I love listening to music. In fact, I can’t go out without making sure I have my usual gear – two iPods for all of the new music I need to listen to, a Sansa Clip+ that I use for FLAC files, two in-ear buds and two headphone amplifiers. Yes, that’s my normal gear for just going out to run errands.

I love that using earphones allows me to remove myself from the world and just exist in a world that is just me and my music. It’s a little vacation in my head. But this setup can only be perfect in certain situations. For example, if there’s a get together with my friends, you’re screwed if someone forgets to bring a speaker dock for audio players. The same goes when you’re in a place where you just can’t be bothered putting on earphones but you still want to listen to music. I recently went on vacation at a resort and I would’ve given anything to have to listen to my music on the beach without having to use my earphones.

If you feel the same way as I do then you’ll probably welcome a solution like the Eton Soulra XL. This gadget is a system where you can dock your iPod or iPhone and listen to music, even if you are not within easy reach of an electrical socket.

The Eton Soulra XL gets its juice from solar energy. This clever little gadget has a fold out solar panel that allows it to be operated without AC power. It takes about five hours for the Soulra XL to be charged fully. But the high capacity lithium ion battery provides playback for five straight hours when the su comes down. The great thing is that it can also charge your iPod or iPhone.

The Eton Soulra XL has a rubberized aluminum body and is splash proof, making it the perfect outdoors companion.

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