If you’re looking for a greener way to sustain your digital lifestyle, then you may want to consider the assortment of solar power products that are on the market. Here are seven such examples that all happen to be on sale. Save money and energy!

We start off with two add-on solar charging panel extensions for the ReVIVE series solar ReStore XL external battery pack. This allows you to triple your solar charging speed. It’s on sale for half price at $24.99.

Of course, you’ll need the actual ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL battery itself to use those extra panels. It’s on sale too as part of a package that includes the 6000mAh universal USB battery, a flashlight, and the rapid charge adapter panel. Pick it up for $59.99, which is $90 off the regular price.

If you want to go smaller, the 4000mAh ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL is also on sale, giving you that same universal USB charging port to support iPhones, MP3 players, e-readers and all sorts of other portable products. Get it for $49.99, down from a list price of $109.99.

Switching gears, we have the Goal Zero 19006 Guide 10 Adventure Kit. This includes the Nomad 7 solar panel and a Guide 10 power pack, which bundles in four AA rechargeable batteries too. There’s a built-in LED flashlight to boot. It’s on sale for $99.95, a savings of $60.

Keeping time can be green too. The Casio AWGM100B-1ACR G-Shock Tough solar power atomic watch is a pretty nifty product. Naturally, the watch side of the equation is up to snuff too with quartz movement, three sub-dials, and luminiscent hands and markers. Get it for $149.00, including free shipping.

Going on a trip and need some power? Consider the Instapark SPCC-30W mono-crystalline solar panel with 12V solar charge controller. This should retain 80% efficiency even after 25 years of continuous use. Buy it for half price at $99.70 with free super saver shipping.

Last but not least, we have something completely different. It’s the OWI Frightened Grasshopper Kit. It’s a little toy bug that happens to be solar powered and it’s a great “built-it-yourself educational solar hobby kit for the first time science experimenters with little or no experience.” It’s on sale for only $3.99, down from $14.99.

The post Daily Deals: Super Solar Gadgets on Sale appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s quite clear that the biggest negative of owning a smartphone is the poor battery life, and although manufacturers are doing a good job to increase battery capacity, at times it is just not good enough.

There are lots of different items available to help boost battery life or recharge battery whilst on the go, one of which is a portable charger that uses solar energy. The ReVIVE solar charger can charge a variety of different items like smartphones, tablets or MP3 players, and does a great job of it too. In a decent light the solar panels work very well, and if you’re going to be away from your main charger for a while, this is definitely a viable option to keep your devices from running out of juice.

The ReVIVE’s retail price is around $100, however right now you can get it from Amazon for just $40, saving you a decent 64%.

If you’re in need of a decent portable charging station, this deal definitely looks like a great bargain in my opinion. Would you agree?

Interested? You can buy it here.

The post Daily Deal: 64% off ReVIVE Solar Charger appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It should be noted that this fundraising wasn’t in cash. Instead, Goal Zero had a program where if a customer bought a solar power kit, Goal Zero would then provide one to benefit those affected by Hurricane Sandy.You buy one, and they give one. So, the nearly $600k value was in product and not in cash, but that doesn’t mean it was any less helpful.

That’s enough for over 1,000 kits through the “You Buy One, We Give One” program, plus nearly 3,000 additional kits contributed by retailers like Amazon, Hammacher Schlemmer and The North Face. They were able to charge 11,895 cell phones, providing 118,9550 hours of talk time. I’m sure the people affected by Hurricane Sandy appreciate that help.

Here is the original Goal Zero Nation video from Goal Zero President and CEO Joe Atkin.

[Source]

The post Goal Zero Donating Nearly $600k to Hurricane Sandy Victims appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

We rely a lot on our smartphones to do just about everything. It’s not just about phone calls. We listen to music, we play games, we watch videos, we update Facebook… and all of these drain our batteries like there’s no tomorrow. Literally, because most smartphone batteries barely make it through the day.

That’s why there are so many chargers and backup battery solutions these days and one of the best could be the ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL. It’s got a solar panel and a whopping 4000mAh of internal juice, giving you enough to recharge most smartphones two times over. Better yet, it’s on sale for 60% off the regular retail price.

At 6.7″ x 3.6″ x 0.8″ and 8 ounces, the ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL is roughly the same size as your cell phone, making it easily portable for wherever your day may take you. The solar panel has a 300mA charging rate in direct sunlight, getting enough energy “to charge most phones after only 4-6 hours.” You can also recharge it via USB, checking on its charge level via the 4-level LED indicator.

Pick up this solar portable battery pack on Amazon for $44.99, including free super saver shipping.

The post Daily Deal: 60% off ReVIVE Solar ReStore XL 4000mAh External Battery Pack appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Imagine a place where the only energy to be found is clean, reliable solar power. Not happening anytime soon, right? While solar power has become increasingly important, it isn’t yet powering an entire arrive is it? Actually, three tiny islands in the South Pacific are the first islands to rely completely on solar power.

The islands are part of the Tokelau territory, which in the past has relied on imported diesel to meet its power needs. While these are small islands with a population of 1,500 it is still a step in the right direction. New Zealand hopes to continue this trend elsewhere and will co-host a South Pacific clean energy summit next March along with the Tokelau, Tong and Cook Islands.

As our world becomes increasingly reliant on electricity everywhere, it is important to see that clean energy continues as a priority. Now if only an entire country could make the bold move to switching completely to clean energy.

[ source ]

The post Three Islands in the South Pacific are now Completely Powered by Solar Energy appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The idea here is actually brilliant in its simplicity. As you rock back and forth in the rocking chair, it generates power that is then sent to the iPad docked in the right side arm. The current design uses the 30-pin dock connector, but there’s no reason why this couldn’t be altered to support other devices or possibly even the new Lightning connector for the iPad Mini or iPad 4. They say that an hour of rocking will give back 35% battery capacity to a third-gen iPad.

