Sneak peak of Konarka's roll-up solar charger

A first look at the portable, roll-up thin film solar charger by Konarka.

Sat, May 16 2009 at 10:46 PM EST

Konarka has been getting a lot of press lately.

In March they made the front page of Digg via a Popular Mechanics article which lauded their breakthrough in creating thin film solar cells using an ink-jet printer. Then last week, CNET was all over their amazing transparent solar cells which will be coming soon to a window near you.

Now MNN brings you a sneak peak of their new portable roll-up solar charger (video above).

I spoke with Dan Williams, VP of Product Development for Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies at the recent Sustainable Energy Expo. He walked me through some of their cool new products, including the camper-friendly roll-up solar charger.

And I'm predicting it now that this device will soon become the must-have object d'eco for green techies and power-loving campers alike (move over SIGG).

The product is still in development and they are not yet releasing the name of their manufacturing partner, but according to Williams the roll-up charger could be available as soon as this fall.

It will be available in two variants -- a less expensive direct power unit (which will only charge during sunlight hours) and a unit with a rechargeable battery.

Konarka just sent me a few pics:

Images courtesy of Konarka Technologies.

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