Going SOLIO at Macworld 2008

[San Francisco, California USA]

Hybrid Solar Chargers for your Apple (and other) gadgets and gear

After navigating swarms of Apple enthusiasts at the Macworld Expo registration desk to pick up my badge on the first Expo day, it took about ten (10) minutes in the Moscone Center West Exhibit Hall to find the only solar product company with a stand at the entire Exhibition.

Fresh (or tired?) from the 2008 International CES launch, SOLIO was charging iPods and iPhones with their new SOLIO Magnesium (SOLIO Mg) solar charger. Like the earlier SOLIO Classic, the SOLIO Mg edition unfurls into a solar array with three leaves in order to capture and convert sunlight into direct current (DC) to charge an internal lithium ion battery. In turn, the internal SOLIO Mg battery charges up your gadget’s own internal battery via a DC to DC converter.

SOLIO Mg can store more power than the Classic with a reported larger 3.7 V (Volt) 1800 mAh (milliampere hour) lithium ion battery. In addition, SOLIO Mg adds Universal iGo Tip System compatibility to increase device connectivity and includes an Adapter Tip System Cable with a female USB tip. SOLIO Mg continues the hybrid solar charger tradition by offering the option to plug into the grid and charge at night or during foul weather. The solar cells appear to be multicrytalline silicon, but I was unable to obtain any details about the cells or the supplier.

For more information on the other SOLIO family products, view the technical specifications or visit the product store pages for SOLIO H1000 and SOLIO Classic. SOLIO products are designed, manufactured, and marketed by BETTER ENERGY SYSTEMS COMPANY, Ltd.

At the SOLIO Stand 4616 in Moscone West, special discounts are being offered for SOLIO products sold at Macworld this week: SOLIO H1000 $60 (list $69.95), SOLIO Classic $90 (list 99.95), and SOLIO Magnesium $160 (list $199.95).

Don’t forget to visit the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Stand (near 4116 or 4210?) in the same Moscone West Hall and make your annual donation. Find out more About EFF. I would have gotten this post out yesterday if I had not attended EFF's 17th Birthday Party.

As it turns out, the Going Solio title has already been done Down Under.

And the Battle of the Blogger Lounges goes to H&R Block’s Tango BlogSpot with a cordial Blog and Brew atmosphere over the W like nonexclusive snobbery of Microsoft’s The Blogger Lounge.