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Patent Pending

By Ophelia Chong
June 10, 2010
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To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

It's been a few days after the debut of theiPhone 4G and the collective geek explosion of a million khaki cargo shorts has subsided, we can now look forward to the iPhone accessories that will pop up like dandelions on cracked sidewalks.

I know there will be covers, plastic skins, leather and vinyl cases, docking stations made to look like cigar boxes, rubber gloves to grip the slippery surface and other items to maximize the impact of your friends' iPhone envy.

One upgrade to the iPhone 4G is the 40% increase in talk time due to a larger battery. No more searching for a plug in the auditorium during a Blogfest, or attaching that umbilical cord to your lighter outlet in the car. While musing this, I thought, why not a portable battery charger? One difference between the Droid (I am an owner of a Droid) and the iPhones is the removable battery, I can carry a back-up in case I need to surf the net a bit more while waiting for my Venti Latte at Starbucks. So back to my musing about portable battery chargers for the iPhone.

Then it hit me like an errant splash of a McFlurry in the line for Ironman2. I quickly powered up my Powerbook (17" Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz) and drew this up.

The Incredible Portable iPhone Battery Machine.

Specifications: 8 x 6 x 9"
Curb Weight: 25 pounds
Parts: Wood, steel, brass, copper wires and a small coal shovel.
Battery Life: 3 minutes to every 50 crank rotations
Battery: Coal
Engine: Steam

Pro: you don't need an outlet, just a good strong arm and elbow grease. And you don't need a contract from AT+T to run it.

Con: Coal and the possibility of getting tendonitis

I am hoping this will appeal to the Steampunk crowd and those who refuse to acknowledge Global Warming.

I believe this accessory will not only make the iPhone 4G unstoppable, it will also make any owner look like they have seen the future by mining the past.

Image: Ophelia Chong / The Incredible Portable iPhone Battery Machine

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