Nokia DC-14 : Bicycle charger, now available!

Nokia’s bicycle charger kit (DC-14) which is supposed to be a popular concept in the developing world is turning out to be just as popular in the developed world. Nokia has decided to sell it for a price of 25 GBP to the UK market. The price for Indian market could be Rs. 1499. Nokia Bicycle charger DC-14 provides free and eco-friendly energy from bicycling. A dynamo is attached to the wheel which generates power as the cycle moves, which is connected to the Bicycle charger in which a Nokia phone can be plugged in to.

The package kit contains Nokia Bicycle charger DC-14, four reusable cable ties, A rubber phone holder and a protective bag for the device, A bottle dynamo (comes with a L shaped bracket, three 6 mm bolts, three 6 mm nuts to attach the dynamo to the wheel) and a user guide.

The charger kit is easy to install and the dynamo is robustly designed. Phones protective gear will keep the phone clear from humidity and dust. The phone starts charging when the bicycle speed is 6 km/hr and it stops when the speed is 50 km/hr. 12 km/h is an optimum speed for maximum charging. A 10 minute cycling can provide power for 28 minute talk time or 37 hours standby time.

The charger’s interface is regular Nokia charger interface and should work for most Nokia phones. But this can be extend to devices which have a MicroUSB charging interface through a charger adaptor CA-146C. In that case, can we use this charger for any phone which is microUSB enabled?

When you say cycle, the immediate picture everyone gets is rural areas. What we forget is this could be as efficiently used in urban areas. There is an increasing trend of pleasure cycling, hobby cycling or mountain biking and people can mount this inexpensive charger, get fit and get the phone charged too. If you are not into hobby cycling, you can mount this charger on to your kid’s cycle. Either way I cannot but find an use for this ingenuous Nokia charger.

Source : Image, Nokia