Originally posted by: ironwing
So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

Since the headphone jacks are rated in milliwatts the answer is no.

😀 It'd be the same as if everyone was listening to music or the inflight movie through their headphones - at full volume.

Re: TitanDiddly's post - I have such a device for my DS/GBA
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-b5-49-en-15-thunder-70-xxz.html
(my only complaint is that it requires a PSP power cord to charge... but I found a A/C adaptor with a similar voltage and the same size plug that worked fine.

Nice.

I considered making them, I even priced out the cost of all the parts- I just can't compete with Asia mass manufacturing, though.

 

[JEDI]

aww.. thought you can charge a laptoip w/this thing. but only if the laptop can be charged via usb port.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: TitanDiddly

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Dunbar

Originally posted by: ironwing
So, if everybody plugs one of these in to the plane wouldn't that suck power from the engines, you know, the engines that keep the plane in the air? Hmmmm.

Since the headphone jacks are rated in milliwatts the answer is no.

😀 It'd be the same as if everyone was listening to music or the inflight movie through their headphones - at full volume.

Re: TitanDiddly's post - I have such a device for my DS/GBA
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-b5-49-en-15-thunder-70-xxz.html
(my only complaint is that it requires a PSP power cord to charge... but I found a A/C adaptor with a similar voltage and the same size plug that worked fine.

Nice.

I considered making them, I even priced out the cost of all the parts- I just can't compete with Asia mass manufacturing, though.

Clearly the solution is to have it manufactured in Asia. 😉

 

[VanTheMan]

Pretty neat