While the green movement strives to reach every major industry on the planet, it's important to not overlook the little battles while the big ones are being waged. In this regard, Ekotribe is hoping the small, individual effort to make our iPod chargers "green" will ultimately yield big results. And this weekend, as Ekotribe reveals its next generation handheld solar chargers for mobile phones and iPods, it's apparent that the green movement isn't going to stray far from the mobile world in this new decade.
Although solar powered battery chargers are nothing new, they're yet to stick in the realm of mobile devices - at least as a major force to be reckoned with among retailers. The slow start, however, hasn't deterred the makers of the SOLIO solar charger, which, needless to say, transfers the energy of the sun to keep "virtually all electronics topped off with free solar power anywhere."
From
Albawaba:
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According to Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Ekotribe, “The sun provides more energy to the earth in one day than the cumulative annual energy requirements of 6 billion people on the planet. It is high time we harnessed solar power to power our everyday use gadgets.
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Ordinarily, the development of a solar energy iPod charger wouldn't be a big deal, at least given the growing prevalence of so-called "green mobile gadgets." What makes this development and others like it so interesting is that many believe it is only a matter of time before Apple similarly gets with the green program and ultimately partners with or purchases a company like Ekotribe to better harness solar power for use in modern technology.
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Once the SOLIO's battery is full, the unit can charge a cell phone, iPod, MP3 player, PDA, game player, GPS, fish finder or digital camera, making it a powerful all-in-one battery charger.
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While the specs of the SOLIO can be found on the
manufacturer's website, the SOLIO hybrid reportedly works by absorbing power from either 4 hours in the wall socket or 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight. That last part, however, could prove a little tricky, particularly given that most of us are indoors or at work during peak sunlight hours. Naturally, there will be some hurdles along the way to widespread implementation of solar power in contemporary mobile gadget functionality. But the growth of companies in the "green" is nicely matched today by the profound interest of companies like Apple to accomplish more for the environment while still accomplishing a lot for consumers.
Will SOLIO ever see the light of day from Apple? That's anyone's guess. But Apple appears more than willing and ready to be greener than they presently are. And harnessing some facet of solar power, at least in their mobile gadgets, seems like a probable scenario within the coming decade.
Image via CITB
01-03-2010, 01:12 PM
Not bad, but 8 to 10 hours in direct sunlight? 
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