There are plenty of ways to recharge your fast-draining mobile phones and other devices--little boxes with batteries and a zillion cables for every phone connector imaginable, solar panels, fuel cells, and more. But one ingenious company caught us a bit by surprise. nVolutions' nVolt works using kinetic energy (rotational inertia). Just attach it to your phone, spin, and get electricity. Simple, small, effective--although we won't know that last part until the product ships later this year.

nVolt comes with a phone skin, that includes a cutout for the nVolt. The main part of nVolt (the plate) goes under the skin, which holds it in place, and allows a spinning puck to attach itself. Current flows from the nVolt to the phone's charging point. nVolutions CEO Bobby Budziszek said that for now, the product will require the company's skin, but over time it will work with any skin.

In the video embedded below, Budziszek talks about the mechanics of how it works. He also said that one good spin can give the phone two minutes of charge; otherwise, it's the same as plugging it into an outlet: 30 minutes of spinning equals 30 minutes of battery life.

The nVolt won't be available until the end of the year, but it will be priced around $25.

Fritz Nelson is the editorial director for InformationWeek and the Executive Producer of TechWebTV. Fritz writes about startups and established companies alike, but likes to exploit multiple forms of media into his writing.

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