Do you hear that background noise? It’s your smartphone, screaming that it wants to “eat.” Mobile devices bring out the best and the worst in us, but when they start spitting out warnings about the battery state, it’s most likely just the worst. Anyone can end up in a power bind, but the Plan V charger lets us escape with the help of a typical 9-volt battery.
Almost a year ago, Max shared in his recommended links a handful of methods to survive power outages. Unfortunately, some of us have lived through those temporary trips to the Middle Ages firsthand, and I assure you there is no princess to rescue. Something similar happens when our smartphone (as inopportune as always) decides to start shouting, urgently demanding a recharge. We’ve mentioned all kinds of chargers and emergency batteries, but the truth is that anyone can forget both things at home. Who hasn’t that happened to? People forget everything: keys, money, anniversaries, birthdays, the kids at school (?) and many other things. Of course, the smartphone does not forgive, nor does it have any interest in forgiving. All that matters is that it stays on, even when energy is scarce.
How Plan V Works
The developers of the Plan V charger have a different vision. For them, energy is not scarce; it’s available in formats the smartphone doesn’t know how to use. Any average store offers AA or 9-volt batteries. Plan V’s job is none other than to act as a bridge between a smartphone—whether with a micro USB or Lightning connector—and a traditional 9-volt battery. Depending on the battery’s capacity and the smartphone’s efficiency, a single unit could provide up to four extra hours of talk time. The charger weighs a mere seven grams, and it had to go through a total of seven prototypes before reaching its final design.
Kickstarter Campaign
The Plan V Kickstarter campaign will end soon (14 hours left), so interested parties should hurry. The developers have comfortably surpassed the target of 30,000 Australian dollars (about 20,000 euros), something we can also attribute to the price of each charger. Right now, a Plan V costs exactly 10 euros for the micro USB version, and 13 euros for the Lightning-compatible edition. They ship worldwide, and the first deliveries will take place in February.
