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
GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL

IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION

WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .

DAREDEVIL DINING: THE 160FT HIGH RESTAURANT

Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .

BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION

Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .

WAVING SEAL PUP

RAISING his flipper, this two day old seal pup gives a wave to the camera .

VICTORIAN TENNIS RULE BOOK REVEALS GAME PLAYED BY THREE

TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .

MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

THE UNEXPECTED FRIENDLY GIANT

A baby sperm whale assumed the role of a friendly giant when faced with two awestruck divers .

ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO

HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .

ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN

BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .