Hand-held electronic devices and methods for improving thermal behavior of such devices are provided. In this regard, a representative hand-held electronic device includes: a processor operative to execute instructions; a kinetic energy harvester operative to generate electrical power responsive to movement of the hand-held electronic device; and a Peltier component in thermal communication with the processor, the Peltier component being operative to receive power from the kinetic energy harvester and to remove heat from the processor.