But the power generated isn’t just for the iPad. Located in the headrest portion are a couple of stereo speakers that can also get the juice generated from your rocking motion. This creates an all-encompassing iExperience for watching movies or listening to music. The iRock is a high quality rocking chair too, handmade from Swedish oak with five layers of paint.

Of course, all this style and power doesn’t come cheap. Micasa Lab of Zurich says that the iRock Rocking Chair will retail for about 1,300 Euro ($1,685 US) when it ships in late 2013.

[Source]

The post iRock is the Rocking Chair that charges your iPad appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Solar technology has certainly come a long ways in recent times. What was once bulky and expensive has become much more practical. Solar is continually finding its way into more homes and businesses. The reasons are varied, for some it is about saving the planet. Others simply need to save money, or are in an area where traditional electricity is hard to come by.

Even if solar technology is becoming more common, it’s overall design hasn’t changed that much. Most solar systems are still flat panels, after all. What if a solar cell could be made to rotate with the sun to gather direct sunlight and produce great electric output? That’s what the V3Solar cone-shaped cells are all about.

This new type of solar technology can gather more sunlight for longer periods of time during the day and give up to 20 times greater electrical output. The cone system is called a V3 Spin Cell and is made of PV cells and a static out lens concentrator. The angle of the cone-shaped cells is what allows them to produce more energy more effectively. V3Solar says they position them at a 56 percent angle to the sun.

Not only do these things have better energy output, they have an awesome futuristic look that is much more aesthetically appealing than a traditional solar panel. V3Solar hasn’t released information about how costly these will be or how easy they will be to get a hold of, but they certainly have the potential to change how people look at solar technology going forward.

What do you think?

[ source ]

The post V3 Solar Cells Rotate with the Sun, Produce 20 Times More Energy appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Most kids these days use sugar as a source of super-efficient fuel, over-clocking their supercharged bodies into a short burst of uncontrollable hyperactive brain power. It doesn’t last long, but whilst it’s there, the kids feel almost impenetrable.

In the upcoming years, it may be possible that household batteries could use sugar as a similar fuel method, but in a much more efficient way.

At first this sounds a little crazy, but research by a group at the Tokyo University of Science has led Professor Shinichi Komaba to the confirmation that hard carbon extracted from pyroylizing sucrose, an important constituent in sugar, is capable of replacing traditional anode material for sodium ion batteries, a common battery type for household rechargeables.

The hard carbon can be easy to manufacture too; by heating sucrose in an electric furnace at 1 thousand to 1,500 degrees Celsius in an environment free from oxygen, sucrose powder can be produced into black hard carbon powder.

The latest research follows years of hard work and study, but it looks as if the researchers in charge of the project are coming closer to their goals, and can now extract hard carbon from sugar with a storage capacity of 300 mAh, 20% higher than that of traditionally manufactured hard carbon.

“We’ve spent about seven years researching sodium ion batteries. We’ve gained a lot of know-how regarding electrolytes and cells for such batteries. We have all the reagents needed right here.”

How long do you think it will be before we see sugar-powered batteries in our day-to-day lives? How could this help the world as a whole? We’d love to hear your opinions in the comments.

[Source]

The post Future Batteries to Run on Sugar appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

They say that one of the bigger reasons why electric cars haven’t soared in popularity is the lack of infrastructure. When you have a relatively shorter range on a “full tank” of electricity, you need to be sure that there’s somewhere you can charge up along the way. The Government of British Columbia agrees.

In fact, the BC government is partially funding the creation of 454 new electric vehicle charging stations around the province. They’ll be built by businesses, community groups and local governments, giving drivers of cars like the plug-in Prius and the Nissan Leaf somewhere to “top up” while on the go. Not surprisingly, these charging stations will be mostly located in major points of interest like malls, city halls and hotels.

Among the organizations set to install these charging stations are Best Buy (Burnaby), the City of Chilliwack, the City of New Westminster, the District of Tofino, Ridge Meadows Hospital, Metro Vancouver, Thompson Rivers University, Vancity (Coquitlam), Vancouver Airport Authority and WorkSafeBC (Richmond). The 168 government-run ones will be public charging stations, of course, though it’s unclear whether these stations will be completely free for the end consumer. The remaining 286 electric fuelling stations are receiving 75 percent funding.

“We’re providing more accessibility for electric vehicle owners,” said Environment Minister Terry Lake, “so that they can have the convenience of charging up at Brentwood Town Centre here in Burnaby and of course different locations across the province.”

[Source]

The post Over 450 Electric Car Charging Stations to Be Installed by BC Government appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The BikeCharge Dynamo is such a wonderfully simple yet remarkably useful device. It taps into your cycling energy and converts it into USB output power for your gadgets. The DC generator can be mounted on just about any bike and with the universal USB output, it can also charge the majority of smartphone brands. You could presumably use it to charge your iPod or your GPS device too.

But how much power is it really generating? According to the developers, you get 3W 5.0V DC output, which will let you fully charge a typical smartphone in about two to three hours. Even if you’re only cycling to the grocery store or taking a ride through the park, you may as well make the most of your expended energy, right? Thankfully, the BikeCharge Dynamo is also weatherproof and is 20% lighter than similar systems. There’s also a quick release clutch if you want to get rid of that extra resistance when you don’t need charging, as well as a built-in 1W LED light.

You can pick up the BikeCharge Dynamo for $99.99, and the installation is a simple DIY affair.

[Source]

The post Charge Your Smartphone While Riding with BikeCharge Dynamo appeared first on Mobile Magazine.