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Ralph Lauren's solar-panel backpack charges your phone in hours, your credit card in seconds
We here at Engadget are in favor of hitting the books from time to time, but we can't have lame gadget-less backpacks hurting our true techie rep. That's why we're excited to see Ralph Lauren outing its first solar-equipped knapsack as part of its RLX sports line. Four solar cells around back harness the sun's power to generate 3.45 watts -- completely juicing up an iPhone in a purported two-to-three hours, assuming you've got "proper sunlight orientation," of course. Like the optional orange hue (it also comes in black), the sun-sucking cells aren't particularly low profile -- but for $800 don't you want something, uh, recognizable? Still, if you simply must be that guy be sure to hit the source link and don't look back, but for everyone else, might we recommend a portable USB charger for a little less coin?
Knapsack collects travel tools for Leopard users
I never had one of those big world maps as a kid, the kind you put pushpins in to indicate all the places you've traveled -- I'd been thinking about getting one for my children, but now I might as well go digital with Knapsack 1.0, a Leopard-only travel planning tool.Knapsack lets you build your itinerary (with the requisite pushpin world map), create checklists and postcards for each destination, and plan your daily activities for each trip. Once your itinerary is locked, you can send it out to family or colleagues so they can track you down if needed. Knapsack's got a clean, Bento-ish UI that soothes the travel-anxious brain (see the screencast for a sample). For $39.95, it's a bit of a unitasker -- if you're already using a notebook, organizer or task-management app, it may be easier to leave your itineraries with the rest of your stuff. One might have expected Knapsack to implement iCal sync or integrated search with Orbitz, Expedia, etc., but I imagine that there are plenty of future features in the works.[via Apple Downloads]
Camelbak teams with Skullcandy on speaker-packed Hellion hydration pack
Joining the growing array of wintry kit suited to help your day at the slopes be a bit more like you never left your AV center, the Camelbak Hellion SC delivers a hydration pack, gear compartments, and few electronics to boot. The brand best know for its wide variety of liquid-toting backpacks has teamed up with Skullcandy on its latest offering, and while the whole color / design scheme is a bit too flamboyant for our tastes, the spec list isn't half bad. Aside from all the random pockets for your keys, gloves, Cheetos, and deodorant, you'll find a 100-ounce sack to keep your Kool-Aid chilled as well as a battery-powered LINK system that pipes audio from any 3.5-millieter audio out jack into the integrated speakers. Sadly, there doesn't appear to be any Bluetooth connectivity or a way to dictate anything other than volume from the strap-mounted "soft touch panel," but boarders that don't already have DAP access on their helmet, coat, or beanie can snap this up right now for just under $250.[Via Talk2MyShirt]
G-Tech kicks out Bluetooth-enabled iPod backpack
Similar to another company we're familiar with, G-Tech has hit it big by slapping iPod-compatibility onto an otherwise drab offering, and now the company has upped the ante by tossing in Bluetooth. Unveiled at CES, the self-proclaimed Next-Generation Messenger Bags with Bluetooth feature the same Eleksen ElekTex smart fabric controls right on the strap, but these controls now control the track / volume functions of your dock-connecting iPod as well as the volume / mute of your phone. The Bluetooth functionality simply allows users to easily mute their iPod to take an incoming call, and the built-in speaker can also pump out the jams (rather meekly, we assume) with any audio device that connects via a 3.5-millimeter cable. There's no word on price or availability, but if you're really dead set on owning an iPod-controlling pack, might we suggest one that doesn't look like an early '90s experiment gone awry?[Via Textually]
