Designer Holly Gates has developed a simple, yet ingenious e-paper reader that balances power draw and power generation so well that it doesn’t even have a charging socket. Think of it as a high-tech version of the ubiquitous solar-powered calculator that just works whenever it’s needed.

The beauty of Snippy is the merging of two remarkable technologies to solve a common problem – the constant need to charge our gadgets. The pairing of highly efficient solar cells and low-power e-paper technology makes this a reality and may someday work to power not just readers, but other gadgets like cell phones and personal media players.

Snippy’s solar panel charges the li-polymer cells when the device is in use, as e-paper does not draw power unless the content on the screen is changed. It features a micro SD card slot, Bluetooth 2.0 and is only 8mm thin with a weight of 221g.

I won’t get into all the hypothetical green stats about all the trees and water and gas emissions it’ll save, but I will pose a question. Thinking caps, everyone. Would it be possible to apply this technology to Amazon’s Kindle or Sony’s Reader? I don’t see why not. A small sheet of photovoltaic film shouldn’t cost very much and would be offset somewhat by not having to include a charger. It would set a benchmark that other companies would need to match and also heighten consumer demand for other self-powered gadgets.

See image below for an exploded view of Snippy.

Sources:
Core77 via EcoFriend