Solar

Anycom Bluetooth Solar Powered Handsfree Car-Kit SCK-1 Review

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Futurelooks published a review of the Anycom Bluetooth Solar Powered Handsfree Car-Kit SCK-1.

Quote from the review: "The Solar Bluetooth Car Kit from Anycom is actually quite a creative product, because — as you can probably guess — it comes equipped with a solar panel, effectively branding itself as a “green” solution for anyone who wants to talk without having something attached to their ear. Read more

Posted on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

SONIC F1 Mini Solar Car Kit

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If you are into fast cars, toy models, and alternative fuel sources, the SONIC F1 solar car kit is perfect for you. This car looks like an F1 racing car and according to OWI Incorporated, makers of the kit, it races at amazing speeds when equipped with the fastest engine.

The car is powered completely by solar electricity gather with integrated solar panels on the car kit. The maker says the car is perfect for research and showing kids that alternative energy can be fun. Read more

Posted on Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:57:38 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Dell plans Servers based on Sun Solaris Software

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc will license Sun Microsystems Inc's Solaris operating system and build server computers based on the Sun software, the companies said on Wednesday. Read more

Posted on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:05:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

IBM to distribute Sun's Solaris Server Software

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - IBM has agreed to sell Sun Microsystems's Solaris Operating System software to IBM's customers in a deal that pits the competing computer hardware makers against shared rival Hewlett-Packard. Read more

Posted on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 08:40:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Paint that gathers Solar Power Coming to Market

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Here in Texas we tend to have mostly houses with brick, so there isn’t as much painting as there might be in other parts of the country. However, in the older neighborhoods from the turn of the century to the late 50’s early 60’s we do have lots of wooden houses that need painted frequently.

There is a new paint coming to market, at what is promised to be an affordable price that will work great in the hot Texas climate. This paint seems t be applied just like normal paint with the added benefit that it turns all the painted surfaces into solar power generating panels. Read more

Posted on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

New low-cost Plastic Solar Cell

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Korean researches develop a new plastic solar cell with 6.5% efficiency.

The new solar cells have been developed by a team of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology and University of California Santa Barbara. Read more

Posted on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sunred Solar Bike is Way Cooler than that Solar Scooter

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Not too long ago I was poking fun at a geeky looking solar powered scooter some dude built. Now a company called Sunred is showing off a solar powered motorcycle that looks pretty cool.

In fact, the Sunred bike reminds me a lot of the Tron Light bikes from the old flick. I’m betting from the looks of the panels that they aren’t usable when the bike is in motion. They appear to surround the controls of the bike. Read more

Posted on Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Zegna shows Solar JKT based on iSolarX Wearable Solar Technology

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Ermenegildo Zegna showed a solar jacket at an Italian fashion show.

The Solar JKT from Zegna Sport is the first premium segment outerwear product in the world that can recharge a cell phone, iPod or other device using solar power. It is by far not the first solar jacket. ScotteVest has a solar gadget jacket announced already back in 2004.

Zegna designed the jacket with Germany based Interactive Wear's iSolarX technology.
The solar modules are mounted on a neoprene collar; the electricity generated from solar energy is transmitted through conducting textile leads and stored temporarily in a buffer battery or fed directly to a connected device. Read more

Posted on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 09:10:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New Mitsubishi Lead-Free Solar Panels with 190W Output

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Mitsubishi announces a new line of solar panels that are lead-free and deliver more power.

The sixteen new solar panel models will be capable of high output, with one model the first capable of a maximum output of 190W.
The new module for sale by Mitsubishi Electric has 190W output, a 5W increase over previous model PV-MF185TD4, by using a new back film to optimize module construction. These PV modules as such are appropriate not only for residential systems but also for large-scale systems used in Europe and the United States. Read more

Posted on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:37:53 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Amish adopt Solar Power

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The Amish, a Christian religious sect known for not adopting modern technology has discovered Solar as energy source.

The New Scientist reports that in Holmes County, Ohio, where the largest Amish community lives, 80% of the families have solar panels. Read more

Posted on Sun, 3 Jun 2007 03:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Solar Scooter in I'm a Geek Yellow

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If riding a bright yellow scooter around town isn’t enough to get you mocked and laughed at try adding a huge pair of solar panels to the side. At first glance, this could be mistaken for the original Russian reentry vehicle for the International Space Station that was scrapped when it was deemed cost prohibitive.

What you actually see here is a scooter designed by a dude that manages a Rite-aid and rides this hog to and from work every day. Once he arrives, he unfolds the solar panels to charge the batteries so his steed is ready for the trip home. Read more

Posted on Tue, 29 May 2007 17:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Solar Powered Mobile Phone HTW S116

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At the CHITEC 2007 trade-show that took place in China over the weekend Chinese HTW (Hi-Tech Wealth) showed a mobile phone that is charged by a solar panel. Who said China is not into saving our planet?

