SolarVoice 908 Features

• up to five hours talk time; infinite standby time in sunlight
• A2DP for streaming multimedia audio
• innovative ear buds specifically designed to allow air to reach the ear canal, which eliminates “plugged-ear” sensation and fatigue
• multi-point connection allows simultaneous pairing with two mobile phones
• MSRP: $74.99

Pros

• charges via USB, A/C, or sunlight
• A2DP support allows you to listen to music when not on a call
• extremely comfortable

Cons

• Pricey
• extremely slow solar charging

SolarCharger 906 Features

• about the size of a deck of cards
• can store charge for up to one year
• charges in four hours via USB, 22 hours in direct sunlight
• MSRP: $59.99

Pros

• charges via USB, A/C, or sunlight
• works in extreme temperatures: stores charge up to 158 degrees F, charges devices at up to 127 degrees F
• includes adapter plugs for many common accessories

Cons

• included cables are “charge only”, and not regular USB data cables
• assortment of connectors aren’t easily managed
• extremely slow solar charging

Review

Speaking solely for myself, I’m not particularly keen on Bluetooth headsets. They have a certain utility, but I’m not often in situations where that utility is really necessary. If I were, though, I think the SolarVoice 908 would be my headset of choice. The earbud really is extremely comfortable to wear, and just as the marketing material suggests, I never experienced the “plugged ear” feeling that I get with other headsets.

In most respects, the SolarVoice 908 is a pretty run-of-the-mill headset: sound quality is okay, but not superb; it’s lightweight and comfortable; and the buttons are too small to use without looking at the darned thing. The fact that it can be charged by sunlight, though, is a pretty big draw. It comes with a little cradle that you can mount to your dashboard, or office window, so that you can easily let it soak up the rays when it’s not in your ear. Solar charging is extremely slow, so you’re not likely to rely solely on solar power to keep this thing going. The notion of “infinite standby” is neat, but requires “optimum sunlight”, which isn’t likely to happen for most folks, most of the time. It’s a nice fall-back, though, and may help you out if you’re the kind of person who forgets to plug in their devices regularly.

The features that sway my opinion of the SolarVocie 908, though, are the A2DP support and multi-point connectivity. If you’re going to have a Bluetooth headset stuck in your ear, it might as well be doing something. A2DP support lets you stream media from your fancy smartphone, allowing you to enjoy (regrettably mono) music. It’s handy for audiobooks, too! And multi-point connectivity means you can keep the SolarVoice 908 paired with two devices simultaneously. That’s probably not a big deal to most people, but it’s a nice feature to have, if you ask me.

The SolarCharger 906 gets a very big thumbs up from me. It’s small, lightweight, and extremely useful. It’s the kind of accessory I really don’t mind carrying around with me, because there’s almost no penalty to doing so. When I need it, I can pull it out of my manbag and charge my devices.

The SolarCharger 906 charges pretty quickly via USB (about four hours), and provides more than enough juice to keep my iPhone going for a couple of hours. If I’m on a long drive, or visiting friends, I can simply leave the unit on the dash of my car, or propped in a window somewhere to soak up some solar energy. Full charge by sunlight takes 22 though.

This would be a good device to take camping, to be sure. Leave it out to charge while you hike, or hunt, or do whatever it is you do when you’re in the woods, away from your computer. You could then power an iPod or other media player to keep you entertained through the long, dark night. It might also be a lifesaver, should you need to make an emergency cellular call after a couple days in the rough.

Juggling the various adapters included with the SolarCharger 906 is a nuisance, and it would have been nice if some more elegant storage mechanism was provided. Instead, you get a clear plastic box, with individually wrapped adapters. Also, keep in mind that the cable provided with the device has a micro USB connector, but does not carry any USB data signaling. It can only be used for charging devices. In order to minimize the number of cables you tote with you, set theirs aside and use a regular USB data cable: it’ll allow the SolarCharger 906 to charge your devices, and allow your devices to connect with your PC as expected.

Product Pages: SolarVoice 908 and SolarCharger 906

Sanyo is already being considered Japan’s “greenest” brand in the consumer electronics field (which is the main reason Panasonic is about to acquire the company), but them building complete, eco-friendly buildings is certainly new. Sanyo Homes [JP], a wholly-owned subsidiary, will start marketing all-electric homes with lithium ion batteries providing back up power to Japanese customers as early as tomorrow. (Sorry for the tiny picture, which shows a CGI-model of how these houses look like.)

