Solar-powered Kindle cover dropping at CES

xg4bx · 01-09-2012, 04:51 AM

"The SolarKindle cover allows you to read all the Al Gore and Bill McKibben titles you can download in the greenest manner imaginable--no trees ground into pulp for the pages, no coal burned in power plants to charge up your Kindle's battery. In fact, the solar cover comes with a guarantee of three months of unplugged Kindle use under "normal sunlight environment"--I'm guessing that environment doesn't include Seattle in winter.

But, if you've fully charged your cover before venturing to the great Northwest, you will be able to use the built-in 800 lux LED reading lamp for up to 50 hours without having to tap your Kindle's main battery."

Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-33378_1-573...#ixzz1ixA7Hk3n

tovare · 01-09-2012, 05:45 AM

This solution looks promising, it seems to have a button which makes the light pop up.

(The Amazon cover with light for the NT 4 has a spring, but, it doesn't jump up)

It would have been great if all covers had this feature, I've used a Casio Tough Solar Wave Ceptor watch for years and it's the most reliable thing imaginable.

The excellent battery life of the kindle allready eliminates "battery angst" (as I normally get occationally with my smartphone), soutions like this could make the battery a non-issue and totally turn it into a 'it just works' reading-appliance.

HarryT · 01-09-2012, 05:50 AM

How much is it dropping by? What did it cost previously?

tovare · 01-09-2012, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

How much is it dropping by? What did it cost previously?

I think it's dropping like a curtain dropping in a theater, and not a price-drop as in discount/lower cost.

HarryT · 01-09-2012, 06:02 AM

You mean that it's being released at CES? I've not across the word "dropping" being used in that context before. Obviously a part of the great British/American English divide

.

tovare · 01-09-2012, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You mean that it's being released at CES? I've not across the word "dropping" being used in that context before. Obviously a part of the great British/American English divide

.

Yes, it's a bit ambiguous to a non-english speaker like me, dropping something could easily mean discontinuation, which wouldn't make sense ... considering the cost of a CES booth ("The We're-not-actually-going-to-sell-you-this-item-booth"). And drop shipping is more about not having any inventory, which may be the case if they have a really speedy manufacturer in China. I guess the author might have had dropping supplies from an airplane to troops on the ground in mind when he wrote that ... or drop a bomb in the sense that the news came as a surprise.

asciibaron · 01-09-2012, 09:32 AM

dropping is being used like a DJ drops a record on the crowd - think "debut"

(i am a DJ and drop bombs all the time)

tovare · 01-09-2012, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asciibaron

dropping is being used like a DJ drops a record on the crowd - think "debut"

(i am a DJ and drop bombs all the time)

u da bomb ! :-)

markbot · 01-09-2012, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asciibaron

dropping is being used like a DJ drops a record on the crowd - think "debut"

(i am a DJ and drop bombs all the time)

Yeah, using "dropping" to mean debuting (slang) is odd since in normal usage it would mean canceling. The slang usage doesn't make much sense. Although, it could have something to do with drug usage and then it was later borrowed for other contexts.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop

shinew · 01-09-2012, 01:09 PM

looks like a good option for a long hiking trip. Too expensive & heavy, and the solar panal is not really useful for everyday use though.

geoffwood · 01-09-2012, 03:49 PM

For $80 you might as well buy another Kindle and get double the battery life and storage.

Plus, if you're actually using the Kindle to read, the Solar Panel is going to be either flopping around pointed away from the light or folded against the back of the Kindle. Seems like an answer to a non-existant problem.

Kumabjorn · 01-10-2012, 02:51 AM

Don't they get very hot when exposed to solar rays?
I would be worried that it got so hot i couldn't hold it.
Also, the picture indicates it is for K4s.

Zeebra · 01-10-2012, 10:10 AM

I don't like the look of that cover, it adds height to the kindle, what is that an entire inch higher?

RainingLemur · 01-10-2012, 10:46 AM

That's actually pretty nifty. I'd like to get my mitts on one.

