Rollable Solar Panel Powers Notebook Computers

If you find yourself outdoors and away from AC power a lot, solar panels are one of the best (and only) ways to get power to your gadgets. The downside to solar power is that it takes a big panel to collect any real juice. The Brunton SolarRoll 14 (US$399) is a 12 by 57-inch panel of amorphous solar cells that rolls up for easy storage. While it won’t easily strap to the back of your jacket the 17 ounce roll provides a beefy 14 watts of power – enough to power or recharge laptops, digital cameras and smaller mobile gadgets. Links and more after the jump…

If you find yourself outdoors and away from AC power a lot, solar panels are one of the best (and only) ways to get power to your gadgets. The downside to solar power is that it takes a big panel to collect any real juice. The Brunton SolarRoll 14 (US$399) is a 12 by 57-inch panel of amorphous solar cells that rolls up for easy storage. While it won’t easily strap to the back of your jacket the 17 ounce roll provides a beefy 14 watts of power – enough to power or recharge laptops, digital cameras and smaller mobile gadgets.
The SolarRoll 14 is waterproof, daisy-chainable and includes vehicle outlet and multi-linking cables for charging almost anything. Because it outputs to an auto-style cigarette lighter outlet, you’ll need auto adapters to charge your PowerBook or iPod from the SolarRoll. If the SolarRoll 14 is too big, smaller size rolls are available with 4.5 watts (US$169) and 9 watts (US$279) of power output.