Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

When I go camping, I really do my best to leave the gadgets at home. Unfortunately that’s not always an option for everyone. However, if you still want to “rough it” while bringing along your tech, you’re going to need power. Sure, you can plug everything into your car and charge it that way, but that wastes gas. These cool solar panels from PowerFilm look like an excellent solution.

I had the opportunity to check out some of their various Foldable Solar Chargers, my favorite being the small AA battery charger. While he didn’t have the latest one there, the newer ones will allow you to plug in USB devices (which is handy since most mobile devices can recharge via USB) and recharge them while relaxing in the sun.

The small F15-300 has a total of four panels and can charge up to four AA batteries. On average, if you have good sunlight, you’ll be able to recharge your gadgets or batteries just as quickly as if you were plugged into a power outlet. One of these smaller models will run you around $75.

By Andrew Liszewski

Here’s an interesting alternative to traditional solar panels which can take up a lot of space and require the installation of special mounting structures. GROW, which was created by the Brooklyn based sustainable design group SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology) is actually a large collection of small, leaf like solar cells which can be used to cover a building just like growing ivy will over time. Except of course the GROW leaves are made from 100% recyclable polyethylene covered with thin film photovoltaic modules encapsulated in Tefzel.

The solar leaves need to be wired together in order to collect the energy they produce, but the system is extremely flexible allowing it to be installed on a building no matter what shape it is. It’s also extremely easy to maintain since replacing a single leaf when it fails doesn’t require you to take down the entire installation. And most importantly since the leaves are thin and flexible they actually flutter in the breeze and have the appearance of real ivy, making them aesthetically pleasing. I don’t think anyone is opposed to having solar panels on their home, but it’s ideas like this that make the technology more accessible and easier for a homeowner to implement.

[ SMIT's GROW ] VIA [ Inhabitat ]

By Luke Anderson

One of my favorite things about my job is the fact that I don’t have to worry about keeping my facial hair perfectly trimmed or gone. I keep it trimmed and looking neat, but I don’t carry around a razor to nip that 5-o’clock shadow in the bud. Unfortunately there are people out there that must keep their face smooth all the time, so for those guys, here’s a razor that will keep you smooth without sucking up any juice from your power outlet.

While I can’t be sure how long it will take to charge (or how long a charge will last) it’s a good thought for a device that will only be used a few minutes at a time. It’s pretty thin, so you can slip it in your pocket and head to the men’s room when you feel a bit stubbly. It’s a bit pricey though, coming it at just under $70.

[ Ecotopia ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

What’s this? A third-party handheld Nintendo emulator that doesn’t look like a piece of crap? I’m shocked! Of course while the name, Solar MP4, seems to keep with the tradition of crappy knock-offs, this little device actually has some impressive features. Besides being able to play MP4 videos up to 320×240 in size on its 3.5 inch TFT screen, it also has built-in emulators for NES, GameBoy and GameBoy Color games. It of course requires you to use ROMS loaded via an SD card, but anyone already interested in classic gaming emulation will know where to find those. It can even function as an e-Book reader with the ability to read aloud any text file as long as it’s written in English or Chinese.

The other obvious feature of the Solar MP4 is the clamshell design which opens to reveal a set of solar panels. Not only can they be used to charge the unit itself (they claim you’ll never need to plug it in) but a USB jack allows you to plug in and recharge other devices too.

Chinavision has it for $123.32, but it’s one of those ‘the more you buy, the cheaper it gets’ schemes.

[ Solar MP4 ] VIA [ ALBOTAS ]

By Luke Anderson

Mobile products are generally limited by three factors: size, power and battery life. There’s not much that the end-user can do to change the power or size (except to make it larger) of their mobile device of choice, however, battery life is something that can be worked on. In the case of the Sony PSP, you can now find all of the power you’ll ever need just by walking out on a sunny day.

While this new battery may offer you extra power without plugging into a wall, I’m not so sure that I’d get too excited about it. First, it looks bulky; this means that it’s going to likely make your PSP a little more uncomfortable to play, and it’s going to be a little more of a burden to carry around. Now this is all fine and dandy, since you’re never going to have to worry about a dead battery, right?

Looking at the device you’ll notice that it’s going to mount to the bottom of your PSP. This also means that your solar panels will be facing down while you’re playing. Unless you like playing upside down, or you feel like carrying a mirror to reflect the necessary rays, you’re not going to get a lot of extra power from this bulky unit. Even at around $30, I’m not so sure that it’s worth it.

[ DealExtreme ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Besides being solar powered and all that ‘environmental-friendly’ stuff, the real advantage to this Place Anywhere light set is just plain convenience. If you’ve ever strung up lights on a tree or lamp post that’s away from your house, you know you then have to run an extension cord out there so you can plug them in. These solar powered lights however are pretty much self-contained, allowing you to hang them anywhere without having to worry about finding a power source.

During the day the solar cell charges a set of 2 AA batteries which in turn power the 50 bright white LED lights at night for about 9 hours. You don’t even have to worry about going out to turn them on or off since the solar cell will automatically do that when it detects darkened or bright conditions.

At $29.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer they’re far more expensive than even a regular set of LED lights, but when you consider the bulbs have a life of 10,000 hours and won’t add anything to your electric bill, they could be worth it in the long run.

[ Place Anywhere Outdoor Solar Light Set ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While I like this pocket sized solar battery charger, I’m not really sure how effective it would be when actually carried around in a pocket. The Violetta Solargear can be used to recharge 2 AA or AAA batteries, or with an optional power adapter can be used to juice up devices that recharge over USB.

From what I can tell the Solargear only works with these special Violetta NI-MH batteries, which are designed to withstand high temperatures from being recharged in the sun. The Violetta website is pretty vague when it comes to charging times, but I assume it’s no speed demon given the relatively small size of the solar cell it uses. But, with a set of special DC cables you can actually connect multiple Solargear units together to speed things up.

The Violetta Solargear sells for about $45 on the Studio del Sole website, while a set of 4 AA batteries is about $18. 4 AAAs is a bit cheaper at about $15 and the USB charging adapter is about $23.

[ Violetta Solargear ] VIA [ DVICE ]