Personally I don't think that this is a waste of space as such. I think any movement towards "greening" office workers and technophiles has to be a movement for better. This may also be seen as gateway technology towards more efficent and greener lifestyle choices?

"store up to 75W of power": no.

You can store energy (maybe you meant 75Wh).

Without the units, the numbers aren't meaningful.

BTW, retail in the UK you can buy a 12W briefcase with chargers/controllers for the equivalent of US$100. Batteries not included!

Rgds

Damon

@ Damon: you are indeed correct. Quick typing and multiple ideas in my head result in errors sometimes. Thanks for the correction, which has been made in the original post.

$1500? It better have a large bling factor for that price...DB

I vote for overreacting. The cheapest 1 kwh system I've seen is a diy backyard system for $500. Even if the money would be more effectively used buying light systems for use in low-infrastructure areas, this system still provides an alternative to coal-produced power.

And yes, cell phones, laptops, palm computers, digital cameras, music players, e-readers, and the like are not essential to life as we know it, but lots of people make their livings using them.

put it in the window of your office and work without using the grid, you just need a light that can run from it too:)

I think there's a concept that some folks who buy these things are missing. If you're going to invest in green technology, or anything for that matter, you should look for maximum return. In this case, you want to generate the most possible energy from your small solar panels as possible.

If you're going to buy solar panels, why not mount them on your southern facing roof (patio, backyard, etc.) instead of carrying them inside a box.

Use it to feed the grid and help reduce the need for fossil fuel based sources of electricity. Have it going all day long instead of carrying it around in a briefcase.

If we don't start thinking about low hanging fruit and maximum bang-for-the-buck, we'll never get past these gimmick products.

@Kile: Pardon my saying friend, but i believe you're missing the point of the product. Portable Solar Charger. Not gimmick product.

I've been with film crews that spent months in rural villages in Thailand where power wasn't available, we had something like this that made the entire project possible. If i recall correctly we had;

2 panasonic video cameras
2 Canon 350Ds
2 MacBook Pros
6 MP3 players/audio recorders

Can't expect me to charge all those on location with a hand crank now do you?