Voltaic's Generator bag needs 8-10 hours of direct sun to fully charge a laptop


Voltaic Systems Inc. is getting ready to release a solar-powered laptop bag that is designed to charge the computer carried inside it.

The company sells a line of solar-powered bags that carry and charge small devices like cell phones, MP3 players and PDAs. The Generator is the first of its solar-powered bags to carry and charge a laptop.

"It could be for people on a road trip or for traveling business people," said Julie Wineinger, a spokeswoman for the New York-based company. "This is great for people traveling who don't have access to a place to plug in and charge up."

The Generator, due to be released at the end of April, has a battery pack and a single solar panel that covers one side of the bag and produces up to 14.7 watts of power, according to Mark Watkins, another spokesman for Voltaic.

Expected to have a suggested price of $599, the bag needs about eight to 10 hours of direct sunlight for its battery to be fully charged. At that point, a user can plug the laptop into the bag's lithium-ion battery and charge up -- either while it's being carried around inside the bag or while it's outside the bag, being used.

The Generator also is designed with a wall plug-in so the bag can be charged while it's sitting in an office.

"Road warriors, field workers, scientists -- people going off the grid -- need that combination of being able to charge up in the sun and by plugging it into the wall," added Watkins.

The bag, built out of fabric made from recycled soda bottles, is designed to be waterproof and UV-resistant.