First Laptop With Full-Sized Solar Panels Will Run On Ubuntu

iwritethings writes "The Sol, a rugged-looking laptop with built-in foldable solar panels is designed for use in the military, education and developing countries where electricity is scarce. The Canada-based makers behind the Sol claim that the device can run directly off solar energy or can harness the sun's rays to charge the laptop's battery in under two hours. Once fully charged, the battery is expected to last between eight and 10 hours. While the concept of solar charging gadgets isn't new, this type of battery life is unprecedented. There's no word on when Sol will launch, but its headed to Ghana first, and it will run Ubuntu Linux."

Comments

Matte screen

[Anonymous Coward]

Hope it comes with a matte screen. A glossy screen would be unusable out in the sun.

Re:Matte screen

[niftydude]

Whatever happen to those colour E-ink screens Pixel Qi was working on? They would be perfect

I was at a conference last year where some japanese guys were working on a microfluidic transflective displays - they are essentially as bright as the ambient light level is - those would also be pretty good for this.

Come on people - we need low power daylight readable screens already.

Re:Matte screen

[Seumas]

Has anyone ever tried using a laptop in the sun?

This is Slashdot. We haven't even been in the sun.

Maybe LED backlighting could get it barely bright enough without sucking down the battery in 3 minutes.

My 2.8ghz 17" Macbook Pro probably consumes around 30 watts for normal usage, so with a 13" screen and lower powered everything, I would imagine this laptop would do fine - especially if they were to replace the hard drive with an SSD. Unless there has been a dramatic improvement in solar panel technology, I believe you should be able to get about 10 watts per square foot of panel, right? This looks like it has around 1.5sqft of solar panel, so while it might not be able to run continuously on solar power, using it in the sun should certainly supplement a fully charged cell such that it could run all day long without another charge?

Seems like a terrible design

[SSpade]

A separate set of solar panels could be used to power / charge things other than a laptop, and a set of solar panels connected by a cable would let you sit in the cool shade while using the laptop during the day, rather than having to sit out in the sun (where it's hot and you can't see the screen).

Assuming it's real, which I have some doubts about - a couple of square feet of solar panels provides enough power to drive four or five laptops?

Re:Seems like a terrible design

[pla]

a couple of square feet of solar panels provides enough power to drive four or five laptops?

My PC draws under 45W average, and around 20W idle. At my latitude, that would require about 4 square feet (as in, 2x2, not 4x4), and I live pretty far North.

Computers have gotten a lot more efficient since the bad ol' days of the P4, and solar panels have gotten a lot cheaper (like under $2/W). Given a laptop specifically designed for low power, I have no trouble considering this an entirely realistic design goal - An 8sqft 100W panel and a few laptops that draw 10-20W? You could probably even manage it with OEM hardware, never mind anything hardcore optimized for power.

Re:In a nutshell

[Skapare]

I want you to have one. You obviously need a new caps lock key.

The specs...

[afxgrin]

I don't like their website design, I find it annoying to navigate. :P

http://solaptop.com/en/products/laptops/

        System

                CPU: Intel Atom D2500 1.86 GHz Duo Core, Intel 945GSE + ICH7M
                HDD: Seagate 2.5” SATA HDD 320GB
                RAM: Kingston 2-4GB DDRIII SDRAM (Options Available)
                Graphics: 1080p HD Vide, Built-In Intel GMA3600 Graphics
                Battery Operating Time: 8 - 10 hours

        I/O

                Display: 13.3" LCD, WXGA, 1366 x 768
                Camera: 3MP
                Audio: Realtek ALC661 HD Audio, Built-in 2 Speakers | Internal mic + 1/8” input
                3 USB2.0, Headphone jack, HDMI, LAN(10/100), Card reader (SD/MS/MMC)

        Wireless

                Modem: 3G/4G World/multimode LTE
                GPS: gpsOne Gen8A
                WiFi: MIMO 802.11b/gn (2.4/5GHz)
                Bluetooth: Integrated Digital Core BT4.0

Save Frequently

[cdxta]

Every time a cloud goes over you're going to loose your work, or is your work in the cloud?

Errrr....

[sunking2]

Pretty sure that Ubuntu will run on the laptop. The laptop will run on the Sun.

Samsung NC215s

[iamhassi]

Samsung NC215s is the world's first solar laptop way back in 2011.

It's on Amazon with real reviews and here's a customer unboxing video

Article mentions the NC215s but claims it didn't have a 10 hour battery life while this review says the NC215s did have a 10 hour battery life... not that it really matters if the laptop can run on sunlight.... unless you're visiting the Arctic I suppose

PowerBook 1400

[martinX]

Apple's PowerBook 1400 had a removable book cover style lid so you could put in pretty pictures etc. A company called Keep It Simple Systems made a solar panel that slipped right in. (TidBITS article here). Here's a quote from MacFormat magazine describing it (source):

The PowerCover is especially neat because it fits into the BookCover slot on PowerBook 1400s, so you can leave it on more or less permanently. This will extend the battery life by around 35% (the PowerCover is, after all, a bit smaller than the Mercury II). KISS claims you can expect its products to give you up to 20 years of free energy. An extreme example of these devices’ usefulness is that of Ralph Harvey, a research scientist who uses a solar charger on his PowerBook in the Antarctic where power’s clearly at a premium. [...]