It’s really about time someone released a portable power strip with USB charging. Really, honestly, we don’t know what took ‘em so long — it’s frigging 2008, everything’s been USB-powered for a couple years now. Hat tip to you, Belkin, for the Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger, which goes for $25 or so.

[Thanks, Alex]
more info
from engadget

There’s no shortage of green solar- or wind-powered ways to juice up your gadgets these days, but rarely do we see a charger that employs both together — along with the reliable old power grid — for sweet, sweet redundancy. The Hymini from startup MINIWIZ was first conceived by founder Arthur Huang in an MIT business class, and combines a micro turbine generator with a 1200mA/h lithium ion rechargeable battery that can also be filled via USB, AC, or an optional array of up to four miniSOLAR solar panels. According to published specs, the device — which has yet to be priced or released — will operate at wind speeds between 9mph and 40mph, with a 20-minute session in 19mph winds providing enough power for between four minutes of talk time (cellphone) and forty minutes of music playback (flash-based DAP). Very promising indeed, yet of limited utility until we find a gadget that ensures we don’t leave all these handy supplemental charging products in the bottom drawer of our desk when we actually need them.

[Via Crave]
more info
frome engadget

Behold the Solar Trees of Vienna, set to be unveiled in front of the MAK Museum on October 8th. It’s just the latest from Ross Lovegrove who’s already graced our pages with his Muon speaker and System X lighting system. Developed in coordination with Italian lighting Co. Artemide and solar cell Co. Sharp Solar, the installation could help wash away the godless hellscape of urban decay in the sweet bouquet of luminescent Lilies. Or not, depending upon its practical application. So if anyone happens to be in the area during the unveiling at 20.30 local time, by all means, send us some pictures and your thoughts — Detroit awaits your response.

[Via Inhabitat]
more info
from engadget

Considering that the smokers in the house have probably already set up an import to get one of Golden Dragon’s e-cigarettes shipped over, why not do yet another good deed and rid yourself of that fossil fuel-wasting lighter? All jesting aside, it seems that a Portuguese webstore is stocking a rather vivid new way to start fires (and open bottles, too) using the sun, and thankfully, it doesn’t involve a magnifying glass and days of patience. The device is equipped with a built-in solar panel that reportedly utilizes sunlight or artificial light to charge up internal Li-ions, and with the presumed flick of a switch, the device flings out a “continuous series of sparks” that should get that pilot light going. Apparently, this thing isn’t meant to be a flamethrower of any sort, but if you’re out of matches and have tons of dry lint, you can snag one of these uber-green fire starters for €13.90 ($19).

[Via UberReview]
more info
from engadget

Clogged highways and frustratingly waiting while your gas needle plummets to empty usually doesn’t conjure up thoughts of green, but it seems like these very roads could become the source of a lot more energy. Several recent student designs have proposed that major roadways be retrofitted with various forms of wind energy collection devices, ranging from overhead turbines that collect energy from quickly-moving cars below to barrier panels (pictured after the jump) that harness the wind from closely passing vehicles moving in opposite directions. Ideally, the wind energy could then be sent back out to the grid to power nearby communities, light-rail transportation systems, or even intelligent billboards. Of course, most of these ideas are still in the research phase, and even if proven feasible, we can’t imagine the up-front costs (or inconveniences of installing these things) to be minor, but we’re sure that government subsidies should be able to to lend a helping hand.

Read – Barrier panel prototype, via Inhabitat
Read – Overhead turbine design, via Inhabitat

From engadget

We’re all about watching new “world’s (insert adjective here)” gizmos become a reality, and we certainly don’t mind the occasional dash of overkill, but Ultra Products‘ forthcoming power supply takes “insane” to another level. In what’s presumably the world’s largest, most powerful PSU to call an ATX case home, the 2000-watt Modular X3 comes in at 10.25-inches in length and will reportedly fit “wherever a PC Power & Cooling 1000-watt version will”. The +12V rail alone is rated at 1800-watts, which means that it can purportedly handle a 150A load, and just might cause some sort of small disaster if actually achieved. Nevertheless, the smorgasbord of connectors allow for more power connections that most could even fathom needing, but Ultra believes that this PSU should remove all worry over whether or not your rig “has enough juice.” While it’s easy to brush this off as completely absurd, the latest AMD scorchers combined with a few NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX or ATI R600 cards could easily eat up a good bit of the supplied power, so if a ginormous power supply was the only thing missing from finishing up your energy-sucking rig, Ultra’s X3 should be available sometime this quarter for “less than $499.”

[Via Digg]
more info
from engadget

According to TheRawFeed, NTT DoCoMo has developed the world’s first solar-powered cell phone, complete with a GameBoy Advance-inspired design. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced. One more picture after the jump.

This phone actually includes the solar cells on the external side of the clamshell—therefore not needing any other devices to use the sun’s rays to charge. On a side note: this would be great for those of us that constantly forget their cellphone chargers regularly

[via Gizmodo]
from techeblog
Continue Reading