Mobile devices might be great things, letting us take our media and stay in touch with the world wherever we go—so long as we don’t stray too far from power outlets, or forget to bring our adapters or USB cables with us. Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness free, environmentally-friendly energy sources essentially anywhere we go, and use them to keep our gizmos going?
That’s the idea behind Novothink‘s new Solar Surge solar charging cases for the iPod touch and iPhone 3G/3GS, which enable users to charge their iPods or iPhones anywhere they can get sunlight. Although the products might not be practical in the winter above the Arctic Circle (or terribly effective in the cloud-shrouded Pacific Northwest), the chargers could be great for hikers and campers who are away from power for decent lengths of time, or anyone who’s mobile lifestyle often stretches (or surpasses) their batteries’ built-in capacities.
“Solar Surge is a giant step towards incorporating solar panel technology into everyday life,” said Novothink president Ian Dorfman, in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to be offering a mobile phone solution that is not only highly functional but also affordable and environmentally responsible.”
The Solar Surge cases including solar panels on the back the provide 0.5V at 100 mAh in full sunlight; the units also incorporate a 1500 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery with 120 percent of the capacity of a standard iPhone 3G battery. The units offer a 4-stage LED battery indicator, and a custom-engineered USB 2.0 cable that provides both high-capacity charging and data connectivity.
The Solar Surge cases will be available in a variety of colors, with the Solar Surge for iPod touch going on sale at the end of this month for a suggested price of $69.95; the iPhone 3G/3GS version should follow in the fourth quarter.
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