As part of their campaign to push the 2010 Prius, Toyota "planted" giant solar flowers that what mobile warriors can only dream of: free Wi-Fi access and serve as a charging station for their mobile gears. These solar mobile access stations are modeled after the solar roof tops of the Prius that will offer additional power to the hybrid vehicle.
According to the Design Blog, the flowers will fan out across the nation after first being seen in Boston. But it really does seem to offer a different take on Wi-Fi and mobile access. With the cost of solar power dropping over years and the need for added bandwidth, it makes sense for corporations and municipals to look into these mobile stations as a mean to bring access.
I have been out and about a lot in the last three months and there are tons of places where I see these solar Wi-Fi stations can be placed. It's likely these stations will go away once the Prius campaign is over. Too bad because Toyota or others can really use this opportunity to revolutionize mobile computing.
Restaurants. Coffee shops. Malls. Office buildings. University campuses. The possibilities are just endless. More than that, if the telecoms get into this, they can offer revenue sharing with cities upon which to place these mobile Wi-Fi stations. What with the wireless bandwidth already strained, this can go a long way in alleviate the wireless pressure by switching mobile devices and smartphones to Wi-Fi when they pass within range of these solar flowers.
Yes, I've dotted "solar" through the post. It's off the grid, too.
Source: The Design Blog, Gizmodo
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