Amidst all the "green"-tag discussions, it looks like some manufacturers are really taking things seriously, at least way more seriously than others do. It's with a happy thought and thumbs up that we introduce to you one of the nicest and most environment-friendly audio gadgets, in the body of the SQ-S MP3 player from Shiro. The Shiro SQ-S sports one of the greenest approaches to generating the energy needed by a small MP3 player: solar power!

It's funny how such a simple and (now) obvious idea hasn't been widely used in the industry so far. Yet, there is a first for anything and you know what they say – better late than never.

The Shiro SQ-S boasts a virtually unlimited playability thanks to the solar cell on its back, continuously harvesting the luminous energy and keeping the internal battery charged almost all the time. Now, you don't have to be sunbathing: the solar panel will generate electricity in common daylight and it will actually charge as you play it – just make sure you pull it out of your pocket from time to time.

On the tech side, the Shiro SQ-S is quite a nifty toy: it comes with support for MP3/ WMA/ WAV/ FLAC/ APE/ OGG file formats, which simply rocks and beats other players senseless. Even more, we're talking about a gadget with a 16GB built-in storage space, which is equal to approximately 37 hours of music or 7 hours of movies.

The Shiro SQ-S also brings forth a 65K color LCD panel, 1,8" wide, capable to offer you visual data on playlists, video, pictures and the eBook format. The promised finishes are Silver, Red and Blue, with assorted variations for the center-placed keypad. Unfortunately, there is no word regarding pricing and availability. Given the green-energy character of the Shiro SQ-S, the sooner it comes out – the better.


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