Each house will be equipped with a 3.78kw solar energy system. But buyers will also get 1.57kw Sanyo lithium ion batteries to make sure they’ll have access to eco-friendly energy during the night or during days without enough sunlight. Sanyo Homes says that each of their houses will come with ten LED light fixtures running on direct-current power to minimize energy loss and a solar-powered heat-pump water heater.

The company expects these extras to boost the prices for their homes to some extent, but says buyers will be able to recoup the initial plus in investment over time and will also get financial from the Japanese government. A 132sqm Sanyo home, for example, will sell for $355,000, which is $62,000 more than a comparable conventional one (but only eco-friendly homes will get government subsidies, in this case $30,000).

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has big plans: It wants to conquer outer space to generate solar energy by 2030. The idea is to collect solar power in space and beam it down to earth, in the form of lasers or microwaves. The so-called Space Solar Power System project is led by big corporations such as Mitsubishi, NEC, Fujitsu und Sharp.

As a first step, JAXA wants to deploy photovoltaic elements in outer space where they will be assembled in the form of dishes several square kilometers in size. Solar energy in space is about five times stronger than on earth, and the solar enery will be transformed into power in space.

The dishes are supposed to zap the lasers and microwaves to gigantic parabolic antennae located on earth, probably in remote areas such as dam reservoirs, for example. JAXA wants to begin conducting feasibility tests with a 100-kW demo system before eventually boosting that number to 1 Gigawatt.

First up is this digital photo display which integrates a telephone and fax. You can see a visual address book, which allows you to dial recipients by picture. It can also display received faxes on screen, if you’re the faxing kind of person!

Sharp is working to integrate Internet content into some of its AQUOS televisions, and is currently testing digital newspaper delivery. Rather than read a physical newspaper, some Japanese can read the day’s edition right on their AQUOS TV:

At first I thought this was a pretty clever idea; but the more I thought about it the less impressed I was. I don’t know anyone who would actually use their television — no matter how big or how wonderful — to read a newspaper. I think folks I know are much more likely to use a Kindle or similar e-reader. Japan can keep the newspapers-on-TV idea!

And finally, solar powered cell phones. Not entirely solar powered, of course, but chargable through solar energy. Five minutes of sunlight provides one minute of talk time. That’s twelve minutes of talk time for an hour of solar charging. Not great, but not really terrible, either, if you’re the kind of person who consistently forgets to charge your phone.

And as a bonus, I got to play with the Sharp Netwalker PC-Z1!

This thing is nigh-unusable for me. But I still think it’s cool!

Scosche has dropped the price of its solar battery charger from $40 down to $25, plus you can get an extra 15% off by using promo code back2school until October 1st. The “sunVOLT” is a five-volt solar battery that holds a 500mAh charge and features little suction cups for use in the car.

There’s a mini-USB output with a mini-USB to female USB adapter included with the charger, so you can use it to juice up just about any USB-powered device. The above promo code works for other stuff on Scosche’s site, too, so go ahead and poke around. Loiter, even. It’s the internet.

sunVOLT [Scosche.com]

Apparently this whole “solar power” thing really works. Case in point, this Solar-Breeze apparatus uses solar power to clean your pool all day long and, aside from keeping your pool clean, it cuts down on the amount of time your pool’s pump has to be running since it grabs gunk and leaves before they get sink to the bottom and get sucked into the grate.

According to the product site:

“The Solar-Breeze is an intelligent, solar powered, robotic swimming pool surface skimmer, combined with a swimming pool Chemical Dispenser.

It operates on solar power alone, and on internal storage batteries, charged by direct sunlight.

Requires NO external power source and costs ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to operate.

The Solar-Breeze operates without the need of pool pumps saving you 2/3 the pool’s electricity cost. Since the pool stays cleaner with the Solar-Breeze, your pool’s chlorine requirements will be reduced.”

Looks like this thing’s been around for a while, but my internet connection has been really slow lately. Like a year or two behind. Anyhoo, it’s sold at Hammacher for $499 if you’ve got a pool and you feel okay freeloading off the poor old sun to keep it clean.

The First Solar Powered Robotic Pool Skimmer [Hammacher Schlemmer via OhGizmo!]

When the power goes out and you finally find your flashlight, it’s invariably out of batteries. Soon you’ll be able to buy a solar-powered flashlight from Chinavasion. It’s got a built-in lithium-ion battery and uses white LEDs with a rated life of 50,000 hours.

