Green Daily

We got to check out Voltaic Systems' upcoming solar laptop case at Greener Gadgets. First announced last month at CES, the Generator laptop case will likely be the first bag on the market that pumps enough juice to fully charge a laptop.

Like all of Voltaic's bags, the Generator relies on a combination of external solar panels and a built-in rechargeable battery. So if you're standing in the sun, you can charge your laptop or other gadgets directly from the panels. But you can also charge up the internal battery anytime you're out in the sun. Then when you're stuck at the airport or somewhere else with no wall outlet, you can recharge or power your laptop directly from the backup battery.

I caught up with Voltaic Systems CEO Shayne McQuade at Greener Gadgets and asked him a few questions about solar power and its role in charging our laptops and other gizmos.


You can also download this interview as an MP3.

Voltaic bags don't come cheap. The company's least expensive product costs $200, while the Generator laptop case will set you back a cool $599 when it hits the streets this spring. But Voltaic hopes that as solar powered bags become more popular, production costs will come down.