Better Energy Systems Ltd. have developed a portable solar-based charger. Although marketted as the "Solio for iPod", the Solio can be used to charge all sorts of devices, including cell phones, PDAs, and the Gameboy Advance and Gameboy DS.

The device looks great. When folded, it looks like a cellphone, or a Chobits ear. Unfolded, it looks like a three petal flower. It also has its own internal battery, so even if you PDA, Cellphone, iPod and NDS are all fully charged, you can still point your Solio at the sun, and fill up a spare battery. Then, when nighttime comes, and your gadgets are dying, plug it into the Solio and it'll transfer the energy from its internal battery to your devices! Alternatively, if you really desperately need to use the Solio as an extra battery and no sun is in sight, you can plug the Solio into a wall outlet and charge the battery that way.

Unfortunately, the Solio is not powerful enough to charge a laptop, and while it is water resistant, it is not waterproof, and so you are recommended against using it in snowy areas, for example, Montreal in the Winter. =(

If I get my PDA fixed, I'll probably look into getting a Solio, because I've frequently worn out my PDA in the middle of school by listening to mp3s. Check out the website too. It's very well designed: It uses Flash, but it doesn't feel like a Flash site. That's a definite plus.