This Mobile Phone Runs on AA Batteries

It looks more like a TV remote, but for the first time there’s a phone that works with a AA battery.

It’s called the SpareOne. Like the name implies it is really designed to be a backup phone, the kind you store in a drawer and pull out when your primary device (for whatever reason) isn’t working.

The phone itself is very stripped down; this thing makes phone calls and text messages, and that is about it. But after all, in an emergency you’re not going to be updating your Twitter page. The phone uses SIM card technology and works on the GSM network – you can just pop in the one from your usual phone. But it also means the phone will work almost anywhere in the world. (Japan and South Korea are the only exceptions).

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But the real draw of this thing is the AA battery. No other phone can do this and it means that a charger becomes almost unnecessary. The company says the phone will hold a charge for 15 years (or, the shelf life of the AA batteries you can get ith the phone).

Is there a down side? In a real blackout the mobile network will have some problems -- in 2003 New York City was left without power, and that included the cell towers. But a standard battery has been on the wish list of mobile device users from the get-go.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

The SpareOne will go on sale at the web site for $49.99 by the end of March in the U.S.

Each weekday on TechNewsDaily, That's Useful! finds practical new gadgets, computing hardware, apps, appliances and other electronics that make sense and simply make life better.

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