This past June we wrote about Casio’s tough G’zOne Type-S mobile phone when it was released and we recently got a chance to get our hands on one to see just how tough this thing really was and what “water resistant” really meant. What we found is that the G’zOne Type-S lives up to its hype on standing against the elements and also had some nice surprises we were not expecting.

This funky 21st century vehicle is the Aptera, a three-wheeled energy efficient car that will come in either an all-electric version or a hybrid model. You get a top speed of 95 MPH, zero to 60 MPH in 10 seconds it seats 2 comfortably (or 3 squished together). A solar panel on the roof is used to help power the climate control system inside. It uses RFID to power on, has GPS navigation and a CD/MP3/DVD sound system with XM radio too. Safety is covered by the Aptera’s twin airbags and a rear view camera.

If you throw down a fully refundable $500 now you can secure an Aptera when the vehicles begin to roll off the assembly line in a year. The hybrid model will get you about 230 miles per gallon and costs $29,900 while the fully electric model only gets you 120 miles before your charge is depleted (but you save on the sticker price which is $26,900).

Mitsubishi took the wraps off of a new zero-emission, all-electric concept car called the e MIEV Sport. Aside from having a pretty cool look to it, the i MIEV Sport features a couple less-common additions to add juice back to the battery while driving.

As with many other electric and hybrid cars, this one uses a regenerative braking system, but also adds a solar roof and small wind turbines built into the front grill. Additions like these aren’t going to make a drastic difference in the range, but adding a convex solar roof was found to bring as much as an additional 20 mile range to a Prius. The turbines would likely be less, but certainly can’t hurt.

It’s always refreshing to see an iPod accessory that actually looks useful; case in point: the Boblbee solar-powered iPod case. The Boblbee case completely encloses your iPod protecting it in a waterproof, shockproof cocoon of safeness. The case also acts as a charger drawing its electricity from the sun for you outdoor enthusiasts, miles away from any power outlets.

It’s not the most streamlined looking case and will definitely add some bulk to your MP3 player, but it will also potentially give you continuous, uninterrupted listening time outdoors, sun permitting. According …

The electric razor from Sabeco uses non other than rays from the sun to charge up its batteries, saving on the environment and making things more convenient for you. An electric razor in your glove box works great for anyone that grows facial hair fast enough to need a touch up after 5 o’clock, or for those days that you go to work wearing the same clothes you had on the day before.

The only problem is you have to remember to charge it once in a while and of course it will run out …

On Monday the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative gave the “thumbs-up” to go ahead and start mass producing the XO laptop. The laptop being made is based on the Beta-4 (B4) design and is priced at $176 each, which the OLPC hopes to have down to the originally planned $100 by sometime next year.

The production starts on a path to create 3 million of the B4 XO laptops by October of this year which will be distributed to the governments of 15 countries to …

Brando has a new portable solar powered charger in their catalog that appears to be a fairly handy device. It measures only 137mm long and weighs a mere 240 grams which makes for a nice and compact fold-out package.

The charger uses solar power to charge up an internal battery that then can be used to power or charge your gadgets. It has a number of adapters from the standard USB output port to fit different types of gadgets, but what’s probably most notable is the fact that you can vary the …

For those of us looking to provide a low cost solution for wireless internet access, either for our own personal usage or for your family and friends, Meraki’s new Outdoor Repeater and Solar Accessory Kit is probably what you are looking for.

For $99 you get the Repeater which will transmit the signal up to 700 feet, perfect for downloading files while you’re at the park across the road or on the other side of the neighborhood. The Solar Accessory Kit lets the Repeater broadcast its signal without any electrical connection …

The Freeloader Solar Charger has an internal, replaceable battery that charges up from either the devices built-in solar panels or through a USB cable connected to a computer. With five hours of solar charging or 3 hours of USB charging the Freeloader has enough juice to power an iPod for 18 hours, a mobile phone for almost 2 days or a Sony PSP for two and a half hours.

The device is only just under 5 inches long, weighs about 6.5 ounces and looks like it would be a handy tool if your spending any extended …

Car batteries are something that no one wants to let run down. Whether we might use it up fiddling with the GPS system too much or just generally mucking around the car, the towing bill that we will inevitably have to pay just takes all the fun out of it.

ICP Solar has come to the rescue and produced a solar panel that will help to charge your car battery. The new “Sunsei SolarCharger” will keep your car battery charged using energy from the Sun. Naturally the panel …

Stephen Hawking is a name that by now we all know well. The Cambridge professor, best selling author and the world’s reigning expert on black holes is now set to take a zero-gravity ride out of Cape Canaveral. Since he has spent most of his life working around the nature of gravity, it seems only fit that he should experience it himself, first hand.

Said the executive of Zero G, “the idea of giving the world’s expert on gravity the opportunity to experience zero gravity” was irresistible. He will …

After some recent rumors about a collaboration between Sun Microsystems and Intel, both companies confirmed today in a press conference that Sun will begin using chips made by Intel in some of its servers. This is another major step ahead for Intel after landing a deal last October to provide processors for Apple MacBooks. At the same time this announcement is a set back for rival chip maker AMD who has been in head to head competition with Intel in coming out with more advanced, …

2006 was notable for the Wii, the PS3 and the temperature. Government scientists are reporting that 2006 was the warmest year on record since record keeping started in 1895.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through its National Climatic Data Center collected temperature readings from 1200 weather stations around the contiguous US. They found that the temperature was 2.2 degrees higher than the mean temperature for the last century.

The temperature was notable but so was the government claim that the temperature change is being cause by build up …

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, has released some detailed information about a literal rocket launch in a project that has been under wraps since it’s inception over 6 years ago.

Goddard, a 50 foot tall rocket, lifted off under it’s own power, flew about 285 feet into the air and then landed less than a minute later, seemingly with out a hitch. Multiple photos and a video of the rocket launch can be found at the Blue Origin web site. The video shows the full rocket launch and landing, and there …

Multimedia is working it’s way into almost every part of our lives, and even after-lives in this case. The Vidstone Serenity Panel provides a 7″ LCD panel that runs on solar power and will show a 5-8 minute slide show of photos along with sound.

The 8″ x 6.5″ panel can mount flush to a gravestone and provides two headphone jacks to allow visitors to listen to music along with the slide show. It is weather proof and fade resistant, and uses simple one-touch buttons to operate the playback. The Vidstone requires at least 4 …