JBL is crowdfunding solar powered wireless headphones

[HEXUS]

Promise "self charging, endless play time" and the end of "battery anxiety".

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[rabidmunkee]

I like this, but completely improactical for this country..

they spec 50k lux as the daylight required to match those times with inly 3.5hrs usage p/day.

Our sunny summer here might hit that lux but thats only ideal conditions fir a few weeks a year.

[Zak33]

I like this, but completely improactical for this country..

they spec 50k lux as the daylight required to match those times with inly 3.5hrs usage p/day.

Our sunny summer here might hit that lux but thats only ideal conditions fir a few weeks a year.

utterly agree with that.

Having spend a while with a godo quality Solar USB charger for a mobile phone, I can confirm .. it needs more than our normal daylight!

[Ttaskmaster]

I have a solar charged watch (two, in fact) and the instructions state you only need 5 minutes of normal daylight per day to maintain optimum charge during their idea of normal use... I've had it hung in the window for almost a month and it hasn't budged from Medium!
Now, I know the window means it's only getting about half of whatever solar is outside, again because the instructions say so, but it's so weak and unsunny here.

Still, kudos to JBL for great ideas... and shame on me for continually confusing them with JML!!

[lon3wolf2002]

Still, kudos to JBL for great ideas... and shame on me for continually confusing them with JML!!

I have to admit I thought of JML as well

[philehidiot]

The use cases are very niche.

Most of the time these kinds of systems just add problems which could be solved with just using a decent battery to start with and really, I'd rather pay for that than R&D and parts for a system which just won't work properly.

[3dcandy]

Has a usb port to charge as well...

Although it doesn't appeal to me it could be useful in certain useage types

[raygdunn]

Ah Indiegogo says it originates from Mountain View in the sunshine state.

[chrestomanci]

I like this, but completely improactical for this country.

Impractical for anywhere. There is just not enough area to get a decent amount of charging, and the power required to play music. I can't be bothered to do the maths, but I suspect that the laws of physics make it impossible to get enough power from the sun to play music. (eg with a perfect 100% efficient solar panel, wide headband, and also 100% efficient speakers over each ear).

Last summer I brought a solar phone charger to use while camping. It work reasonably well on a sunny day but it cost about £50 and unfolds to about 4 square feet. That is the kind of area to need in solar panels to run modern electronics.

[Ttaskmaster]

Well, there are motoryachts that manage to run their electrics all day... and I'm talking luxury motor yachts with 4-5 cabins and hideous amounts of fancy electronics, from TVs and convection ovens to kettles and washing machines, to nav systems and radar... and despite running all this, they still keep their batteries at about 90-95% with just two solar panels, each about the size of my car roof.