Gyy-Whiz, It’s a Solar-Powered Netbook

Spanish company iUnika is getting set to launch an inexpensive, Linux-running netbook that can run entirely on solar power.

Harnessing solar energy isn’t just a bright idea; as the technology develops it may turn out to be one of the big ways humanity can shed its dependency on climate-altering fossil fuels. However, while solar technologies have been making big leaps in efficiency and cost over the last few years, the technology still hasn’t entered the mainstream—except perhaps in bsic desk calculators.

Spanish computer maker iUnika wants to change that with a solar powered edition of its Gyy netbook. Although the Gyy will never be mistaken for a gaming machine with its 400 MHz MIPS processor, 128 MB of RAM, and an 8-inch, 800 by 480-pixel screen, the solar panel on the lid of the netbook can be used to keep its battery charged and—in theory—perpetually free of the electric grid.

The Gyy weighs only 700 grams—that’s about 1.5 pounds—and sports three USB 2.0 ports, 100Base-T Ethernet, Wi-Fi, optional GPRS connectivity, and up to 64 GB of SSD storage. An LCD display on the palmrest enables users to quickly see the battery’s current charge level. The Gyy runs GNU/Linux, rather than Windows XP…and that certainly helps keep costs down my eliminating license fees.

The solar-powered Gyy should be available in in Europe this summer for about €160.