Charge your BlackBerry battery using Wi-Fi signal

When I first saw the Energizer EnergiStick, I thought it was one of the coolest little gadgets around. No long would I have to fear my battery dying if there wasn’t an outlet available — or worse, if I forgot my charger, as I do so often. The device has an obvious limitation in that it can only provide a certain level of charge before needing a charge itself. Apparently, there was an even cooler BlackBerry charger on display at CES last week, though it went underreported. The folks at OhGizmo caught wind of it, though, and because of them we can now revel in the coolness of the RCA Airnergy. It charges your BlackBerry wirelessly.

Energy currents pass through the air constantly, the the Airnergy harnesses that power. Specifically, it comes from WiFi signals, which you can find at so many locations these days.

The Airnergy unit contains a battery of its own. The component inside the device converts the WiFi signal into electricity, charging the battery. How long that takes depends on the strength of the signal and number of hotspots available. The Airnergy battery can charge anywhere — in your messenger bag, in your pocket — as long as you’re getting a WiFi signal.

Then, when your BlackBerry needs a charge, you just plug in the USB end of the device and you’re off. During the demonstration at CES, the Airnergy charged a BlackBerry from 30 percent battery to full in about 90 minutes. Of course, they had the benefit of readily available WiFi signals there, which might have aided in the charging time.

The Airnergy should hit stores this summer, and will cost $40. That seems like an incredible deal for a device that not only charges your BlackBerry on the go, but also recharges itself whenever you’re in a WiFi hotspot. Which, these days, can be quite often.

Make sure to check out the demo video.