The first officially licensed solar powered charger for the iPhone and iPod touch has just been unveiled by Novothink.
The charger, which is called the Solar Surge has an appearance that is similar to some of the other third party battery extenders such as the mophie juice pack, but comes with one notable difference — the solar panels on the back.
In terms of features, the Solar Surge will allow for charging by the sun, as well as a USB connection, just in case it is a cloudy day or you are trapped inside. The battery is a 1500mAh 3.7 V lithium-ion polymer battery which offers 120% capacity of the iPhone 3G. As far as how much power you can expect to get from the sun, it was noted that;
“2 hours of direct solar exposure provides about 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or 60 minutes of talk time on a 2G network”
Other features to note include a set of LED status lights on the back (just below the solar panel), a speaker port so as to not block the sound from the built-in speakers, a soft-touch and non-slip finish as well as being available in a variety of eight colors.
The Solar Surge charger is going to retail for $69.95. As for availability, the iPod touch model (which is only compatible with the 2nd generation touch) will hit the market later this month while the iPhone 3G and 3GS model is going to come a little later — it is expected sometime in November.
[Novothink via ecofriend and inhabitat]
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September 5th, 2009 at 5:47 am
No lay on the table design, no styling?? Nope not for me. Sorry, not me coach.
September 5th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Pretty good thing to get a solar charger for iPhone. Really like the idea but not the cost
.
Thanks for posting this, best regards from me.
Felix
September 5th, 2009 at 11:24 am
wow a solar charger! so when i want to charge my iphone in direct sun , the screen is on the ground! Poor design!!!
September 13th, 2009 at 7:36 am
that is a cool thing… battery life is not one of its strengths…
Daniel
November 30th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Maybe they could make it so the solar cells fold outward and it has a stand so it can sit there where you can see the screen while collecting energy.
That doesn’t take care of the problem that your phone is normally in your pocket or purse.
December 20th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Have you gotten to test one of these units? I just saw on http://www.commxperts.com where they are pre-selling these solar chargers and expecting to ship them the first week of Jan. Since we live in the sunshine state, I was thinking of getting one for my husband for xmas (since he can't seem to remember to charge his iphone
and would love to know if you've tried one and how it worked for you.
March 11th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Why not just make an Iphone with a built in nuclear battery, so it should never be charged!
I would like such an Iphone.
Tim
May 19th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
cool idea…..but improvements need to be made….