Parasol offers solar charging for mobile devices

New York-based gadget store Hammacher Schlemmer claims to be offering the first available-to-buy mobile-charging parasol.

As the summer season begins in the northern hemisphere, consumers will be spending more time outdoors – but how to keep all of those electronic devices charged? We recently saw the SUN&CLOUD digital camera offer battery boosts via solar energy, and now New York-based gadget store Hammacher Schlemmer claims to be offering the first available-to-buy mobile-charging parasol.
At first appearing just like any other traditional sun umbrella, the device features four 10 x 4 ¼-inch photovoltaic panels woven into its canopy fabric. The panels care connected to two USB outlets located in the parasol’s pole, enabling users to keep their devices on for longer during warm summer days. The solar panels can also offer power even in overcast conditions. It’s easy to see how festival organizers, restaurants, bars or even beach proprietors could use this as way to help patrons to enjoy the outdoors a little bit longer.
While Vodafone has in the past created a very similar prototype, this is the first of its kind to be brought to market, at a cost of USD 499.95. Unfortunately, the Hammacher Schlemmer website currently lists the item as out of stock, perhaps indicating that those in the US may be seeing the device in use this summer.
Website: www.hammacher.com

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Solar Smartphone Display Could Lead to Endless Battery Life

Image via WikipediaAlthough smartphone technology has advanced rapidly over the last few years with the advent of multicore mobile processors, high fidelity displays and a wider breadth of multimedia applications, power consumption remains a persistent issue. Many models require recharging before reaching a full day's worth of use, but with a new OLED display technology that can actually recharge itself as it is being used, the days of keeping a charger close at hand may be numbered.
Researcher Arman Ahnood has developed a method to capture light otherwise wasted by OLED displays and convert it into energy that can be used to recharge a device's central battery unit. According to Ahnood, only 36-percent of the light produced by OLED displays is projected outward, while the rest is pointed toward the sides and rear. He claims that a thin layer of film containing photovoltaic cells can be applied to displays to gather the wasted energy, as well as capture ambient light from both manmade sources and the sun.
As of right now, however, Ahnood's findings offer a small amount of supplemental energy, but with further research it could reach higher efficiency levels.
In short, this concept could eventually lead to smartphones that recharge during use, potentially resulting in a virtually limitless energy supply.

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