Voltaic
Latest
Fisker's EMotion sports car, and more in the week that was
Tesla swept headlines this week by launching a groundbreaking solar roof tile that's better looking and longer lasting than standard shingles. The technology could trickle down to the company's cars too -- Elon Musk hinted that the upcoming Tesla Model 3 could feature a solar roof that melts ice and snow while generating energy from the sun. Meanwhile, legendary automotive designer Henrik Fisker finally unveiled his EMotion sports car, which will be able to drive 400 miles on a single charge when it launches next year. Nissan debuted the first all-electric mobile office, which is housed in a beautifully renovated e-nv200 van. And a Chinese company is getting ready to launch the world's fastest maglev train, which will be able to hit 373 miles per hour.
Getting lost in the woods isn't so bad with this tech
A walk through the woods. It sounds wonderful. Birds chirping, deer frolicking off in the distance, the majesty of the trees, the opportunity to get lost and drink river water that ties your stomach in knots. Hiking doesn't have to be a combination of pure joy and fear of succumbing to the dangers of being outside.
Live from Expand: Staying Green
Green's been quite the buzzword in consumer electronics and other technologies over the past decade or so. Is it simply a fad, or will today's technologies truly help provide for a more sustainable future? Join panelists from Inhabitat, Voltaic and Sol Design Lab to find out where green tech is headed. November 9, 2013 5:00:00 PM EST Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from New York City right here!
Voltaic Switch solar bag powers your tiny tablets with sunlight
Voltaic's solar bags sure can be useful, but not everyone likes lugging a laptop or a 10-inch tablet around while on a holiday. It's a good thing the company has developed the new Switch solar bag specifically for smaller slates like the iPad mini, so you don't pull a muscle carrying a 6-pound gadget as you navigate the jungle. The firm claims Switch's 6-watt solar panel can charge a typical smartphone in about four hours while under direct sunlight. If you're not keen on leaving a device under the sun, you can always leave the bag outside to charge its built-in 4,000mAh battery, and when sunlight's scarce, the Switch can also take a charge via USB. Unfortunately, the battery only juices up an iPad mini until it's about two-thirds full, unless you purchase Voltaic's optional 10,600mAh cell for $39. Outdoorsy types, feel free to head past the break to read more about Voltaic's new Switch bags or check out Voltaic's online store to purchase one for $129.
IRL: Voltaic Spark, LG Optimus One and the Galaxy Nexus
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. Want to read about Facebook's inflated valuation? A (debunked) rumor that Snooki is pregnant? Neither do we. So, let's do what we do best, and talk gadgets instead. This week, Engadget editor Don Melanson defends his phone of choice, James takes the Voltaic Spark for a spin in Spain and Mat talks about bonding with the Galaxy Nexus at CES. (Sadly, this fling, like others before it, stayed in Vegas.) How's it all working out for them? As always, we've got your quick takes tucked after the break.
Video: Power your iPad from the sun with Voltaic's Spark case
You could probably get several very nice iPad cases for US$299, providing a different look for every day of the week. Or, if you need to be radically mobile and self-sufficient with your tablet computing, you might be interested in Voltaic Systems' new Spark case -- a solar-powered hard shell model with enough power to charge your iPad wherever the sun shines. Voltaic designed the Spark to pair neatly with Apple's tablet, with a 1:1 charge to use time ratio (a full charge for the iPad requires 10 hours of light on the panels). Rather than charging devices directly, the solar panels top off an included battery; it's designed to provide a full iPad charge, and sports both standard-power and high-power USB ports for multiple devices. Obviously, a specialty case such as the Spark isn't for every iPad owner or usage model. For those who do need auxiliary power or extended off-the-grid operations, though -- field researchers, surveyors, engineers, park rangers, etc. -- it could be just the thing. Our video interview with Voltaic's Jeff Crystal is below.
