Let all other flashlights kneel before the mPower Emergency Illuminator

mpowerLEDs have really changed the flashlight market. It used to be that a Maglight was the pinnacle of illumination technology. Not any more.

Now, the LED flashlight is king. Lower energy requirements, higher lumens, less heat; the LED really makes a difference. At first, there were problems with focusing the beam, however nowadays it’s not an issue. Most LED flashlights are quite functional, durable (try dropping an incandescent bulb light from 6 feet up) and if you’ll pardon the pun, the future is quite bright.

Enter the mPower. Designed to be used as an emergency flashlight, it’s main power source is a CR123 (photocell) battery, along with a special reserve battery. The reserve battery (which is technology that the builder mPhase specializes in) has a shelf life of 20 years.

In addition to this special power source, the mPower has a built in USB port for emergency charging your cell phone, as well as any other device. The best part: if the CR123 battery is dead, the backup cell will charge your device for you. We don’t know yet how many lumens or any of the other information that really matters to flashlight geeks like myself, unfortunately.

Expect to be released into the wild in March of 2010, the mPower flashlight will set you back somewhere between $250 and $300. Ouch.

[via CNET]