iFan: Charge Your iPhone Using Wind Power

Designer Tjeerd Veenhoven has thought up a new, unique way for users to charge their iPhone. He calls it iFan, and if you've ever seen a wind turbine in action, this idea may not sound so farfetched. As you can see from the above image, iFan is basically a clip-on fan, for your iPhone. However, that's not all. This clever device charges your iPhone using the power of the wind - a form of renewable energy, of which there is an infinite amount. Veenhoven thinks this idea might just catch on. And, he's thought quite a bit about it. Using a "modified computer fan" Veenhoven was able to charge his iPhone in six hours using iFan. "Rather long," he notes on his blog, "but it works." And, after all, that's the important part. Veenhoven also notes:

I can shave off many charging hours by redesigning the fan blades, making it more efficient in catching the wind while sun bathing at the beach, doing walking trips in the mountains or just holding it outside your car window while driving along…

Following this initial thought, Veenhoven posted a further entry in his blog, imagining "iFan for bike." Here's the initial design:

Personally, I'm not sure iFan would be all that practical. I don't cycle much, and I don't really think attaching my iPhone (complete with iFan) to the outside of my car, or any other vehicle, would be such a good idea. And, I really wouldn't trust myself to hold my iPhone out of a car window. What do you think? If you want to keep up to date with the progress of iFan, be sure to keep checking Veenhoven's blog. And, thanks to Engadget for spotting this.