I guess I'm lucky that I now live in a part of the world blessed with long sunny days that are perfect for juicing up the battery on my solar device charger. I do have to keep getting up and moving it, though, so that the panels don't fall into the shadows cast by furniture in the room or even the window frames themselves, thus reducing its efficiency. Propping the charger up against the glass is one way to ensure maximum exposure to those energy-giving rays, but XDModo has a much slicker solution. Users can stick the 0.68-inch thick Window solar charger to the inside of a glass window with the photovoltaic panels facing out, and then feed off a charging cable to a portable device positioned in the cooling shade.

The brainchild of a team of international designers under the umbrella of XD Design, the Window solar charger has an ABS plastic case with a PV panel surrounded by silicone pads capable of temporarily sticking to the glass of a window. On the base of the device are a full-size USB port and a mini-USB port for connecting portable devices in need of a clean energy battery boost. The charger itself contains a 1300 mAh Li-ion battery which is said to take around 13 hours of direct sunlight to reach full charge.

The bottom edge of the Window solar charger is home to a mini-USB port, a full-size USB port and and LED charge indicator

The Window solar charger outputs 5V/500mA via the included mini-USB cable, and has over-charge and over-heating protection built in. There's an LED charge indicator on the bottom edge which lights red when charging and green when the battery is full.

At EUR 49.95 (US$66), it's a little pricier than Quirky's Ray USB solar charger for portable gadgets with built-in suction cup and kickstand, but it is a good deal more aesthetically-pleasing and with dimensions of just 11 x 11 x 1.75 cm (4.3 x 4.3 x 0.68 inches) and weighing 0.135 kg (4.76 ounces), it is rather more pocket-friendly.

Update: The Window Charger spent some time on the Gizmag Test Bench in early 2013, head to the review page to find out how it performed.

Source: XDModo (now XD Design)

Product Page: Window solar charger