Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
... just where do you recharge these devices when they do need it? In many of the places you might have in mind, that will be a major issue ... The basic question is the same: just what problem are you trying to solve? ...
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People in Africa already charge mobile phones using solar panels, also, they use radios with built-in dynamos. Something similar could be used to charge a reader's battery. The problem that still needs to be solved is education. I remember reading about an initiative that Bill Gates was (is?) involved with, to get laptops into schools. There are charities in the UK that collect books, old mobile phones and computers, and ship them out to Africa. What I imagine would be useful, is a fairly rugged reader with video capability, housed in a case with solar cells to charge the battery. Imagine what a boon that would be for schools, situated in parts of the world that don't have electricity, let alone Internet access. Imagine how useful such a device could be, to help educate children, to help them to raise themselves above their parent's
poverty. Assuming they were produced in sufficient quantities, with economies of scale, developing countries should be able to afford - perhaps they would need some some assistance from charities - to provide such an educational device to schools. It would require a company that is prepared to make a leap of faith, and produce something for the masses, a bit like the
Tata Nano, rather than members of a privileged elite.