It could very well be the last flashlight you ever own — assuming, of course, you don’t misplace it somewhere in your house like I have with every flashlight in the history of portable illumination.

The “Solar LED Flashlight” is still in “coming soon” status and must initially be purchased two at a time. No pricing info yet, unfortunately, but as long as it’s reasonable, this thing might be worth a closer look.

UPDATE: They’re $9.79 each — not bad at all.

Be sure to have plenty of beer on hand for that impending power outage, too. Preferably Carlsberg. Ah subliminal marketing, you’ve done it again!

Solar LED Flashlight [Chinavasion]

This is a solar vest. You can tell because it says SOLAR VEST in big letters across the shoulders, right above the four weatherproof solar panels. This fine gentleman is carrying more than a few gadgets in the pockets of his SOLAR VEST, which he’ll be able to recharge when they run out of juice.

If I were a thief, I’d think that a weiner-y kid wearing something that said SOLAR VEST would have a lot of expensive electronics in the pockets of said vest. He’d be a much better mark than someone wearing a shirt that said DOG CRAP COLLECTOR because what pawn shop wants to buy stolen dog crap?

The vest includes an 8,800mAh-capacity battery and enough tips and power connectors to really make it inconvenient to carry everything around with you. Output is rated at 5V, 6V, 9V, and 12-20V, though, which means you can indeed carry your laptop around with you and trickle a few extra minutes to it.

Available at Chinavasion for $140.

[via Geeky-Gadgets]

Here we have a combination USB hub, rechargeable battery extender, and solar doodad in one. The 2.5- by 2.5-inch square features an internal lithium ion battery that can be charged via sunlight or AC power and then hooked up to your dying cell phone to provide some extra juice on the go.

It’s also a 4-port USB hub, should you need to plug in a bunch of thumb drives as the above photo suggests. The real draw here is the solar recharging, though, and the hub comes with connector tips for Nokia, LG, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson phones, along with a Mini USB connector for Motorola and HTC phones (or anything that charges via Mini USB).

It only costs $20 but there’s no mention of the battery’s actual capacity or how long it takes the sun to charge it up fully.

USB Solar Charging 4-Port Hub [Brando]

In case you hadn’t heard, Ikea is on the solar bandwagon. After pumping $75 million into various environmentally-sustainable initiatives, we’re starting to see products trickle out. Aside from solar-powered garden lights — which have actually been availalbe from numerous companies for a while — you can also pick up a $20 solar desk lamp.

Will it replace your traditional desk lamp? Probably not. The thing takes 9 to 12 hours to fully charge and then provides about four hours of moderately bright light — between 300 and 500 lux. But the price isn’t too bad at $20 and you’ve gotta start somewhere, right? These little guys could actually come in handy in spots where you don’t have access to a power outlet — although you’ll need sunlight and if you have sunlight, maybe you don’t need a lamp.

Oh what the hell, at least they’re trying. And look at all the pretty colors!

SUNNAN work lamp, solar cell powered [Ikea via Crave]

To my untrained eye, this looks like something lifted straight from a G.I. Joe storyline. Satellites in space — presumably using a geosynchronous orbit — will collect and store solar energy. They’ll convert it to radio waves and beam it down to Earth, where it will be collected by a station in Fresno, CA. There it will be converted to electricity and distributed out on the power grid.

The comments in the DailyTech article are worth a read, too. The original story — much like this one! — is light on details. The commenters fill in some of the gaps about the practicalities of this solution.

We reported it last year in July and Toyota is to deliver very soon: The world’s biggest automaker today announced the newest version of their Prius hybrid vehicle, due out in Japan in May, will be equipped with solar panels. Toyota claims the new model will also come with a brawnier and more fuel-efficient engine (the picture shows a model from last year).

The engine will be a 1.8-liter type, which is 300cc bigger than the version available in Prius cars sold at the moment. According to Toyota, it saves around 10% of fuel when compared to existing Prius engines, running around 35km on a liter of gas.

What’s surely more interesting though is the solar power aspect. The rooftop solar panels are supposed to charge the battery whenever the car is parked. Toyota says drivers can use solar energy to power the air conditioner and other parts of the car.

Prices in Japan range between $21,000 and $26,000, depending on extras. The company’s Japanese website doesn’t offer any official information at this point so the news is yet to be confirmed.

