One of the caveats of using a tablet outdoors is its lack of visibility. At the moment, most tablets don’t fare very well when used in bright sunlight, bar the Notion Ink Adam which that makes use of Pixel Qi’s special screen that’s been developed for use in any lighting condition. Well, the folks behind the daylight-readable screen have decided to take the technology a step further.
Pixel Qi has managed to develop a system that can keep a tablet powered by the sun alone. Using a low-cost solar panel ($3) that generates 1W of power, it can be used to power a specially designed tablet that consumes 1W or less. The tablet makes use of Pixel Qi’s low-power consumption, sunlight-readable displays which complement each other perfectly. Spending a day out at the beach? You won’t have to worry about your tablet running out of power – at least until the sun starts to set (just make sure you don’t get your tablet wet – unless it is waterproof as well). The solar panels could also be embedded in the bezel of a tablet, making use of the space that’s normally unused and a waste of real estate.
Hit the break to watch a video about the solar-powered tablet from Pixel Qi