Panasonic’s portable solar light doubles as a USB charger

Talk about getting more than what you’ve bargained for, Panasonic has announced today the BG-BL01, which is a solar-powered LED light that can also double up as a charger for USB devices, such as smartphones, tablets or MP3 players for example.

It comes fitted with three LED lamps (0.12W each) that when fully charged is said to be able to run continuously for 10 hours on the brightest settings, or up to 60 hours when the lamp is set on its dimmest settings. No word on how long it would actually take to charge a USB device like a phone, although we’re guessing this is more for emergency purposes, i.e. during a blackout or natural disaster where you need to keep the lines of communication open, rather than used for frivolous or regular charging.

The solar-powered device runs on two AA batteries, which Panasonic claims will take up to 15 hours to fully charge in perfect conditions. We’re not sure what that is supposed to mean, perhaps they meant in direct sunlight? Panasonic has plans to start selling them in Japan come August 26th at $75 each.