From floating bonsai trees to levitating gadgets, hovering household items is all the rage, and now you can lift your smartphone with a similarly elevated form of design (and all while it charges!).

The OvRcharge floats your device using magnets, and has magnetic cases available for phones that would not float on their own devices.  As you phone charges, it hovers and spins slowly over the stand.

To be fair, this is absolutely a functionally useless gimmick, but you can’t have function without fun, so for fans of floating ‘stuff’ it can be a dynamic addition to your decor collection. The makers seem to have worked out both the wireless charging and magnetization issues.

“Wireless power transfer is around for years, wireless energy transmitted to  electrical load from a base or transmitter. Energy is sent through waves and on other end  an inductive coupling to electrical device, which can then use that energy to charge batteries or run the device. There are some drawbacks are in this technology like power loss and distance limitations but still that’s enough for the magic.”

“The two primary issues involved in magnetic levitation are lifting forces: providing an upward force sufficient to counteract gravity, and stability: ensuring that the system does not spontaneously slide or flip into a configuration where the lift is neutralized.” No smoke nor mirrors, just good old fashion wireless charging and magnets.

The post Magnetic Floating Phone Charger Hovers Devices in Midair first appeared on Gajitz.

Charging gadgets and sharing data are so much a part of our daily routine that we hardly think about them anymore – until we happen to find ourselves without the proper hardware, that is. The Symlis Sparrow is a flash drive and USB charging cable that fits onto your keychain so you’re never without your files and a charge.

The Sparrow is more or less a USB cable with magnets in both ends so that, when it isn’t in use, it forms a little loop that can easily be carried on your keychain. A plastic cap fits over the business ends of the cables for security, and so they don’t end up filled with pocket lint or purse crumbs.

One end of the cable is home to a flash drive of 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB. You can carry around your important work documents, store music or movies, or even share information between devices by copying files from one phone onto the Sparrow and then handing off the Sparrow to a friend.

If your phone’s battery starts running low, you can plug the USB end of the Sparrow into a computer and the other end into your phone’s charging port – it’s available for iPhones or Android devices. Although we’ve learned to be skeptical of crowdfunded gadgets, the Sparrow seems pretty attainable. It starts at a pre-order price of $35 on Indiegogo.

The post Hard-Working Keychain is a Flash Drive + Charging Cable first appeared on Gajitz.

It seems like our portable devices run out of energy just when we need a last little boost the most, hence this award-winning design to provide a jolt in dire situations.

Lightweight, mobile and recyclable, the Mini Power battery comes in three different sizes corresponding to the estimated extra life held within each: 2 hours, 4 hours or 6 hours.

Developed by Tsung Chih-Hsien, the idea is to provide people with something easy to carry but likewise simple to purchase on the go from corner stores and ultimately disposable for ease of (re)use. The concept earned its creator a Red Dot Design award but remains a conceptual prototype for now.

The post Emergency Power: Paper Micro-Batteries for Mobile Phones first appeared on Gajitz.

Carrying a portable boost of power for your mobile phone has never been an exercise in fashion, but the QBracelet is a remarkably stylish way to tote around a bit of battery top-up power.

The QBracelet can be worn on the wrist like any other bracelet, and for a tech accessory it’s actually quite attractive. Different sizes let it fit both men and women, and a unisex design means that it doesn’t look out of place on any wrist.

When your phone is running low on battery, you open up the QBracelet via a concealed hinge in the middle. One end of the newly-open side contains a charger attachment; the other end contains a port for charging the bracelet itself.

The bracelet plugs directly into the phone’s charging port and wraps around the back of the phone to look like a rounded handle. You can use the phone while it’s charging without disrupting the charging cycle.

With a fully charged QBracelet, you can boost your phone’s power to about 60% via the integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The bracelet comes in micro USB and Apple versions as well as four different finishes. It’s available for pre-order at the company’s website for $78.

The post Wear Your Power: Stylish Bracelet Charges Your Phone first appeared on Gajitz.

Almost every important piece of information we use is kept on our phones – do you back yours up often enough? If you tend to use a wall charger rather than a cable connected to your computer to charge your phone, you might not be backing up your data daily. There are plenty of smartphone users who don’t even know how to do a proper data backup.

Or perhaps you back your data up regularly, but you keep it all in the cloud. With some very real security issues surrounding cloud storage coming up in the media recently, you might want to back up your back-up with some physical data storage. Bleep is a smart charging cable that automatically backs up your data whenever you plug in your phone. The interface is password protected and you can choose exactly which data you want to back up.

With built-in physical storage ranging from 16 GB to 64 GB, Bleep comes with an app that lets you easily access your backed-up info. If your phone is lost or stolen, all you have to do is get a new one, plug in Bleep, log into your account on the Bleep app and press “Restore.” All of the data you chose to back up is automatically loaded onto your new phone.

The Bleep will be available for use with Android or iOS devices. It can back up data without the use of an internet connection and can be used as a storage stick for transporting your photos, videos, and other files without the need for additional hardware. The creative project raised more than its funding goal on Indiegogo, with early versions going from $55-$78 for supporters.

The post Smart Charging Cable Backs up Your Phone as it Charges first appeared on Gajitz.