Solar power has come a long way. They used to be something you only saw on hippie communes and Sci-fi movies. Solar panels are on everything now, especially our charging gadgets. The latest to sport a solar panel is the Surge iPod Touch charger, which allows you to recharge your iPod Touch anywhere, as long as you have sunlight.

The case features a 3.7 V lithium-ion battery that can be charged via the sun or by USB should it be cloudy. It comes in a bunch of colors. We aren’t sure if they have chargers for the other iPods, but at least your Touch is covered.

We’ve been waiting for Nokia’s Surge for months and AT&T has finally made it official. The Symbian S60-based smartphone is aimed at social media enthusiasts and features a full QWERTY keyboard, a browser with Flash support, and the pre-installed JuiceCaster app for easily updating your Facebook / Twitter status.

You’re sure to love the price too. Just $79.99 after rebate. It also boosts a 2 megapixel camera, AT&T Navigator, and AT&T Video Share. Social butterflies can get in on the action on July 19th.

Turns out that the power strip isn’t all played out after all, and can still surprise us. Take this Belkin Mini Surge Protector for instance. It has three grounded three-prong power outlets and two USB ports, and plugs directly into the wall socket, so there’s no dangling cord. A green LED lets you know that the connected devices are safe from surges. Belkin even backs it up with a $75,000 warranty.

Belkin even throws in a mini-USB cable, which will work with many brands of cellphones. It is supposed to be priced under $25, so this is truly a worthwhile purchase when it becomes available at the end of April.