The heart of the gadget is a simple battery charger, intended for regular rechargeable AA and AAA batteries and primarily powered by an AC jack and assisted by a flip-out solar panel. A USB port is capable of providing power to a connected gadget, which allows the Solar Charger to also act as a sort of extended battery for virtually any USB-powered device, iPods included.

By choosing cheap semi-disposable rechargeable batteries as the guts of the device, Energizer will reportedly be able to keep the price down at a reasonable $50, 2 AAs included. Considering additional features like weatherproofing and a rotating solar panel, the Solar Charger could turn out to be a cheap, viable alternative to the endless droves of device-specific battery extenders and pricey solar chargers that are floating around for the time being. The official announcement is expected at CES 2009. [GoodCleanTech via CleanTechnica]

Hunched over his MacBook in coach "like a T-Rex," Siler was able to complete a battery of tests. The upload rate wasn't shabby; 257 Kbps was enough to let him upload a Flickr gallery, for one thing.

Since Speakeasy.net reported a respectable 658 Kbps download speed, it was no surprise that Siler reported A-OK on the all-important mid-flight pornage test. He was able to stream some nice naughty material, as you can see (artfully blacked out by me) in the screengrab above. (That's Wes, holding his ticket, in the Photo Booth shot next to it.)

The porn access should come as good news for people who fear that other mid-air nemesis, the Chatty Cathy: At least porn will keep some passengers distracted from voice chat, which worked all too well in our quick test. Truth be told, the only thing that didn't work was video chat—iChat just kept choking and crashing. Hey, something was bound to fail as Siler hurtled through the sky high above Nebraska at an air speed of 581 miles per hour.

If you've had any interesting in-flight Wi-Fi experiences, by all means share them in comments. [AA; Thanks Wes!]

Update: Here's how REAL it is—Siler just took a screenshot of this article while in the air and IM'd it to me:

PANASONIC ANNOUNCES EVOLTA — THE WORLD'S LONGEST LASTING AA ALKALINE BATTERY IN MORE DEVICES*

Performance of New Battery Recognized by Guinness World Records™

SECAUCUS, N.J. (September 24, 2008) – Proving that there is still room to enhance the performance of everyday batteries, Panasonic today introduced the EVOLTA battery, which is recognized by Guinness World Records™ as the world's "longest lasting AA alkaline battery cell" in more devices.* The recognition was the first of its kind for Guinness, which created a new category for batteries. The EVOLTA AA Alkaline battery lasts longer in more devices than the company's own previous-generation AA alkalines as well as those from other brands.

Demand for batteries that will meet the needs of today's more energy-efficient products is increasing. To address this need, the EVOLTA battery, which derives its name from "evolution" and "voltage" to symbolize growth and power, was specifically designed to work with a variety of electronics devices, ranging from low-middle-drain remote controls, portable radios and MP3 players to high-drain digital cameras and remote-control cars. EVOLTA is not just tailor-made for one device, but allows for outstanding performance across a broad spectrum of applications.

The new structure of the EVOLTA battery provides more internal space than Panasonic's previous generation batteries, allowing storage of extra active materials and incorporating an improved sealing technology, creating a more durable battery. Newly-developed active materials for the battery's cathode (manganese dioxide and oxy-hydroxide titanium) and anode (zinc) facilitate a chemical reaction that delivers superior performance. To maximize the chemical reaction within the battery, Panasonic has improved the manufacturing process to pack active materials more evenly and densely.

Battery testing followed industry-standard protocols issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The test results reveal that EVOLTA batteries deliver excellent performance in wide ranging equipment from low-current applications such as TV remotes to high-drain applications like digital cameras.

To further support its AA battery claims, Panasonic also conducted device testing and results of those tests include:

* A digital camera powered by EVOLTA batteries took 272 shots compared with 209 shots when powered by Panasonic's current Alkaline Plus batteries — an increase of 30%. **
* An FM radio played up to 14 hours longer when powered by two EVOLTA AA batteries than when powered by Panasonic's current Alkaline Plus batteries.***
* A remote-controlled car traveled as much as 8.7 miles farther when equipped with six EVOLTA AA's than when powered by Panasonic's current Alkaline Plus batteries.****

"I believe that EVOLTA is the ultimate power solution for any and all consumers that will enhance everyday life by delivering superior portable energy solutions," said Matt Sora, vice president of sales and marketing for Panasonic Battery Corp. of America.

