Smartphones never seem to get enough battery life… and sure, you can lug around a spare battery pack in case you run out of juice. But you can also generate some spare power while you’re on the go thanks to backpacks and other accessories with built-in solar panels.

Now Tommy Hilfiger is getting in on the solar action with a new line of Solar Panel Jackets that sell for $599.

hilfiger solar_01

The company offers men’s and women’s jackets in a range of sizes.

Each weighs about 4 pounds, feature nylon and wool materials, and incorporate removable, water resistant solar panels. There’s also a built-in battery which is what the solar panels actually charge. You can use that battery to recharge a 1500mAh battery up to 4 times when fully charged.

Tommy Hilfiger partnered with solar company pvilion to create the jackets, which have a flap that hides the battery pack with dual USB ports that let you charge your devices.

There are probably more effective (and more affordable, not to mention more attracitve) options for keeping your phone charged. You need to spend a fair amount of time in direct sunlight for wearable solar panels to collect enough of the sun’s rays to fully charge a phone. But these jackets are limited edition products which serve more than one purpose: Tommy Hilfiger will donate half the proceeds of sales from the jackets to the Fresh Air Fund.

Still not impressed? Then you could probably just make your own tax deductible donation to a charity of your choice instead and buy a spare battery for your phone.

via CNET

 

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6 replies on “Tommy Hilfiger’s solar jackets can charge your phone (for $599)”

  1. Next from Tommy Hilfiger: underwear that puts a mini Pelton wheel in your pants to capture the power in your pee-stream. Only $499.

  2. SO to clarify the value proposition; Take a jacket worth $50, a battery and solar panel worth $50=$100. Make sure it’s made in China. SLAP the panel on the back to make it look rediculous and perform impractically, inefficiently, ineffectively!!!! Don’t forget to price it at almost $600. why didn’t I think of it before?

  3. I figure that if you are wearing a jacket like this, its not very sunny out, so not likely to charge on the run. The jacket has a battery for that. When you are a work, you hang the jacket in a well lit part of your workspace, attach a good bike lock, and let it charge there. Hopefully it is charged by the time you go out again. Even better if you are a vampire and sleeping while your jacket is charging. I think most vampires would avoid the style, unless one is interested in making ironic fashion statements.

  4. I see they’ve priced it so that ironically the people who can afford it are not likely to be outdoors long enough for it to be of any benefit.
    Noice.

  5. Somebody should do the math and see how many hours of direct sunlight you will need to charge the battery pack in this thing. Hint: unless you are a rugged outdoorsman (and ‘Tommy Boys’ generally ain’t) you are going to be far better off just carrying a battery pack and charging it every day or so. This is a political and/or fashion statement to show all who behold how much the wearer ‘cares’ about solar energy and ‘saving the Earth’ … while wearing a product that used up more non-renewable natural resources than the energy it is going to produce over it’s service life. And as a fashion item it won’t keep the same owner for more than a year or two anyway.

    Better still, get devices you can make it through a day without recharging.

  6. How about finally making that miracle battery that charges in 5 minutes and lasts a week while being smaller than an SD card I’ve been hearing so much about the last 10 years?

Comments are closed.