rocketpocket: Eton Mobius, Soulra 2 and Road Torq hands-on

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Eton Mobius, Soulra 2 and Road Torq hands-on

It seems that whole "solar panel" thing is working out pretty well for Eton, because the emergency radio company's got a slew of new products that charge with the sun's rays -- not just the angular Raptor, but also a brand-new wireless iPod boombox and an iPhone 4 external battery pack that use the very same tech. The Eton Mobius crams a monocrystal solar panel and an 1800mAh battery into an package just about 20mm thick, which Eton claims not will not only doubles the iPhone 4's battery life, but lets it run for nearly 20 minutes per hour of direct sunlight exposure. Meanwhile, the Soulra 2 boombox upgrades not only the power of its predecessor with a full eight speakers, but also the rate of charge, with a larger solar panel that lets it juice an internal 2000mAh pack in five hours, and pump out jams for up to eight. Both felt like pretty early prototypes when we gave them a heft, but the Soulra 2 gets fairly loud -- enough to hear music over the din of the CES floor, at least. It's also a heavy one, but comes with a carrying strap and handle.

If you're bound and determined to have a hand crank on your emergency tool, though, you might want to give Eton's American Red Cross devices a look -- particularly this Road Torq stand-up beacon designed for car troubles. Flip out the combination flashlight / and red LED signal flare, pull out three reflector feet, and it stands up providing fifteen minutes of light for each minute you crank. PR after the break.

Gallery: Eton at CES 2011