14 DAY TRIAL // Not a week goes by that someone doesn't come up with different means of charging a device. Whether it's T-shirts with built-in nanotechnology or solar powered chargers such as the one we're here to discuss, we somehow tend to stay faithful to the ever reliable wall socket. I wonder why...? This time around, Solar Technology is bringing you the Freeloader, for charging any handheld device, including iPods, PDA's, a video games console such as the PSP and so on.
Solar Technology says that its latest portable charger can charge its internal battery in 3 to 4 hours using the USB charge cable. Yes that involves an additional energy source from which the FreeLoader can suck some juice.
However, if you happen to find yourself in a place where no energy sources are available (that'd be the desert), the time required to charge the internal battery using the solar panels ranges from 5 to 10 hours, depending on light conditions. Naturally, you'll never get that battery fully charged on a rainy day (still, that's exactly what you want in the desert).
Not wanting to leave the sarcastic question in the introduction unanswered either, we always return to the power outlet because nothing really works better than charging your device the old fashioned way. The nanotech T-shirt is a good example to that. But at least we're trying...
I can't believe all the stuff I'm having my way today! First the spacey web apps and now this? Aside being a space freak, I also love to preserve stuff, recycle, and use free, inexhaustible energy. I once took apart several mini calculators, got the small panels out and connected them in serial to a bunch of LEDs and... wait. I remember that nothing happened. Must have been cloudy that day. Plus my grandma beat the crap out of me for busting the portable electronics.
