Thursday, September 9, 2004
Did You Say "Solar-Powered?!?"
Posted by Brad Adrian in "NEWS" @ 01:00 AM
Here it is! You've been asking for it, and Scott Jordan is finally gonna deliver it: the solar-powered Version Three.0 SCOTTeVEST!
"SCOTTeVEST INC. (SeV) maker of Technology Enabled Clothing®, and Global Solar Energy, developer and manufacturer of flexible solar cells, announced that the first solar-powered jacket designed to carry, connect and charge portable devices will be available in time for the holidays. The solar panels are attached to SeV’s signature jacket, Version Three.0 Finetex, an all-weather jacket with removable sleeves and over 30 hidden pockets. The jacket features SeV’s patent-pending Personal Area Network (PAN), which conceals wires associated with power sources and earbuds."
Here are a few more specifics:
• The battery pack is about the size of a deck of cards.
• The battery pack charges any device compatible with USB chargers.
• The solar panels are removable.
• Devices can begin charging immediately upon exposure of the panel to sunlight.
• Typical full charge time is 2-3 hours.
Actually, I think this is a pretty neat idea (you would expect me to say anything else?), especially for people who spend a lot of time outdoors and need (or want) to use their devices far from the nearest power outlet. The new jacket systems will be available for the gift-giving holidays later this year, but you can pre-order one right now for only $425. And, if you happen to already own a Version Three.0 SCOTTeVEST, there are plans to offer retro-fit kits for adding the solar panels to your vest sometime in the future.
There's just one thing about this that I'm not sure of... If you're geeky enough to wear one of these, do you actually spend enough time in direct sunlight to make it worthwhile?
(And, yes, I do want one!)
"SCOTTeVEST INC. (SeV) maker of Technology Enabled Clothing®, and Global Solar Energy, developer and manufacturer of flexible solar cells, announced that the first solar-powered jacket designed to carry, connect and charge portable devices will be available in time for the holidays. The solar panels are attached to SeV’s signature jacket, Version Three.0 Finetex, an all-weather jacket with removable sleeves and over 30 hidden pockets. The jacket features SeV’s patent-pending Personal Area Network (PAN), which conceals wires associated with power sources and earbuds."
Here are a few more specifics:
• The battery pack is about the size of a deck of cards.
• The battery pack charges any device compatible with USB chargers.
• The solar panels are removable.
• Devices can begin charging immediately upon exposure of the panel to sunlight.
• Typical full charge time is 2-3 hours.
Actually, I think this is a pretty neat idea (you would expect me to say anything else?), especially for people who spend a lot of time outdoors and need (or want) to use their devices far from the nearest power outlet. The new jacket systems will be available for the gift-giving holidays later this year, but you can pre-order one right now for only $425. And, if you happen to already own a Version Three.0 SCOTTeVEST, there are plans to offer retro-fit kits for adding the solar panels to your vest sometime in the future.
There's just one thing about this that I'm not sure of... If you're geeky enough to wear one of these, do you actually spend enough time in direct sunlight to make it worthwhile?
(And, yes, I do want one!)