To demonstrate the power of EVOLTA, Tomotake Takahashi, an engineer in Tokyo, created a mini robot nicknamed "Mr. EVOLTA." The 6.7 inch-tall robot made headlines in May when it climbed a 1,740-foot rope dangling from a cliff in Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park. Mr. EVOLTA accomplished the feat using just two AA EVOLTA batteries. The climb took 6 hours and 46 minutes and covered a distance that was 290 feet more than the height of Chicago's Sears Tower, the tallest building in the U.S. Click here to download photo of Mr. Evolta.

"EVOLTA was launched in Japan in April and is currently enjoying tremendous success," Sora noted. "We expect that EVOLTA will also be favorably accepted by consumers in the U.S. market."

The new EVOLTA batteries will be available in stores in October. AA and AAA batteries will be offered in four-packs and eight-packs. The suggested retail prices are:

* AA or AAA four-pack, $4.99
* AA or AAA eight-pack, $8.99

Sweepstakes

To promote the battery, Panasonic is launching the EVOLTA Sweepstakes promotion. From October 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 consumers can enter for a chance to win a variety of Panasonic products with a total value of $25,000. The Grand Prize winner will receive a 42-inch Panasonic VIERA plasma HDTV and a Blu-ray Disc home theater system.

Thirty other prizes will be awarded in all, including 5 Panasonic VIERA plasma HDTVs, 10 Blu-ray Disc players and 15 LUMIX digital still cameras. No purchase is necessary to participate in this sweepstakes.

It's also worth noting there's nothing new about passengers viewing offensive materials during a flight. Said Tim Smith, a spokesman for AA, "Customers viewing inappropriate material on board a flight is not a new scenario for our crews, who have always managed this issue with great success.''

So let's throw this out to the community today. Is porn on planes a problem for you? Should flight attendants have to become "moral policeman," as they fear they will become in the Bloomberg article? Should people who can't go without porn or violent imagery for the duration of a five-hour flight really be allowed to go on airplanes to begin with? By all means, dish. Just keep it, ah, clean. [Bloomberg via Wired]

Virgin America has been retrofitting their entire fleet with the necessary hardware whereas American Airlines is only running a trial on 15 planes. The service will bring a 2Mbps EVDO Rev. A connection and will actually be upgradeable to Rev. B or faster hardware in the future. So what's the fee for this magical in-flight service? Cross-country flights will cost $12.95 and shorter flights of 3 hours or less will be $9.95.

As for what limitations the airlines will set is still not clear, but with a spring launch, 2Mbs connection, and near $10 fee we can't help but be all hyped-up, so much so it's making us scream, "Let's gogo go!"[gogo via gigaom]

According to their findings, EVOLTAs have a 10-year shelf-life—which is nearly double the duration of other products on the market. Panasonic's EVOLTA batteries will also keep gadgets running up to 20% longer than offerings from Duracell and Energizer—as well as their own Oxyride brand. Unfortunately, US residents are going to have to wait until sometime later this year to get their hands on the product—but Japanese customers can power up starting on April 28th for about $5.40 for a pack of four. [Canadian Press via Inventor Spot]

Unfortunately, the only phones that can be charged with this thing are from FOMA and SoftBank—both only available in Japan—but we're sure somebody can come up with something similar for US phones. Get to work, crazies! – Jason Chen

Product Page [Rakuten via Plastic Bamboo]

Each adaptor costs only $5.50, which means for $11, you can have a lifetime's worth of C batteries without actually buying C batteries. But seriously, what uses C? Maybe midget-sized dildos? Now if we only had a way to turn some other AAs into Cs. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Brando via Uber Review]

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]

Product Page [ThinkGeek]

How long will a pair of AA's run your video iPod? How about 3 hours. That sound pretty good? Head over to instructables to see a detailed step-by-step and make one yourself. There's even a kit available you can purchase. – Jason Chen

MintyBoost kit [Adafruit]

MintyBoost! - Small battery-powered USB charger [Instructables via Digg]

Available now for $29.95, which comes with the charger, an adapter and one battery. Or, for $44.95, you get eight more adapters. One less thing for him to beat yell at us for.

Turbo Charge Portable Battery Charger [MobileWhack]