Solar cell in the back please

Acteon · 01-13-2011, 12:09 PM

Hello,

I'd like the engineers to make the Kobo to consider putting solar cells on the back of the Kobo. This way, when it is not in use, it can be placed screen down to be recharged by ambient light instead of having to rely on a plugged computer in order to recharge it.

This would make the Kobo more practical as someone could bring it on a camping trip for example.

I'm not sure why no one has done this on the cover of laptops yet...

taming · 01-13-2011, 12:16 PM

You can recharge without a computer by using any one of a huge variety of chargers meant for things like cell phones.

3d0g · 01-13-2011, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acteon

I'm not sure why no one has done this on the cover of laptops yet...

Because even a power miserly netbook consumes about 20 W and in perfect conditions solar cells produce maybe 50mW per square inch. 10 x 7 = 70 square inches on the cover, so that's 3.5 W of available energy. So, to get 4 hours of laptop run time, you'd need to charge it for 6 in direct sunlight and that's being very optimistic.

RonH · 01-13-2011, 06:23 PM

Most of the battery problems could probably be solved in the next iteration of the Kobo by making the battery compartment accessible and using a commonly available cell phone battery.

Having said that, I don't have any problems with battery life in my Kobo 1.

– Ron

CazMar · 01-13-2011, 06:35 PM

Actually. you would need to have the solar cell on the front as well, as this is the side uppermost when the Kobo is near a light source and being used.
I am not sure how much the Kobo uses for power, my guess is nowhere near as much as a laptop.
We are getting a lot of solar panels installed on our roof next week so it's a topic uppermost in my mind. We will be producing 2.5 Kw of power - I guess that's like a giant solar cell for my house!

01-13-2011, 12:09 PM	#1
Acteon Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kobo	Solar cell in the back please Hello, I'd like the engineers to make the Kobo to consider putting solar cells on the back of the Kobo. This way, when it is not in use, it can be placed screen down to be recharged by ambient light instead of having to rely on a plugged computer in order to recharge it. This would make the Kobo more practical as someone could bring it on a camping trip for example. I'm not sure why no one has done this on the cover of laptops yet...

01-13-2011, 06:23 PM	#4
RonH Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON Device: kobo	batteries Most of the battery problems could probably be solved in the next iteration of the Kobo by making the battery compartment accessible and using a commonly available cell phone battery. Having said that, I don't have any problems with battery life in my Kobo 1. – Ron

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01-13-2011, 12:16 PM	#2
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	You can recharge without a computer by using any one of a huge variety of chargers meant for things like cell phones.

01-13-2011, 06:35 PM	#5
CazMar Book Geek Posts: 596 Karma: 1499085 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Adelaide, Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Asus MemPad 7" tablet, Nexus 5, Asus 10" tablet	Actually. you would need to have the solar cell on the front as well, as this is the side uppermost when the Kobo is near a light source and being used. I am not sure how much the Kobo uses for power, my guess is nowhere near as much as a laptop. We are getting a lot of solar panels installed on our roof next week so it's a topic uppermost in my mind. We will be producing 2.5 Kw of power - I guess that's like a giant solar cell for my house!