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Innovation

Solar-powered Kindle cover debuts at CES

Among the slew of gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, is a solar-powered case that keeps your Kindle e-reader up and running for days.
Written by Kirsten Korosec, Contributor

SolarFocus, the Taiwan-based company that makes solar panels to power mobile devices, has launched a product that harnesses the power of the sun to keep your Kindle e-reader up and running.

The SolarKindle Lighted Cover, as it's called, made its debut this week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  The case has a built-in solar panel and a pop-up LED reading light. The solar panel charges the reserve battery, which powers the LED reading light and provides extra juice to the Kindle. The built-in reserve battery also can be used to charge the Kindle by plugging a USB cable into the cover's micro-USB port.

Once the Kindle has been charged, the solar panel automatically switches to charge the reserve battery. One hour charge in direct sunlight provides almost three days worth of reading time, according to the SolarFocus. The company says fully charged reserved battery requires eight hours of direct sunlight and provides up to 80 percent of backup power to the Kindle.

The solar-powered case, which was a 2012 International CES Innovations Design & Engineering Awards honoree, only fits the fourth-generation Kindle, VentureWire reported. The case is $80 (that's the same as the Kindle itself) and will be available online beginning Jan. 15.

Photo: SolarFocus

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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