Giggleton · 01-10-2012, 08:02 PM

nah, the panel needs to be extremely thin, more flap like. I don't like cases for my kindle

01-09-2012, 04:51 AM	#1
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,443 Karma: 21908184 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: kindle 3	Solar-powered Kindle cover dropping at CES "The SolarKindle cover allows you to read all the Al Gore and Bill McKibben titles you can download in the greenest manner imaginable--no trees ground into pulp for the pages, no coal burned in power plants to charge up your Kindle's battery. In fact, the solar cover comes with a guarantee of three months of unplugged Kindle use under "normal sunlight environment"--I'm guessing that environment doesn't include Seattle in winter. But, if you've fully charged your cover before venturing to the great Northwest, you will be able to use the built-in 800 lux LED reading lamp for up to 50 hours without having to tap your Kindle's main battery." Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-33378_1-573...#ixzz1ixA7Hk3n __________________ "As long as you're in my house, you'll do what I do, and believe what I believe. So butter your bacon... and bacon up that sausage, boy."

01-09-2012, 05:50 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 54,657 Karma: 26165759 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Touch, PW, Fire HD, iPad 3, iPhone 4, Samsung Tab 2 7 + More	How much is it dropping by? What did it cost previously? __________________ Harry Currently proofreading The Poison Belt, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

01-09-2012, 06:02 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 54,657 Karma: 26165759 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Touch, PW, Fire HD, iPad 3, iPhone 4, Samsung Tab 2 7 + More	You mean that it's being released at CES? I've not across the word "dropping" being used in that context before. Obviously a part of the great British/American English divide . __________________ Harry Currently proofreading The Poison Belt, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

01-09-2012, 01:09 PM	#10
shinew Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 1008082 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NYC Device: Kindle PW, K4 Touch, iPad2, Samsung Galaxy S II	looks like a good option for a long hiking trip. Too expensive & heavy, and the solar panal is not really useful for everyday use though. __________________ X-Ray Generator for Kindle Touch

01-10-2012, 02:51 AM	#12
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 3,016 Karma: 15802129 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	Don't they get very hot when exposed to solar rays? I would be worried that it got so hot i couldn't hold it. Also, the picture indicates it is for K4s. __________________ Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

01-09-2012, 05:45 AM	#2
tovare Zealot Posts: 149 Karma: 204 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Oslo/Norway Device: PRS-600, Kindle kb Wifi, new Kindle NT	This solution looks promising, it seems to have a button which makes the light pop up. (The Amazon cover with light for the NT 4 has a spring, but, it doesn't jump up) It would have been great if all covers had this feature, I've used a Casio Tough Solar Wave Ceptor watch for years and it's the most reliable thing imaginable. The excellent battery life of the kindle allready eliminates "battery angst" (as I normally get occationally with my smartphone), soutions like this could make the battery a non-issue and totally turn it into a 'it just works' reading-appliance.

01-09-2012, 09:32 AM	#7
asciibaron Connoisseur Posts: 67 Karma: 77288 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle 4 NT SO	dropping is being used like a DJ drops a record on the crowd - think "debut" (i am a DJ and drop bombs all the time)

01-09-2012, 03:49 PM	#11
geoffwood Addict Posts: 217 Karma: 499588 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: K4NT+K4T+PRST1	For $80 you might as well buy another Kindle and get double the battery life and storage. Plus, if you're actually using the Kindle to read, the Solar Panel is going to be either flopping around pointed away from the light or folded against the back of the Kindle. Seems like an answer to a non-existant problem.

01-10-2012, 10:10 AM	#13
Zeebra Addict Posts: 308 Karma: 647275 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: Kindle	I don't like the look of that cover, it adds height to the kindle, what is that an entire inch higher? __________________ A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones

01-10-2012, 10:46 AM	#14
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,360 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	That's actually pretty nifty. I'd like to get my mitts on one. __________________ "Can't judge a book by another man's treasure."

01-10-2012, 08:02 PM	#15
Giggleton Suspended Posts: 1,687 Karma: 4368191 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Oregon Device: Kindle3	nah, the panel needs to be extremely thin, more flap like. I don't like cases for my kindle

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