Solar Powered E reader?

prushellen · 01-02-2012, 03:00 AM

Is there any solar powered e reader?

frostschutz · 01-02-2012, 10:05 AM

Solar panels just don't yield enough power unless they're huge and in a location that gets more sun than you or the eInk screen of your reader could handle for any amount of time.

You could get one of those solar panels that charge an akku pack and use the pack to charge the ereader, but unless you travel in a desert or something it will be a rather frustrating experience. These things just don't work unelss they get a ton of sun for a couple of days.

Bring batteries or use more reliable sources of power, for example if you're doing a bike tour you could use a dynamo.

USB ports still work best if you're not going far away from civilization...

bill_mchale · 01-04-2012, 12:36 PM

Actually, at least a couple have been announced. I don't think any are generally available, at least outside the far east. Here are links to announced ones.

http://inhabitat.com/toshiba-unveils...e-book-reader/
http://inhabitat.com/lg-unveils-sola...e-book-reader/

Actually, if you think about it, ebook readers are close to ideal for solar power since compared to most consumer electronics, they sip power. That being said, you probably would have to strip them of extra features like wifi (or at least limit its use) if you wanted to do it.

In fact, here is a site that shows you how to do it yourself

http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-charging-ereader/

Of course the real holy grail would be to develop a reader that doesn't need to be charged and can run off the energy it harvests from reasonable indoor lighting kind of like how most "solar" powered calculators work.

--
Bill

mersfire · 01-04-2012, 02:18 PM

I think we'll be seeing more solar powered devices in the coming years. e-Paper based e-readers hardly use any power (hence the months of battery life on the devices!), so you don't need THAT much juice to power it up.

I've been reading the news that some major LCD manufacturers are combining TFT technology with solar technology, so your display will actually double as a solar panel. It's amazing!

http://news.softpedia.com/news/AUO-B...e-230853.shtml

01-02-2012, 03:00 AM	#1
prushellen Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle	Solar Powered E reader? Is there any solar powered e reader?

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01-02-2012, 10:05 AM	#2
frostschutz Linux User Posts: 2,279 Karma: 6123806 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Device: none	Solar panels just don't yield enough power unless they're huge and in a location that gets more sun than you or the eInk screen of your reader could handle for any amount of time. You could get one of those solar panels that charge an akku pack and use the pack to charge the ereader, but unless you travel in a desert or something it will be a rather frustrating experience. These things just don't work unelss they get a ton of sun for a couple of days. Bring batteries or use more reliable sources of power, for example if you're doing a bike tour you could use a dynamo. USB ports still work best if you're not going far away from civilization...

01-04-2012, 12:36 PM	#3
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Actually, at least a couple have been announced. I don't think any are generally available, at least outside the far east. Here are links to announced ones. http://inhabitat.com/toshiba-unveils...e-book-reader/ http://inhabitat.com/lg-unveils-sola...e-book-reader/ Actually, if you think about it, ebook readers are close to ideal for solar power since compared to most consumer electronics, they sip power. That being said, you probably would have to strip them of extra features like wifi (or at least limit its use) if you wanted to do it. In fact, here is a site that shows you how to do it yourself http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-charging-ereader/ Of course the real holy grail would be to develop a reader that doesn't need to be charged and can run off the energy it harvests from reasonable indoor lighting kind of like how most "solar" powered calculators work. -- Bill

01-04-2012, 02:18 PM	#4
mersfire Member Posts: 16 Karma: 18897 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle	I think we'll be seeing more solar powered devices in the coming years. e-Paper based e-readers hardly use any power (hence the months of battery life on the devices!), so you don't need THAT much juice to power it up. I've been reading the news that some major LCD manufacturers are combining TFT technology with solar technology, so your display will actually double as a solar panel. It's amazing! http://news.softpedia.com/news/AUO-B...e-230853.shtml

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