Thanko's solar-powered MP4 player

Juniper Foo | May 30, 2008

Even before Apple's ventured commercially into solar-powered devices, here's a working Japanese MP4 player from etailer Thanko that runs on the power of the sun. Don't expect the usual petite form factor since this packs a solar panel on its side which can be pulled out from the body to better worship the sun. According to Thanko, a sunny day generates about 120,000 lux, and 1 hour's charging is good for 15 minutes of video or 35 minutes of music playback. Just in case it's the monsoon period, there's also a USB mains, though that'll test your patience with a 5-hour juice-up required.

Quite amazingly, this Japan-only product has packed onboard a glut of features. There's a 2-inch TFT 220 × 176-pixel LCD display, FM radio, mono speaker, voice recorder, games, software to convert AVI/RM/MPEG/VOB/DAT/RMVB files to video format, support for MP3/WMA/WAV formats, 4GB onboard drive together with microSD memory card slot for up to 2GB, though no SDHC support. The price is equally surprising: Just 9,980 yen (US$96). It may sound like a bargain, but caveat emptor, let the buyer beware.

Via Fareastgizmos | Picture credit: Thanko

Filed under: Music & Play
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ferdiei

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ferdiei says...
putting a regular solar panel onto a device only adds bulk & does not innovate the desired form factor that mobile devices are pushing for...look at the funny shapes of the so-called solar powered car/automobile. what could shape the next level of mobility is the implementation of new types of material with various forms of conductivities that can convert into stored energy...and power adaptors by then could be 'a thing of the past' or just used as a backup, where magnetic field charging could come into play.

May 30, 2008 06:57