We’re Amped About These New Charging Bags From Voltaic, Powerbag [CES 2011]

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Jeff Crystal, COO of Voltaic, with their new Spark Solar Tablet Case.

If a bag is on display at CES, chances are excellent it’s got some kind of snazzy tech feature. Newcomer Powerbag caught our eye with its line of four handsome bags that all include batteries for charging iDevices (or other peripherals); Voltaic —  we featured their OffGrid backpack in our Holiday Gift Guide — just launched an iPad case with high-efficiency solar cells slathered all over one side.

Powerbag’s City Tote comes with a 3000 mAh on-board battery with charging paraphernalia, will stow an iPad or perhaps a Samsung Galaxy Tab (just performing a readership check), costs about $100 and comes in three colors — we thought the pretty iridescent fabric was a nice touch. Powerbag is still tweaking their lineup, so the bags won’t be ready for a few months yet; let’s hope things don’t change too much.

Voltaic’s Spark Solar Tablet Case will actually provide the iPad with an hour of use for every hour charged in the sun. It’s also equipped with a high-output, rapid-charging 38 watt-hour battery that Voltaic says is good for a full iPad charge. The Spark will be out this spring; Voltaic hasn’t settled on pricing yet.

That's the City Tote in the foreground, with the $150 Jump Pack in the background, which'll handle fit a 17' MBP
Powerbag's $150 Instant Messenger courier bag.

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