Leave it to Japanese designers to turn technology into something both stylish and functional — and then keep it all to themselves. The SolarFold and SolarFan portable solar chargers unfold into surface-area-utilizing solar collectors when needed, supplying enough power to make a three-minute iPhone call after just ten minutes in the sun.

Even better, they’re available immediately — in Japan anyhow. The aptly named SolarFold packs into a tight, flat bundle about the size of a Sony PSP, but deploys like a folding screen to maximize solar exposure. But the even-cooler and equally well-named SolarFan fans out like, you know, a fan — and it comes with a handy little tripod so you can adjust the angle of your ersatz solar array to suit your location and the time of day.

Made by AmbienTec, the chargers run about $250 each and power just about anything that can juice up via USB. The devices haven’t hit U.S. stores yet, but AmbienTec will happily sell you one directly.

Deanmark founders Mark Bajramovic and Oren Tessler met in university, where Mark learned first-hand (no pun intended) what it’s like to OD on mousing. “Half way through our first year, I developed a computer mouse related RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury) and lost the use of my right hand and arm for several weeks,” he tells us. “Numbness, pain, most things that you hear about with RSI’s, I had it.” Later that semester, Mark and Oren heard about an ergonomic mouse being marketed in Europe. While they thought that particular product wasn’t perfect, it got them thinking about designing their own. The AirMouse is the result.

The wireless mouse utilizes an optical laser, and can run for a week without recharging. According to the company website, the clinically-tested product works by aligning itself with the ligaments of your hand and wrist. This lets you keep your hand in a neutral position, and transmits more of your vector force than would be possible with a regular mouse. Not only does this make it easier on your hand, but it increases your mousing speed and accuracy as well. The mouse is also designed to remain inactive until your hand is placed in a neutral, flat position, so you can easily go back and forth between typing and mousing. Other ergonomic designs have strayed from the AirMouse’s style of traditional flat, one-dimensional mousing, but Mark and Oren’s market research indicated that consumers tend to reject such products.

The AirMouse should be available for purchase within the next 6 to 12 months, at a price of $US129.