The Rukus Solar comes with two speakers with a built-in carrying handle. The front panel has the music controls as well as a monocrystal solar grid. The control panel uses e-ink, for added visibility and low power consumption. The battery will power the speakers for 8 hours, and it takes 6 hours to juice it up in direct sunlight. It can also be connected via an AC adapter for speed up this process. Rukus comes with a USB port so that it can charge up other devices.

The Rukus is available in green, black, and white. You can get it for $150(USD) over at Amazon.

[via designboom]

The project is aimed at making a roof for a car that would allow the people inside to see out at during the day and capture solar energy as well. Then at night, the roof turns into a glowing OLED light. I think the windows of homes could someday use this technology too. They could capture solar power during the day to power the house and then turn into room lighting at night.

The OLED light is only 1.8mm thick and provides a uniform and soft glow across the entire surface. By combining this with an invisible solar panel, you get power and light in one device without blocking your view. Apparently, the technology is being developed for the sunroof of Daimler’s unusual Smart Forvision concept EV, shown below:

[via TG Daily and OLED-Info]

I know that a remote control snowplow would be a more appropriate device to have at this time of the year, but from the looks of it by the time you finish making your own Lawnba your lawn will need mowing. Case in point: the introductory video below is the first in a thirteen-part series. Part of the reason why there are so many videos is because Smith is very professional and thorough, but no doubt it’s also because this project is quite the undertaking.

If you’ve got the skills and the know how, head to Robert Smith’s website for the full parts list, schematics, codes and all other information that you need to build your own Lawnba.

[via Hack a Day]

The AirDrop works like a refrigerator or an air conditioner. But whereas water is just a byproduct in the other two devices, it’s the main output in this instance. An air turbine intake near the top of the device sucks air in, which is then cooled by the surrounding soil as it passes through the copper tubing to facilitate condensation.  The collected water is then pumped out through a semi-permeable hose to the roots of plants. The parts that need power – the turbine and the pump – get their juice from a battery, which in turn is charged by the solar panel on top of the device.

Here’s Gizmag’s interview with Linnacre:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Good man. Linnacre and his university were each awarded £10,000 (~$16,000 USD) for his invention. Linnacre, who invented the AirDrop as a potential aid to drought-stricken farmers, plans to use his winnings to further develop his device. I hope he succeeds. I also hope Apple doesn’t sue him.

[James Dyson Award via OhGizmo!, Gizmag & Fast Co. Design]

The 27 solar panels can be individually adjusted, so you can tweak them for optimal exposure to sunlight or for aesthetic purposes. The Electree’s battery has a maximum charge of 13,500 mAh and takes about 36 hours to be fully charged via sunlight. You can then charge your gadgets using Electree’s built-in USB connection. Muller and the Electree are featured in the video below. It’s in French though so I can’t tell you what they’re talking about. They make nice silky sounds with their mouths, that’s as far as I can tell you.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can pre-order the Electree from Ulule for €299 (~ $409 USD).

[via Inhabitat]

The NC215S will be available in the US starting next month. It’s a netbook, and will come with a 10.1 inch screen that has 1,024×600 resolution, 1GB of RAM, and a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 dual-core processor. Apparently, every two hours of sunlight gives users an extra hour of battery life. Now that’s not bad, considering the alternative. It makes lugging laptops around that much lighter, since you don’t have to carry around a power adapter or an extra battery.

According to Samsung, the netbook has a battery life of 14 hours under ideal conditions. That may seem like a lot, but I get about that amount with my MacBook Pro 17 pretty consistently (no Flash installed, brightness to the max, browsing and reading). The NC15S will be available starting in the week of July 3rd for $399 (USD).

[Liliputing via Ubergizmo]

I love to hit the beach when the weather’s perfect and it’s just the right kind of sunny. You know, the kind that doesn’t feel like you’re being roasted alive because of that huge gaping hole in the ozone layer; the kind of perfect weather where you can just lay around on your beach towel and plug in your headphones and let the music carry you off far away from where you are.

Then the battery runs out. I’ve experienced this once or twice and I’m usually all settled in by the time that happens, so I just forego the music instead. However, with this solar-powered bikini, you don’t have to.

Designed by Andrew Schneider, the solar-powered bikini can pump some electric juice into your gadgets while looking like a bikini that typical girls would wear to the beach. Charge up your iPod while you soak up some rays via USB connection. The bikini is fitted with photovoltaic strips that are held together with conductive thread. Of course, you shouldn’t go for a dip while you’re in this suit.

The solar bikini doesn’t store any of the energy it absorbs. Rather, it just passes on the electricity to your gadgets while you’re under the sun. A male version of this suit has also been announced and will be coming soon.

Each suit is custom made, so you’d have to send an email off to Solar Coterie to ask for a quote. We’ve heard that prices are around the $200 area, which is on the pricey end. But hey, at least you’re being eco-friendly while having a grand old sunny time.

