In a continent where at best 20% of the continent has access to electricity, new forms of technology that require this kind of power can seem largely irrelevant. Battery technology has not advanced as fast as other areas of technology. Then along comes a cheap, hand-held device from Freeplay (the people who made the self-winding radios) that can be used to charge a mobile. Not only is it useful for those areas where there's little coverage but it also offers Africa's many street vendors another stream of income. Read the full story at Balancing Act.