Samsung Working on Solar-Powered Netbook?

[exfileme]

Samsung revealed a solar-powered netbook during the Africa Regional Forum in Nairobi.

Samsung Working on Solar-Powered Netbook? : Read more

 

[milktea]

solar-powered netbook using indoor lighting would be the winner, if only that's possible.

 

[Guest]

[citation][nom]milktea[/nom]solar-powered netbook using indoor lighting would be the winner, if only that's possible.[/citation]

As long as the indoor lights put out a wavelength that the panels can absorb, they work. After all, you can certainly use a solar calc in a well lit room. I imagine indoors plugging it in would be more efficient, but this would be great for someone out camping or backpacking who wants mobile enet.

 

[fonzy]

If anything it will extend battery life....hopefully.

 

[fir_ser]

Hope to see a review about this netbook on TH.

 

[Guest]

milktea: The conservation of mass comes into play here; if you have ~50w worth of CFLs pumping light into your room, then the most electricity the solar cells could absorb is 50w, but realistically, efficiency will be more like 20% for the solar cells, and ~20% efficiency from the light bulbs(and 80% of 50w lost as heat), and the solar cells won't form a black hole that sucks in all of the light from the room, so you can assume at most they'll absorb ~1% of the light.

So, you'll get 50w * 20% = 10w of light, * 1% absorbed = .1w * 20% solar cell efficiency = .02w of continuous power from indoor lighting, as to say: You'd be better off plugging it in.

 

[cookoy]

Great for browsing under the hot desert sun. Let's see who fry up first, the user or the netbook. Or they should make an umbrella topped with solar cell panels with a power cord to plug into the netbook.

 

[back_by_demand]

[citation][nom]cookoy[/nom]Great for browsing under the hot desert sun. Let's see who fry up first, the user or the netbook. Or they should make an umbrella topped with solar cell panels with a power cord to plug into the netbook.[/citation]
That would actually be a good idea all by itself, a solar panel topped parasol with battery built in the shaft and a standard power outlet to plug in your equipment.
Patent it quickly because if you don't i'll do it myself.

 

[gti88]

36 watt ACME Power solar panel weighs about 15kg. I wonder what this notebook's weight willl be.

 

[COLGeek]

I have had a solar powered calculator for years, used both indoors and outdoors. Seems logical and desirable that someone would finally take advantage of all the flat surfaces on a mobile computing device. Even a trickle or power will extend battery life. Sounds like a potential winner to me.

 

[milktea]

We need solar panels that will make 100W of power out of 50W source.

 

[eddieroolz]

This will be successful if and only if it works with indoor lighting.

 

[spookie]

I live in South Africa and would never go and work outside on a laptop...It will never work here