First there was the iPhone. Now there’s the iPad, a handy little entertainment device that goes where you go and delivers a range of audio-visual media from books and periodicals to movies and documentaries.
To keep your iPad going, designers have created a LilyPad (and a LilyPad 2), protective cases that draw energy not merely from sunlight but from all ambient light sources, charging your iPad as you charge around getting stuff done for the day. that way, when you’re finally ready to sit down and catch your breath, your iPad is ready to give you something to gasp about. In fact, say designers, the LilyPad will enable users to go an average of 12.5 days before having to fully recharge the iPad from a charger plugged into an electrical outlet. and given enough time, the day may come when you never again have to rely on cords, cables and wall plugs for charging your wireless electronics like the iPad.
The LilyPads get their charge from very thin, ductile, lightweight solar panels sourced from organic materials. the cases themselves are fashioned from 80-percent recycled materials, and for that leftover 20 percent manufacturer Wireless NRG is planting a tree in your name designed to sequester any carbon dioxide that might be generated by your plugging your iPad into a wall every two weeks. Eventually, Wireless NRG reassures, the LilyPad—and a future travel bag—will come in a rainbow of colors, right down to the shoulder straps.
Not only that, but the company says it has teamed up with responsible corporations to insure that at least 3 million trees are planted over the next two years. Wireless NRG also plans to preserve 250 million square feet of rainforest, and has its ducks in a row to make that happen, so you don’t have to feel guilty plugging in your built-in HDMI adapter and watching your favorite movie snuggled under a pile of blankets in the bedroom. the LilyPad also has a built-in movie stand, a keyboard stand, a USB power-out socket, a whistle locator for the absent-minded or the simply harried, and a travel bag which allows light to reach the LilyPad for continuous charging—all way cooler (and much easier to carry) than the solar backpacks we wrote about earlier this month!