Crave

Mascotte's messenger bag prototype

(Credit: Mascotte)

G24 Innovations has shipped its first flexible solar panels, which are destined for the outside of backpacks and other bags, the company said Wednesday.

The U.K. company's dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are thin-film photovoltaics that can be manufactured in flexible rolls relatively cheaply. It is a material the U.S. Air Force has been looking into for use in its unmanned aerial vehicles for longer endurance.

G24's DSSC cells, which are designed to create electricity from indoor light as well as outdoor sunlight, will be put into commercial use by the manufacturer Mascotte Industrial Associates.

Solar backpack, duffel

(Credit: G24 Innovations)

The Hong Kong-based company is integrating the DSSC panels into a line of backpacks, duffel bags, e-book covers, camera bags, and messenger bags that can then be tapped to recharge items like cell phones or cameras.

Mascotte plans to display its solar bags at this week's Hong Kong Electronics Fair, and the products could be available to consumers as soon as December, according to the company. Mascotte has already filled its Web site with photos of potential products.

While Mascotte won't be the first to offer solar recharging in a backpack and while it hasn't released its price list yet, the company's use of DSSC cells may make it the first to offer a bag at a reasonable price to the masses. In 2006, Tumi offered a limited edition PowerPack, which cost almost $700. In mid-2007, the Mana Solar Claw offered a $230 solar backpack cover.

(Credit: RuckJack)

Talk about an identity crisis--though there is something about the RuckJack's dual personality that appeals to the geek in us with its 2-in-1 ability to morph into a jacket or backpack. And it's all simply done with just one zip and two clips.

Fortunately, too, this doesn't follow the path of many hybrid offerings that end up being a Jack of all trades, master of none. The patent-pending RuckJack not only looks tough enough to brave the elements with its lightweight, all-weather material, it comes in a multitude of stylish colors. Of course, if you're using it as a backpack, you might want to have another jacket on hand just in case. The RuckJack rolls out this month in the U.K. but will be available online.

(Source: Crave Asia via Boing Boing)

To convert, close the transformation zip from back to front, attach sleeves to main body with fast clips, and close rucksack with drawstring. Elementary, my dear Watson.

(Credit: RuckJack)

The MetroLite, fully loaded

When I studied abroad in college, my trusty Eagle Creek backpack went with me everywhere. It had just enough room for everything I needed to carry, with lots of little pockets to keep my stuff organized. It was so compact and maintained its shape so well that I never felt like a turtle, even when the bag was stuffed.

The MetroLite Backpack, from Washington-based manufacturer Brenthaven, reminds me of that bag. Its main compartment includes a well-padded sleeve that accommodates laptops up to 15.4 inches (though we were able to carry even a 16.4-inch system). Its front compartment contains tons of little organizer pockets to corral your gadgets and accessories. And the whole bag adds just 4-6 inches to your profile while you're carrying it.

For example, in the picture at right, the MetroLite is loaded with the Sony VAIO FW270 and its AC adapter, plus a letter-size spiral notebook, two magazines, a trade paperback, two smartphones, a wallet, keys, and pens. Even with all that stuff, the bag is about 6 inches at its thickest point--and that bulge could have been reduced with more thoughtful packing.

If you want a backpack that can carry your laptop, gym clothes, reading materials, and lunch, then the MetroLite backpack is not for you. But if you prefer to travel light or regularly commute by bus or train, I think you'll love it. Read the MetroLite Backpack review and let me know what you think.

(Credit: Fred Flare)

Inside all of us, there lives an inner creep just itching to get out and secretly take photos of unsuspecting members of the opposite sex. The secret book camera, offered here by Keith Carollo and Chris Bick of Fred Flare, definitely confirms that theory. The camera uses inexpensive 110 film and is the perfect size to stick in your backpack or Miley Cyrus-approved clutch purse.

You know what this camera reminds me of? That one scene in Troop Beverly Hills where shevillain Velda Plendor hides a camera inside the Girl Scouts book so Herman can spy on the tragically affluent Girl Scouts of Beverly Hills. Wait, what? You're not as self-deprecating as I am? OK, well I loved TBH and now I can finally live out my cinematic fantasies. Never mind that it's seafoam green and made to look like an antique toy for children--I just so happen to have $55 burning a hole in my apron. Patches?! We don't need no stinkin' patches!

Check out more pictures of the camera after the jump.

Natali Del Conte will be the guest hostess next week and we want your best nicknames for her now! Please submit them to drivingmecravy@cnet.com because she won't see this coming!

It's everything from the Crave blog, with Brian Tong and guest host Bonnie Cha. This week, they talk about a new robot toy and a cell phone that you can use underwater. Then they take to the streets to see what people think about Built NY's laptop backpack. Plus, Bonnie takes your submissions and finds a nickname for Brian.

(Credit: Reebok)

Reasons behind the popularity of backpack speakers continue to elude us, but the trend has just gotten some additional validation. Not only are such products being peddled by smaller brands, but now a major player has weighed in with a version on the U.K. market.

Reebok is offering the "NXT Speaker Backpack," which is powered by two AA batteries and will blast tunes from anything that can connect to its 3.5-millimeter jack. There's no information indicating how powerful these speakers are, though we suspect they're made for the finicky audiophile anyway.

Tech Shout notes that the bag conceals the speakers fairly well, though we're not sure why that's so important, other than perhaps as a deterrant to theft. But if they're used in public at all, that purpose will obviously be defeated.

(Credit: Make)

We've seen hard-working backpacks being married with speakers, solar panels, and everything else but the kitchen sink. So no surprise that the ubiquitous camera has hopped onboard too.

The Porta2030 is a bag that's intended for some serious voyeurism. What's made more daunting is the fact that it isn't just a static eye--this is quite capable of streaming (in some cases, possibly damning) images to a Web site. And it's all thanks to a mobile data-sensing storage transmission unit that comprises a wireless hard drive, 1GB flash card, an open-source system, and a Webcam with LCD mini-terminal.

As if camera-phones aren't bad enough, now even bags are joining the Big Brother nation and watching your every move.

(Credit: Built NY)

(Credit: BestBaby)

New parents are drawn to body-hugging slings like the "BabyBjorn" to keep their bundles of joy as close as humanly possible, as well as easier to tote. Perhaps taking a cue from that bond of love, Built NY has created a wearable carrier for another cherished possession--the laptop.

As we observed last week in its minimalist Cargo Laptop Sleeve, the designers at this company do not like to waste an iota of space. Now they've taken their economical crusade to a new extreme with the Laptop Backpack for computers measuring 12 to 17 inches, which Gizmodo says looks more like a bulletproof vest than anything else. (Maybe that's the idea, because it comes in styles called "Police Black" and "Army Green.")

This is one instance, however, where the touted comfort of the neoprene material used to make the apparatus might be a negative: If you forget you're wearing it and hit the back of a seat too hard, the purpose would be clearly defeated.

(Credit: Technabob)

If this boombox-backpack concept ever makes it to production, the designer deserves to be shot. And if people actually wear them while cranked up full-blast, they probably will be.

Speakers built into messenger bags,, backpacks, and even bowling bags are nothing new, but usually they're designed with at least a modicum of human decency in mind. But the "Reppo II" backpack pulls out all the stops, with a pair of full-range speakers and an amplifier just to make sure everyone hears you whether they want to or not. Maybe those stun phones we mentioned earlier aren't such a bad idea after all.