Update: The Interview on Home Of Solar Energy is available here.

I mentioned the Viliv S10 in an article about solar-powered computers for 2010 and it turns out that it has the same 9.5v input as the Viliv X70 tablet. Having an input voltage below 12V is always an advantage and it’s even better when the X70 car adaptor works on the S10. I threw out the panel, connected it to the car adaptor and S10 and we’re away. I now have a 3G-capable, Windows 7 convertible netbook running directly from the sun.

I’ve added an extension cable and the S10 is now sitting on my desk with the solar panel outside. I’ll be giving this a long-term test to see how much sun is needed to get by when using 3G. I’m estimating that 5 sun hours will give me 10 hours of usage which means that, given we only have 4 full-sun hours per day and that cloud cover is guaranteed for 50% of the year, I will get about 4 hours per day out of the solution. It’s terribly inefficient to charge like this though. The S10 sucks just 2-3 7-10W when charging. The rest of the power produced by the panel is being wasted so I’ll put my lead-acid battery in-line to suck up the rest of the juice.

Advantages of the S10:

• Built-in 3G, Wifi, Bluetooth
• SSD (fast, silent, no spinning hard disk)
• Convertible Touchscreen (for flexibility)
• Ultra low power (10 hours on a 47wh battery that should charge in one sunny day)
• Great keyboard, SD card slot
• At 1.2KG, lightweight for a netbook
• Because of car adaptor, doesn’t require intermediate regulator or battery.

Disadvantages

• Hinge could be a weak point
• No daylight screen (as on virtually every other device)
• Relatively expensive compared to netbooks (Total solution, including solar panel, would cost about $1000)

I’m off on holiday next week but will do some testing when I get back in the first week of August. Note: Direct charging of PCs from solar panels without a regulator and buffer battery can damage your PC if not set-up and tested correctly.

iUnika have announced a range of very low end, low-cost netbooks which include one with a solar-panel on the back. The price: $260.

• 700gm
• 8″, 800×480
• 400Mhz MIPS CPU

It’s eco friendly too “..the system body’s is made from bioplastics and other biodegradable materials derived from starch and cellulose” [source]

Here’s my take. Using a PC in the sun is hard work on the eyes and hard work on the battery as you need to pump up the backlight. The solar panel is also very small (I estimate 4W max output) so with a device that’s likely to be in the 3-4W operating power range, it’s at best, a trickle charger that can keep the device topped up when not in use. Putting panels on PC’s does a nice job of cutting out the losses you get when charging external power banks but they need to be detachable to get the best use out of them.

Still, bravo to iUnika for doing this. There are definitely some customers that would benefit from this. Education in hot countries with poor infrastructure comes immediately to mind.

Source: Gearlog