For those of us relegated to economy class when we fly, there really aren’t very many options for recharging our portable electronic devices.  Inflight Power is out to change that with their USB Power Unit that draws power from an airplane’s headphone jack.

The 12 ounce device works by storing energy from the headphone jack and relaying that energy to the USB connector. The device uses a trickle charger which takes 3-5 minutes to fully charge. Once charged, it holds enough energy to power a connected device for about one minute and then the cycle starts over again. Over 700 devices are supported with different tips that attach to the USB port.

This really would have come in handy during my flight to/from E3 last month, and its small size makes it perfect for tossing into one’s bag of gear.

The Power Unit is available for $34.99 USD, but odds are you’ll need some extra connectors as well.  Inflight uses Gomadic’s TipExchange technology and for $54.99 USD you receive the Gomadic adapter, plus one tip of your choice.  Additional tips sell for $6.99 USD.