I’m sure you know how it feels when you’re traveling or rambling outdoors to be one with nature. Just as you're soaking in the peace and quiet, your battery-powered iPod and speakers suddenly give up.
Frustrating, isn’t it? Indeed, how can one enjoy peace and solitude without a bit of music or constant chattering on one's mobile phone? Unfortunately, carrying your gizmo chargers into the wild is not a great idea. Nature provides everything but plug points.
So here are a few solutions to this dilemma.
Solio Solar Powered Charger
A company called Solio has a product that utilizes the sun's rays to produce solar energy to charge various devices. The device is lightweight at 156g and very compact with a sort of fan-like design that opens up to reveal three solar panels.
It even has wall connectivity with adapters provided for various countries and outlets. According to the company, if the Solio charger is kept in the sun for one hour, it would provide about 15 minutes of talk time for a mobile and about 40 minutes of music from an MP3 player.
A fully charged Solio is claimed to be capable of charging a mobile phone to maximum capacity at least twice, and give 40 hours of music. The perfect device for the great outdoors, I say. Nothing like a fully charged iPod with speakers to scare those bears (oops, I mean blues) away.
Zegna Solar Powered Jacket
Italian fashion icon Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia SpA (Zegna) has already proved its ingenuity with an iJacket for the iPod. But how about the Solar JKT – an all-weather jacket with solar panels on the collar?
The solar panel is connected to a battery embedded into the jacket. Wires run from the panel through the texture of the jacket to either charge the battery or your gadgets directly. It does take around 4-8 hours for the battery to get fully charged, so you can just leave it out in the sun for the day.
If you’re concerned about a possible electric shock, no worries. As I said, it's all-weather proof and almost idiot-proof.