Voltaic Spark Tablet Case powers your pad with the Sun's rays
Voltaic makes tons of solar-charging gear, from laptop bags to backpacks, but what are those living in a post-PC world to do? Well, the company just unveiled its Spark Tablet Case -- a thin, padded tote designed for your iPad or other slate that can generate 8-watts of power in sunlight. In addition to directly charging your iPad in about 10 hours, it can also bank the Sun's rays in a universal battery pack, for use when those fluffy things in the sky don't cooperate with your outdoor computing schedule. Optionally, the included V39 USB Battery can be charged (as you may have guessed) via USB, for extra insurance. The Spark is available now for $299 and extra battery packs can be had for $99. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break. %Gallery-127020%
Self-repairing solar cells could also fix our energy dependency
It doesn't take much for a photovoltaic cell to not work quite as well as it used to. Sure, a big hail storm or the like will do a number on your megabucks rooftop installation, but the sun itself, the very thing those cells are designed to capture, gradually damages their internals, reducing efficiency. The fix, according to a team at MIT, is self-assembling (and therefore self-repairing) solar cells made up of a synthetic molecular soup containing phospholipids that, when mixed with a solution, attach themselves to a series of carbon nanotubes for alignment. Other molecules that react with light then attach to the phospholipids and, with a little illumination, start firing out electrons like mad. After a few hours of solar pummeling the whole thing can be broken down and automatically re-created, returning efficiency to maximum. Overall efficiency of the system is extremely low currently, thanks to a low concentration of those photon-catching structures, but individually they capture about 40 percent of the light's energy, meaning a higher concentration could make for very hearty soup indeed.
Road Tested: Voltaic Systems Generator laptop bag
Thinking green? Voltaic Systems' Generator laptop bag (US$499) might be just the thing to buy for Earth Day on April 22nd. I had a chance to road test one of these incredibly cool bags for a month and was very impressed. What makes it so special? Well, it could be the big photovoltaic panel on one side of the Generator that provides 15 watts of power to feed your electronic devices. Voltaic points out that the Generator is the "first solar bag powerful enough to recharge a laptop." That panel charges an internal 58Wh Lithium Ion battery pack that can run most laptops. The solar panel isn't the only thing that's green about this bag. The materials that make up the majority of the bag are made from recycled PET soda bottles. In fact, the shell, webbing, mesh and lining of the case are made of 100% recycled materials.
Solar-powered Voltaic Generator laptop bag gets reviewed
Voltaic's Generator solar bag first hit the scene at CES 2008, and it has just now begun to filter out to deep-pocketed, environmentally-friendly laptop owners. The crew over at Laptop Mag was able to take it for a spin, and overall, they seemed a bit perturbed by the whole thing. It was not particularly ergonomic, it always fell over on itself when sitting idly on the floor and it was just too heavy to be lugged around with any level of comfort. Furthermore, there aren't enough options for laptop connectivity, meaning that lots of people will probably be left in the cold due to the limited support for notebook models. Reviewers felt that $499 was simply too much to ask for such a cumbersome device, and if two hours of extra life is worth that much to you, you're probably better off buying another battery and donating the rest to a green cause.
Voltaic's new Generator solar bag can charge a laptop
There are plenty of solar bags on the market which can squeeze some extra juice into your phone or handheld, or perhaps even trickle a charge into your laptop over a few days, but Voltaic is launching the first member of its lineup to fully charge a laptop with a day of sunlight. The "Generator" bag produces 14.7 watts from a single solar panel, but that's only with a full day of sun, so we're guessing you'll end up getting much less of a laptop charge with a normal day of use. In addition to a laptop plug the bag includes adapters for phones, USB devices and a car charger, and there's a battery inside the bag to improve the efficiency of the panel and to keep the juice flowing when you're in the shade. It all sounds great, but the bad news here is the price: $599. Yeah, your money might be better spent on a few spares batteries, but if you're going to be spending a week or so away from plugs, the Generator just might be the ticket.