[via inhabitat via Gadgets Matrix]

Perhaps the best solution for powering our gadgets would be a combination of battery tech with solar power. Pixel Qi is best known for making screens that are easy to read in direct sunlight, with minimal power. The company was at Computex 2011 showing off a very impressive tablet platform that can run strictly from the power of the sun.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The system uses a small solar panel that reportedly costs about $3 to purchase. That little panel produces 1W of power. That single watt is enough juice to run the Pixel Qi screen and the ARM-based motherboard as well. That would mean with a tablet using that hardware and drawing no more power than the 1W the panel makes could run as long as the sunlight holds out. In some parts of Alaska that could be half the year without a recharge.

[via ARMdevices]

The 100 solar panels wired to the exterior of the handbag generate about 2 watts of power; not enough to charge tablets or smartphones, but Diffus is optimistic that they’ll be able to double or triple that in the near future as solar technology improves. One other neat touch that the handbag has is that it has fiber optic cables inside that light up when the bag is opened, providing illumination.

The handbag is expected to go on sale soon, although I don’t know for how much. It’s probably going to be expensive, but that’s always the case with groundbreaking products. The important thing is for designs like this to flourish to help make green products an everyday presence, not just limited to concepts or used in special conditions.

[via eCouterre via Geeky Gadgets]

The panel measures 72 square-inches, which means that it can last up to 5 hours of continuous play before it needs some more sun. It has 8 speaker drivers (2 tweeters, 2 woofers and 4 passive radiators) with a total output of 22W, so it should be powerful enough for the cabin, a picnic, or the backyard.

You can pre-order the Soulra XL at Eton’s website for $300 (USD). It should start shipping by mid-May. In my opinion, that’s a bit pricey. For that price, you can get a Bowers & Wilkins Mini Zeppelin and the full-sized one isn’t that far behind if you’re willing to buy the older model. However, neither of those has got a solar-panel, so if you want to play in the sun, the Soulra XL looks like a good bet.

[via CNet via Ubergizmo]

I’ve been hearing a lot about green and clean energy for the past few years now, so it was only a matter of time before people got around to making these lamps, don’t you think?

As you can see, IKEA’s solar-powered lamps come in four colors: two basic ones (black and white) and two bright ones (cyan and apple green.) They come with 3 rechargeable batteries that store energy from the sun via the solar panel found at the top of the lamp.

To charge your lamp up for a maximum usage time of four hours, simply put the lamp under the heat (or, more appropriately) light of the sun for a good 9-12 hours. You’ll need around 15 hours on a cloudy day.

They aren’t available for purchase online though, so you might have to take a trip down to your local IKEA store to get one (or two).

[via Tech Fresh]

It also comes with seven connectors for various ports and phones – mini-USB, micro-USB, two Nokia connectors of different sizes, one for LG, one for Sony Ericsson, and one for the Samsung i900.  However, according to its product page, this hub’s built-in lithium battery only holds 130mAh. If that’s not a typo, then it’s going to take you the whole day to fully charge a device. So don’t think of this one as a full replacement to a dedicated charger; it’s just something that’s handy when you’re in a bind, for when you have to make one emergency call or text, or to reach that save point in your game.

You can order it now at Brando for only $22 (USD). It also comes in white, but either way it’s an ugly device. Should’ve been made to look like chicken burger or something.

[via SlashGear]

The Soulra has an 8-watt RMS speaker and can play music for up to 7 hours on a full charge. It also has a sturdy and water-resistant exterior and will feel right at home at the poolside or at the beach. But probably not in the water itself.

You can order the Soulra solar-powered speaker at Frontgate for $200 (USD). Now if only someone would come up with a sunlight generator.

[via 7Gadgets]

To ensure that the Power is really Never End, the headset comes with a USB charging cable so you can also recharge it via your computer. The headset is also equipped with noise reduction technology, and it can be paired to 2 devices at a time. Wear one on each ear and you can talk to 4 people at a time! Yeah I don’t think it works that way.

The guy in the pic is obviously not a douchebag; he didn’t pop his collar. As long as you don’t do that or any of these things, you can buy a solar powered Bluetooth headset at Brando’s online shop for $67 (USD).

[via ubergizmo]

I’m willing to look stupid for the comfort that half of a tiny fan’s ventilation can provide. Unless of course the solar panels don’t generate enough power, in which case forget it. I still have standards.

You know, the longer I look at it, the more I’m thinking that it kinda looks awesome. Yeah no it doesn’t. But if you need the cap, go on and get one, it’s only $16 (USD) at Brando. Don’t be like the people who wear uncomfortable shoes or clothes just to look cool. Be the type who wears stupid caps to be cool. Just be yourself. Respect your elders. I can’t stop typing. There.

Once you’re done assembling, expose the monkey to sunlight and watch it move. Of course if you set it up on a string then it’s going to be more monkey-like, but if your children are used to conventional portable devices, then they’ll probably be amazed that the monkey can move even without batteries.

I wish there was a whole range of little toys and other trinkets that could be powered by the monkey’s solar cell; that way even if your kids get tired of the monkey, they can still re-attach the solar cell to other toys.

You can get the solar-powered toy monkey at Select Solar for £14.19 (appx. $20.42 USD).

[via 7 Gadgets]