Hasta La Gadget!

Keeping your USB-powered gear powered up while camping in the woods or hiking the Appalachian Trail can prove quite a challenge. Solar chargers and backup batteries can help, sure, but when you’re already hauling dozens of pounds of gear, an integrated solution is where it’s at. Goal Zero has a pair of new products to help streamline things a bit. First up, the Lighthouse250 Lantern can provide 48 hours of 250-lumen LED output with a full charge, and it can charge up a gadget via a built-in USB port. If you don’t have a solar panel handy, you can use the hand crank to juice up the lantern in the field. The company’s also teaming up with Eddie Bauer on a solar panel-equipped tent, the 36-square-foot Katabatic 2 — you’ll need to add your own battery pack to store the energy collected from the 18-watt roof-mounted panel. Eddie Bauer has yet to announce pricing for the tent, which should ship next spring, but you can expect the lantern to retail for about 80 bucks in Q4.

Filed under: Household, Peripherals

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This week in IRL, Jon Fingas takes what could be an unpopular stance, making a case for the HTC One S over the bigger, more lavishly specced One X. Meanwhile, Darren and Dan test some summer-appropriate tech, including a GPS app for outdoor sports and a solar-powered speaker dock.

Continue reading IRL: HTC One S, Columbia GPS Pal and the Eton Rukus Solar

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

IRL: HTC One S, Columbia GPS Pal and the Eton Rukus Solar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raspberry Pi‘s journey to reach owners has been a lengthy one, but Greg Holloway is preparing to send his board on a longer voyage — one across the Atlantic. Nestled inside a tupperware tub, the RaspberryPi is the brains of FishPi, an autonomous vessel — guided by GPS and a compass — that measures 20 inches from bow to stern. Currently in proof-of-concept form, the craft uses a 40 mm rotating propeller and draws juice from batteries powered by a 130 watt solar panel. Producing kits for students, enthusiasts and professionals is the goal of the project, but testing and development are still on the docket. While the Linux-laden launch isn’t ready for the high seas quite yet, you can sail to the source for the technical breakdown or check it out at the Nottingham Hackspace Raspberry Jam next month.

FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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