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Bookeen Launches Solar Cover for the Cybook Ocean

a-solar-cover-for-cybook-oceanFor the past 18 months Bookeen has been working with SunPartner Technologies to develop its Wysips solar panel into a cover, and today that was released to market.

The Leaf Solar Cover is a 59-euro cover for the 8″ Cybook Ocean (as well as Carrefour’s rebranded 8’’ Nolimbook XL ereader). It features a solar panel developed by Sunpartner Technologies, and incorporates its Wysips solar panel tech.

Wysips is supposed to be a transparent material which can be used over a device’s screen, where it will act as a solar panel. That is how Bookeen had intended to use the tech when the deal was originally announced in 2015, but then they changed their mind earlier this year and switched to making a cover.

Bookeen changed plans because Wysips still cannot work as promised. Sunpartner has been working on this tech for six years and they have yet to produce a commercial design with a solar panel covering a device’s screen.

So instead Sunpartner has made a cover for the Cybook Ocean rather than putting a solar panel on the ereader’s screen.

The cover is available today on Bookeen’s website. Here’s an actual product photo:

bookeeen-solar-cover

Do you see the ghost-white panels on the cover?

That’s the solar panel.

That’s not very attractive, but according to the press release one hour of sunlight is enough to charge the ereader for 30 minutes of daily reading.

So there is a benefit, but is that enough to spend 59 euros on the cover?

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Comments


Zorro September 15, 2016 um 2:58 pm

As always, impressed by your efforts at bad faith and trolling… "Do you see the ghost-white panels on the cover? That’s not very attractive" That panel is barely visible, in fact in the other photos I can’t see it at all. How visible is the panel in reality? Is that one photo meant specifically to show the location of the solar panel? Have you actually had a look at one of these in person?

Also, instead of bashing Wysips tech (which seems ambitious to me, and will be awesome when they hopefully eventually get it to work) why not acknowledge that a solar cover for e-readers is pretty awesome? Both because it could theoretically make the autonomy infinite (excellent), and because it makes reading ebooks that much greener, and given the catastrophic climate change we’re currently facing, that’s not negligible.

I don’t have an Ocean but this is the kind of product that will make me consider getting one.

Nate Hoffelder September 15, 2016 um 3:46 pm

The original idea was awesome; this cover is something that can be made by just about any Shenzhen manufacturer and brought to market in less than four months.

And it’s been done before; someone made third-party covers for the Kindle Touch four years ago which had solar panels. (I still have one.)


Amber September 15, 2016 um 3:27 pm

That actually is a beautiful cover. I am shocked that it is also a solar charging cover. It’s so pretty! Amazing innovation.


e-book-news.de » 1 Stunde Sonne, 30 Minuten Lesen: Solar-Cover für Cybook Ocean gelauncht September 16, 2016 um 6:29 am

[…] (via The Digital Reader) […]


Frank September 16, 2016 um 9:17 am

I think the cover is beautiful however I will never own a Bookeen e-reader.


trekk September 16, 2016 um 11:29 am

Amazing cover. Looks attractive to me, sadly not available for non Bookeen products.


Bookeen Cybook Ocean eReader gets optional Solar Leaf Cover – Liliputing September 16, 2016 um 3:32 pm

[…] via The Digital Reader […]


Roberto September 16, 2016 um 8:26 pm

What makes me stumble is 1 hour sunlight (what, with the book reader aside, cover up?) for 30 minutes worth of energy? It should be at least the other way around!

It looks nice, but so does any other cover and nowadays you can even buy battery banks with solar panels…


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