APPY CAMPING: COOKING STOVE CHARGES SMARTPHONES

Here's a APPY solution that should brighten up a wet weekend away camping - a wood powered stove that also recharges your smartphone. The CampStove can burn sticks, pine cones and biomass to generate enough heat and power to charge a phone, light, satnav or gadget that is USB chargeable. The quirky invention converts the heat from the fire to power a fan and produce the electric charge that US manufacturers BioLite claim eliminates the need for expensive fuel when users are without electricity. They say its CHAR-GE GRILLED capabilities still provide enough power for a fully fired stove to cook a meal's essentials when a device is on charge. Users in the US hailed its effectiveness during Hurricane Sandy when over six million people lost electricity with some able to carry on cooking and keeping electronics charged using the device. The stove's powerpack slips inside the small 21cm by 12cm cooking chamber and is lit with a match or lighter, weighing in at 935g. It currently retails at £80 ($129) in the US and is set to be available in stores in the UK next summer.

Other great stories
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC

A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .

STOLEN £2K BULLDOG REUNITED WITH FAMILY VIA TWITTER

STOLEN £2K BULLDOG REUNITED WITH FAMILY VIA TWITTER - A £2,000 bulldog puppy snatched from her home by burglars has been reunited with her family thanks to Twitter .

DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE MILKY WAY ABOVE UK AND ITALY

A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .

CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .

BLIND MAN BEATEN WITH BRICK FOR SAYING HELLO

A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .

BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

ABANDONED TEXTILE MILL

HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .

CHERNOBYL - 28 YEARS ON

TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .

STUNNING ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE

LOCATIONS bursting with vibrant greens and chestnut browns, these photographs capture the peaceful English countryside in all its glory .

ABANDONED HOBBIT HOUSE

IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .

ANTS IN TUG OF WAR

A trio of ants are locked in a tug of war over a fly as they pull the bug by its legs .