The HTW S116 actually debuted at the CeBit 2007 in March. The solar powered mobile phone is already selling in China for about $520. No more recharging - as long as you are out in the sun of course and carry your phone outside of your pockets. Read more

Posted on Tue, 29 May 2007 07:05:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Motorola develops self-powered Solar LCD Display

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The New Scientist Print edition reports about an exciting innovation from Motorola. The company developed a LCD Display with a solar panel behind the screen.

The idea to use the display of gadgets like mobile phones as a solar cell has been out there. Motorola's solution is using color filters made from a polymer film that reflects only narrow bands of red, blue and green light. This is enough for us to see color images on the display, but the filter gives way to other wavelength to reach the solar panel. Read more

Posted on Fri, 4 May 2007 07:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Stealth Start-up OptiSolar builds largest North American Solar Farm

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A secretive Silicon Valley start-up is coming out in a big way by announcing that they going to build the largest solar farm in North America.

The Canadian Ontario Power Authority has purchased a solar farm from OptiSolar that will spread across 365 hectares and will supply 40-megawatt.
On a sunny day the so called Sarnia project will provide electricity for between 10,000 and 15,000 homes. Read more

Posted on Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Solar Powered Air Conditioner

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As anyone who lives in a hot climate like I do here in Texas can tell you, in the summer AC is a must and it really runs up the electric bills. A company called SolCool has a really fantastic sounding AC Unit that aims to drastically lower electric bills.

The SolCool V4 is a completely DC powered AC unit that uses 500W of power. The unit is in the 1.5 to 2 ton range which makes it appropriate for most moderate sized homes. The battery can run for 24 hours after a power outage, which is a big deal in rural parts of Texas where power goes out if the neighbor’s cat farts. Read more

Posted on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Sanyo Solar Eneloop Battery Charger

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Sanyo continuous its GAIA way of being environmentally friendly and announces a solar powered charger for its cool Eneloop batteries.

Sanyo announced the innovative pre-charged rechargeable batteries about one year ago.
The new solar charger does not just look very stylish it charges up to four AA Eneloop batteries and has a USB port to power other portable devices. Read more

Posted on Tue, 31 Oct 2006 07:35:59 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Pink Solar Charger for your Pink Gadgets

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This week was rather Pretty in Pink: Sony announced a pink PSP and a pink PS2 (I am still sick from this one). Nintendo brings the pink DS lite to the US. I thought I can do one more and introduce you to the pink Solio Solar Charger.

These solar chargers feature a cool design and also come in other colors than pink.
The Solio chargers can either use the sun or a wall power socket to charge your portable device. Output is 4 -12V, 0 - 1 Amp (max). The solar panel makes 155mA at 6V. Read more

Posted on Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Go Green with Solar Powered House Numbers

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US company Matterinc, LLC offers some very stylish solar powered number signs.

The numbers are made from solid aluminum. The integrated solar panels can deliver 8-10 hours power to white LED's that illuminate the sign during darkness.
Aluminum is anodized to prevent any oxidation. The entire unit is sealed and completely weather resistant. Read more

Posted on Tue, 25 Apr 2006 01:06:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

A-Data and MSI introduce solar power to memory devices

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Taiwan-based A-Data Technology and Micro-Star International (MSI) plan to introduce solar cells into their latest flash-based memory devices at CeBIT in Germany.

A-Data is launching the Solar Disk thumb drive (left image) equipped with a solar cell module. The drive does not have a built-in battery and the solar cell module powers its LCD display to show remaining capacity.

MSI will be demoing a solar cell-equipped MP3 player (right image). The solar cell won't be the sole source of juice for the prototype player, rather it uses the solar module to charge the built-in lithium battery and provide supplementary power to extend battery life. Read more

Posted on Tue, 7 Mar 2006 06:37:31 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Solar Powered Cellphone Charms

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Cellphone charms are available in all kinds of shapes. Now there are also little display plates powered by solar, that you can hang on your mobile phone.

Asian store CellphoneGeek offers Solar Power Flash Plates featuring Snoopy, Doraemon, Winnie, Angel Kitty and Nightmare before Christmas images. The images appear and disappear - how cool...
The solar powered charms sell for $9.00 each. Read more

Posted on Thu, 22 Dec 2005 01:59:50 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Solarjo Power Purse: Handbag Covered with Solar Panels

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Joe Hynek developed the Solarjo Power Purse at the Iowa State University.

To integrate solar panels in a bag is not really a new idea. There are backpack (e.g.: Eclipse Solar Reactor, Voltaic Solar, or the Juice Bag).
Still to cover a woman's handbag with solar cells is a new angle. Maybe Karl Lagerfeld wants to enhance his Fendi iPod bag (carries up to 12 iPods) with Solar panels. Read more