Nokia unveils bicycle charger for mobile phones

HELSINKI - Finnish mobile telephone maker Nokia Thursday unveiled a bicyle charger unit aimed at offering “free and environmentally friendly electricity” for handset users.

The kit includes a charger, a dynamo, and a handset holder.

The dynamo - a small electrical generator - uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset, Nokia said, adding that the dynamo was connected to a jack used in most of the group’s mobile phones.

The bicycle charger kit was to be available from the end of the year, and Nokia planned to sell the units through certain retailers and online.

Nokia noted that bicycles are a common transport mode in many countries, and the kit offered people with little access to electricity a means of charging their handsets.