Working with a computer outdoors can often mean you’re at the mercy of your battery — but not if you have this’Sol laptop, which can run for 10 hours on a single solar charge.
Designed for use in developing countries where electricity supply is erratic — or non-existent — it’s equipped with a fold out panel of solar cells which can soak up rays to power the device. According to Canadian company WeWi Telecommunications, the company behind the computer, the 10-hour battery takes just two hours to charge in strong sun. Details on specs are a little limited, but we do know that it packs an Intel processor, WiFi, an HD display, Ubuntu OS and the option of a satellite module for internet access.
Ghana will be the first country to receive the hardware, before it rolls out around the rest of the world — where it’ll cost $US300. That’s not particularly cheap in a developing-world context — but it will help humanitarians, aid workers and the like to keep doing their work long after their battery usually died. [Sol via OMG!Ubuntu via Engadget]