Charge of the Travelling Light Brigade

Source: Exec Digital Canada

Date :6/16/2008 2:13:18 AM

Exec looks at the latest solar powered gadgets

By Paul Pearce-Couch

Ok, we’ve all been there. You get to the airport, need to tell your Significant Other that you’re running late, start to dial your cell phone and the screen flashes up LOW BATTERY. Uh-oh…there’s no wall socket, so what to do? Well, the answer is at hand with one of Exec’s nifty solar powered gadgets. From the sublime to the ridiculous, we’ve got our selection of ingenious gizmos to bring a little (solar powered) light into your life…

Casio ProTrek Tough Solar Triple Sensor Watch (pictured)

A chunky little number that would probably look out of place with your best Armani suit but certainly not after hours while taking in the local scenery. Comes with full auto illuminator, altimeter, barometer, thermometer, 1/100th Sec. stopwatch timer countdown timer, five alarms.

price: $229

www.casio.co.uk

Freeloader Solar Charger

The advantage of the trusty Freeloader is that, once charged, it’s folded up to become a battery. Simply leave it sitting in the sun while you go off and do other things and then power your cell phone, PDA or media device with impunity.

price: $69.95

www.amazon.com

MP4 Solar player/charger

For the ultimate of tunes on the move, choose this 2GB MP4 Player with two solar panels built in for either recharging the built in Li-ion batteries or for recharging other electrical devices through the USB OUT. The eco-friendly MP4 player will never have to be plugged in to get any power and, with the ability to recharge 4.5V, 5V, 6.3V, 9V devices, you’ll be getting a mobile power station wherever you go.

price: $273

www.thesolarcentre.co.uk

6.5W Sunlinq portable folding solar charger

A stylish charger that’s small enough to slip in a cargo pants pocket or glove compartment, but opens up into a powerful portable solar panel with near universal connectivity. Suitable for charging handheld devices and rechargeable batteries, small 12V accessories, and 12V vehicle batteries. Ideal for expeditions, outdoor photography and emergency kits.

price: $99

www.store/altenergystore.com

PowerMonkey eXplorer - Portable Charger with Solar Slave

Simply use the included mains adaptor to fully charge the PowerMonkey and you will get up to 96 hours standby on your cellphone, 40 hours on your iPod, 6 hours on your Sony PSP, 2 full charges on your PDA plus its original charge and up to 1600 pictures on your digital camera! The manufacturers claim that PowerMonkey will even hold its charge without leakage for up to a year. With the new solar slave, the PowerMonkey-eXplorer kit lets you charge wherever, whenever.

price: $126

www.amazon.com

Solio Solar Charger

Recharge your iPod or mobile phone virtually anywhere under the sun. The Solio charges an internal battery, so if you leave it in the sun during the day you can charge from it on cloudy days or during the evening

price: $99

www.solio.com

Solar Wireless Spy Camera Pen

And finally, how could we resist this little gem? For those on a mission, the Solar Wireless Spy Camera Pen is a must. This is a fully functioning and normal looking pen with a built-in wireless mini spy camera, and a solar charger for quick and easy recharging of the pen camera’s built in Li-ion battery.

For fun or for some serious spying, just whip out the pen, twist the cap to start the wireless transmission, have the included MP4/Wireless receiver within 30-60 feet, and you can view and record everything that your spy camera pen sees. We want one and we want one today…

price: $680

www.thesolarcentre.co.uk

Solar Briefcase

Probably more for storage in the car trunk than as a portable emergency backup, this solar battery is powerful, compact and very versatile. Ideal for notebook computers and GPS systems and, during peak hours of sunshine, a cell phone can be charged in an hour. Supplied with many connectors for different applications, these briefcase chargers are perfect for applications when on the move; its briefcase-style case gives it excellent protection when not in use.

price: $209

www.vellemanusa.com

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