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

The device features a 7-inch color LCD (W-VGA, 800×480 resolution) that shows production levels, energy currently stored and how much surplus electricity can be sold to power companies. It can also be connected to PCs, AQUOS TVs and – of course – to cell phones.

Sharp said the MSRP for the JH-RWL1 is $1,100 and that they aim to sell 700 units a month to household customers. The company didn’t say whether the device will ever make it outside Japan.

Although CES is generously provided with outlets for our charging needs, I decided that the power that comes out of them, like everything else in Vegas, is dirty. So Doug and I headed over to the SkyCharger, a big solar- and wind-powered charging facility housed in a tent outside the central hall. There are dozens of tiny lockers in which charging cables of different types are hidden. You take a key out like a normal storage locker, plug your phone in, lock it back up and go get lunch.

They’ve got a set of solar panels up there providing up to 880 watts, and a wind thing that does up to 1000. Not a lot of wind between the casinos here in Vegas, but there’s plenty of sun. Doug and I saw both our phones go up about 30% in less than half an hour, so it’s not just a trickle of power. It stores power in a big set of batteries as well, so your phone won’t die if a cloud passes overhead.

The setup was branded as LG, but they magnanimously provided chargers for most kinds of phones. Probably because they didn’t build it; it’s made by GotWind, a UK company whose founder we spoke to. He’s hoping to expand the service to, for example, city parks or other areas where a quick charge would be appreciated, as long as security can be assured. It also would be a nice addition to a third world village, where power is hard to come by.

Details of a portable solar-powered AA and AAA battery charger by Energizer were leaked last week and we’ll see the charger debut next month at CES. The device will feature a USB-out port to power other devices and you will also have the option to charge it from an AC wall outlet if you can’t find any sunlight. The charger comes with two Energizer Rechargeable batteries and will be available this summer for $49.99. Sure, I’d love to save the planet with this clever gadget, but not for this price. I’m a college student, what do you expect?

Windows are so boring. All you can do is look through them. In this age of convergence, where devices do more than one thing, windows are so old school, right? Wrong! RSi Solar has introduced “the world’s first, transparent, photovoltaic-glass window which generates 80 to 250 watts of electricity”. It offers “an enclosed super-tempered glass window system, with a patent pending, fully integrated, multi-tier PV and heat insulation technology. Up to 9’ x 9’ size”.

Expect to see these photovoltaic windows in “signature projects” in Hollywood and Las Vegas. Both seem like fine locations to use this technology, if you ask me.

Via Treehugger.

This little experiment is fairly complex but it’s an interesting examination of forcing heat through corrugation in order to absorb head and blow it through your house this summer. Doable? Sure. Cheap? Sure. Kind of weird? Absolutely.

The presenters suggest that those plastic political signs in your neighbors’ driveways are a great way to gather waterproof corrugation without much expense. Whatever you use, however, you’re basically getting free energy.

My only question here is how to pump the heat out of the sheet without using more energy than you would by just running a heater. Any ideas? Maybe wind power? Mice?

via Treehugger

Someday I’ll tell my son about how we used to have to “plug” things in to the wall, at which point he’ll roll his eyes and speed off on his Back to the Future Part II hoverboard to go hang out with the creepy old Doc Brown. Oh the adventures those two will have! Ted, don’t forget to wind your watch! Wait, that’s not the right movie.

Anyhoo, Brando has a leather case with a built-in solar panel that can charge your iPhone. It works, according to Brando, with the iPhone 3G and the “iPhone 2G” in case you have one of those. The solar panel actually slowly charges a lithium ion battery which in turn charges your iPhone’s battery. It takes three hours for a full recharge.

If the lithium ion battery is sapped, you can directly charge your iPhone using the solar panel, although I’d guess that would take quite a bit longer than three hours as the actual solar output is a mere 100 milliamps versus 600 milliamps from the lithium ion battery. So let’s say it’d take 18 hours using just the sun. That’s a long time, but it’s still pretty cool that we’re seeing more and more of these solar charging systems.

The Solar Powered Leather Case for iPhone 2G/3G costs $48 and is available as a flip-top (shown below) or side-opening case (shown above).

Solar-powering clothing accessories isn’t exactly a new idea. I have seen solar charger bags, a purse (or two), but we are stoked to have finally found something to wear when sporting the solar briefcase: a necktie! Who cares if it’s going to repel ladies like Peter Ha, my Blackberry is always going to be charged. Oh yeah. 

via Wired