When designers and product developers at fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger heard the term “wearable tech”, they probably took it to heart. They have now come up with a line of clothing that is not just fashionable, but can also be used to charge your mobile devices because it is equipped with solar panels.
Yes, you heard that right. There are solar panels on a piece of clothing so you can justify the purchase of a designer jacket by saying you need portable chargers for your devices since they run out of juice fast. The clothing brand worked with solar manufacturer Pvilion to come up with a jacket for men and one for women that has a bit of tartan design to go with the rectangular looking solar panels. In fact, the panels are detachable from the jacket, just in case you don’t feel like sporting the water resistant solar panels while walking around.
The front packet has a battery pack that doubles as a USB port so you can charge two devices at the same time, in case your friend needs juice for their smartphone as well. It is capable of charging a 1,500 mAh device up to four times if fully charged. And if you feel like charging from the sun takes too long (it doesn’t indicate how long the process is), then you can get the battery pack out and charge it the usual way through a USB power source.
The limited edition jackets are now available at the Tommy Hilfiger online store and in several stores in the northern hemisphere. Both the men’s and women’s jacket cost $599 each and 50% of the earnings will go to an the Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit that gives free summer vacations to disadvantaged New York City kids.
VIA: CNet
Looks like that should be $599.