Some questions define generations. A few years ago it was “what’s the wifi password?” but as 4G hits everyone’s phone, today it’s “does anyone have a charger?” Our smartphones have become part of everything from our commute to dinner routines, and more juice could always come in handy before you can run home to a charger.
Saving us from these dark hours is Tartu-based Bold Gadgets‘ The Knot, a tiny battery pack that fits onto your keychain and looks like one of those parachute chord knots you’ll see trendy outdoors people carrying around. Inside is a small battery pack and cable (wrapped in rugged parachute chord) that keeps the cable flexible and strain free. While it’s small size might give it less juice than the portable charging brick you keep in your bag, the Knot claims to charge your phone 2x faster than other cables, giving you up to 3 hours more battery to use.
On the technical side they claim the speed comes from blocking data from passing through the wires and instead using them exclusively for power, speeding up charge times while still being easy on your phone’s battery. Bold Gadgets has been working on this startup for two years and recently went through Estonia’s Buildit accelerator, founding the company officially in March.
The Knot is now live on Indiegogo where you can pick up an earlybird pre-order for $29 (€26)
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