Action cameras following the GoPro style have taken the market by storm, but as with other mobile devices, battery life quickly becomes an inconvenience. CES 2016 is the ideal place for new ideas, and that's how we come across the Activeon Solar X, a 4K camera accompanied by a fast-charging module with integrated solar panels.
Buying a compact, portable action camera opens up a whole range of possibilities, but the most demanding users will discover an old enemy: the battery. For example, a GoPro Hero4 Black offers less than an hour of autonomy when recording in 4K, and dropping to 1080p adds only ten extra minutes unless you invest in an official BacPac module. This detail places action cameras on par with smartphones and tablets, forcing users to improvise other power sources, such as secondary chargers and emergency batteries. A much more practical solution would be for the manufacturer to address this issue on its own, and with that in mind, we arrive at the Activeon Solar X.
The Activeon Solar X in detail
The Activeon Solar X is a 4K UHD camera (2160p to be more precise) with a two-inch touchscreen and wireless connectivity that lets it automatically upload content to Activeon's cloud via Android or iOS. Its built-in battery provides two hours of autonomy, but that time can be extended with the help of a special charging module (called the X Station), equipped with two small solar panels on top. Using the X Station, the user can restore the camera's battery to 80 percent in just 30 minutes, and fully charge it in one hour.
But that's not all: According to the official announcement, the X Station module also has a secondary internal battery, and when combined with the camera's battery, total autonomy reaches a not-insignificant six hours. The company confirmed that the Activeon Solar X will be available for sale in March, with a price between $430 and $450.
