I’ve been writing about Nokia testing a solar powered version of one of their cellphones just the other day, and thought it’s a pretty stupid idea to apply solar cells on phones since they’re kept mostly inside pockets, and they aren’t transparent. Today I found out that a company called Voltaic is releasing a solar powered carrying case for tablets – the Spark.
The case features four 2-watt solar cells, so do the math. They even claim the eight watts are able to provide the iPad with an hour of movie playing after charging it for an hour in full sun. The best part is that the solar powered carrying case isn’t only compatible with Apple’s iPad, but also with the Samsung Galaxy Tab, T-Mobile G-Slate, Blackberry Playbook, ASUS Transformer and others.
You’ll be able to charge phones and other gadgets from the Spark’s 39-Watt-hour battery, but the price is a little high at the moment: $299. Anyway, for the purpose it’s made and for the class of users it appeals to, the price isn’t necessarily the biggest drawback.
Now back to those solar powered phones: maybe a wireless charging device would be more fit.
[via treehugger/goodcleantech]