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StoreDot's big promise: Fully recharge your phone in 30 seconds

A prototype device from Israeli company StoreDot promises extremely rapid charge times. 

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StoreDot/YouTube
A still from a video demo of a StoreDot charger.
  • By Matthew Shaer Correspondent

Losing battery on your phone, just when you need it the most, is pretty much the pits. 

Which is why we have "mobile power stations" and assorted portable chargers. And it's also why we have the new "flash battery" from Israeli company StoreDot. In a new video making the rounds this afternoon (hat tip, Wall Street Journal), StoreDot reps plug a Samsung smart phone into a prototype device, and in 30 seconds, take the battery charge on the handset from 27 percent to 100 percent. 

According to TechCrunch, the charger, which harnesses something called Quantum Dot Technology – Gizmag has a good explainer – will fully charge the average smart phone in half a minute.

Unfortunately, the device won't hit store shelves at nearly the same speed. 

"Right now we show a battery that extends beyond the form factor of the smartphone," StoreDot's Doron Myersdorf told TechCrunch. "So in one year we’ll have reached the size, and in two years we’ll reach the required energy density for the entire day. So we are talking about three years for a commercial ready device. So I assume it will be three years before you can actually purchase it on the market." 

The Journal expects the price to hover around $60, double that of the typical charger. Of course, that could change as StoreDot takes its gadget from prototype to store-ready device. 

"The testing phase for the safety and longevity of new battery technology can take a long time, and that’s a big reason so many solutions are still years away," notes Jared Newman of Time. "In other words, StoreDot is yet another company facing big challenges as it tries to revolutionize smartphone batteries. But it has a working demo and a timeline for commercialization, and that’s got to be worth something." 

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