MPower CR123 Flashlight Unveiled [New Flashlight Features 20-year Battery, USB Charger]

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MPower’s flashlights (or ‘torches’ as some on the TFTS staff would call them) really are for gadget people. For starters, it’s a powerful LED flashlight that uses less energy and gives off higher lumens than a conventional flashlight. The CR123 is intended to be used as an emergency flashlight, and has a 20 year battery life.

The CR123 will have two batteries, a regular battery that is meant to be used in the day-to-day usage of the flashlight, then a specialized chemical battery with a 20-year shelf life that is for ‘emergency’ usage. This would be perfect for a car safety kit or a Y2K survival kit. It turns out that mPhase’s (the manufacturer of the MPower flashlights) primary business is the manufacture of these emergency chemical cells.

Now the really geeky part, the CR123 includes a USB charger. A small USB port on the side of the flashlight will let you charge your USB gadgets in a pinch as it’ll drain power from the emergency chemical battery. It goes without saying that this is for charging your cell phone in an emergency, not recharging your iPod because it’s dead during a car ride, but it’ll probably be used that way as well.

The CR123 will be released in March 2010. No exact word on pricing but mPhase told blog CrunchGear that it’ll cost between $250 and $300 when released.