Charge your iPod with solar energy
By MyADSL, December 2006
Source:
http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=5192
For concerned environmentalists out there, there’s a new product on the market that allows you to charge your iPod using the Sun. But even if you don’t give a hoot about the environment and just want a way to power your iPod, which has a notoriously short battery life, this charger looks to offer a means to do so. Flexopower, a Johannesburg based company focusing on portable solar solutions for consumer electronics, has brought out a solar iPod/MP3 charger called the Flexopower Solar Uno.
The design is described by the company as elegant but when placed next to something Apple designed it pales in comparison. Yet for a solar panel the design is as elegant as one can make it.
The charger uses a combination of the latest technology and green power in the form of solar energy. A three layer sandwich of solar cells means the cells are able to absorb the entire sunlight spectrum, making the SolarUno up to three times more shadow tolerant and 20 percent more efficient than conventional solar cells.
Two integrated AAA re-chargeable batteries that come with the device are charged at the same time, giving sufficient power even when there is no sun. Whilst the Solar Uno may appeal to some the portable video glasses, called the iTheatre, are top of my list for Santa this Christmas. This is an expensive but cool gimmick, coming in at R1999-00. This device provides a way to watch DVD’s or play games and it is charge with solar power.
They also have a number of other solar energy products for in their words “virtually any portable device” including laptops, cellphones and camcorders. Whilst solar energy is not rocket science it is superb to see local companies developing products for the local market.