I’m all for going green, but at a cost of $700-$1200 no thank you.   QuickerTek’s Appe Juicz is a foldable solar mat that is available in a 27 and 55 watt output, and as you’ve probably determined respectively costs the aforementioned amounts.

Its operation is very straight forward: unfold it, lay it out in the sun, plug it into your Mac and within hours you’ll have a full loaded battery.  The 27 watts version can accomplish this feat in about 8 hour , while the 55 watt version can do it in about 5.  As you can see the solar mat is pretty large in size but when folded it should be as portable as a Macbook and a hell of a lot lighter.  This is the first solar option we’ve seen that can truly power a laptop in less than a days time, but at this cost you’re best off buying another laptop, or an external battery pack which costs far less, unless you’re located at the base of Mount Everest (see the video after the ‘leap’).

Cost gripes aside I do applaud QuickerTek.  It’s companies like this that will eventually drive the costs of solar panels down.

[via Wired]

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