By Chris Scott Barr
When was the last time that you changed the battery in a calculator? There’s a good chance that unless you have a really fancy one, you don’t ever change the batteries on your calculator. They use so little power that a simple solar panel suffices. When Logitech released their MK700 keyboard last August, I was surprised to see that it would last up to 3 years on a single pair of batteries (the one I reviewed is still running strong on that first set) and wondered if they couldn’t somehow recharge the batteries using solar power. Apparently they can.
The company announced their latest peripheral, the Wireless Solar Keyboard K750, which, as you might have guessed, is solar powered. The keyboard features two sets of solar panels which will gather energy whenever there is light. On a full charge it can last up to three months in complete darkness. You’ll be able to download an app that tells you how much light the device is getting, and how long the battery is estimated to last. I’m not quite sure that I’d be ready to spend $80 on a first-gen solar keyboard, but I do love the idea of not having to change out batteries.
