Zune Thoughts: Energize Your Batteries from the Sun

"You don't usually equate CES with big time Energizer introductions, but this year is going to be different. While our fingers are still crossed that a 50-foot drum-toting bunny is seen storming around in the Vegas heat, we do know that said outfit will be bringing along its minty fresh Zinc Air Prismatic batteries, not to mention the newly unveiled Rechargeable Solar Charger. The above pictured device will boast a USB port to power an assortment of devices, and it can also be charged from an AC outlet if you just can't seem to locate the sun. Better still, its weatherproof nature should make it suitable for argonauts, and it'll only run $49.99 with a pair of rechargeable cells when it lands next summer."

I've tried some solar chargers over the years and never been totally impressed. They've either been poorly designed or performed poorly. With built in USB charging as well as the ability to charge batteries (assuming AA's and hopefully AAA's) it should cover a pretty wide variety of devices. From a design perspective, this seems to be pretty well thought out, so I'll probably be grabbing one when they come out to see how it performs.