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Eton's Soulra XL solar-powered iPod boombox will cost $300, now ready for your pre-orders
Summer's nearly here, the sun shining bright -- wouldn't you like to share your tunes with friends while basking in the light? That's what Eton's counting on as it prepares to ship the Soulra XL, the solar-powered iPod boombox formerly known as the Soulra 2. As we discovered at CES in January, its set of eight speakers get pretty loud, and Eton claims it charges twice as fast as its predecessor (five hours) thanks to a sizable monocrystal solar panel, and lasts five hours on a charge. It'll juice your phone, too. All told, you'll be schlepping around seven pounds and paying $300 for the privilege of completely cordless mobile sound. Sound like a deal? You'll find Eton ready to shake your hand at our source link.
Eton Mobius, Soulra 2 and Road Torq hands-on
It seems that whole "solar panel" thing is working out pretty well for Eton, because the emergency radio company's got a slew of new products that charge with the sun's rays -- not just the angular Raptor, but also a brand-new wireless iPod boombox and an iPhone 4 external battery pack that use the very same tech. The Eton Mobius crams a monocrystal solar panel and an 1800mAh battery into an package just about 20mm thick, which Eton claims not will not only doubles the iPhone 4's battery life, but lets it run for nearly 20 minutes per hour of direct sunlight exposure. Meanwhile, the Soulra 2 boombox upgrades not only the power of its predecessor with a full eight speakers, but also the rate of charge, with a larger solar panel that lets it juice an internal 2000mAh pack in five hours, and pump out jams for up to eight. Both felt like pretty early prototypes when we gave them a heft, but the Soulra 2 gets fairly loud -- enough to hear music over the din of the CES floor, at least. It's also a heavy one, but comes with a carrying strap and handle. If you're bound and determined to have a hand crank on your emergency tool, though, you might want to give Eton's American Red Cross devices a look -- particularly this Road Torq stand-up beacon designed for car troubles. Flip out the combination flashlight / and red LED signal flare, pull out three reflector feet, and it stands up providing fifteen minutes of light for each minute you crank. PR after the break. %Gallery-112572%
