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People who love gadgets are often early adopters. We’re the ones who buy the new phone before everyone else has it, we had a GPS in our car before the manufacturers thought it was a good idea, and our MP3 players were Nano-sized long before the iPod was released.

With that in mind, consider these two somewhat divergent thoughts:   

1. Battery life is essential for your portable device.
2. Charging your device doesn’t have to involve an electrical plug.

ModeLabs is thinking about these two things. A Paris-based design group, already known for their very individually-styled mobile phones, ModeLabs has announced three new concept phones.  

The Yo-Yo (which actually looks like one and is worn around the neck) uses a combination of solar power and kinetic energy conversion to power the phone, which is very stylish and certainly unique, AZERTY keyboard & all. 

The U-Turn is a REALLY unique design that gets its extra power from actually opening and closing the keypad, though you can also use voice functions. It’s the messaging center of the three. 

The Runaway uses the same kinetic energy conversion for power but is designed for exercise and includes a heart rate monitor and a tach! Including Bluetooth, it can be attached to your exercise device (bike, rowing machine, whatever) or worn on the wrist.

While none of these phones are ready for prime time yet, the ideas behind them may soon provide additional power for those power-hungry toys we love so much.

I’m sure my Toyota Prius wants one of these.