BG-BL01: Panasonic's Portable Solar Light Doubles As A USB Charger

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

We will see more of these devices coming in the next few years, I am sure: Panasonic today announced [JP] the BG-BL01, a portable and solar-powered LED light that doubles as a charger for USB gadgets. The device is sized at just 152×104×24mm, weighs 150g, can house two AA batteries and is splash proof.

Buyers basically get three LED lamps (0.12W×3) that – once charged – work continuously for about 10 hours when set to “high brightness” and 60 hours when set to “low brightness”. It takes about 15 hours to charge the device with solar energy and about 7 hours when using USB.

Panasonic plans to start selling the in Japan on August 26 (price:$75).

Via AV Watch [JP]