I was driving through Santa Fe, New Mexico last week when a kind police officer informed me (with a warning - thank God) that Santa Fe was a handsfree city; the offense is punishable with a $150 fine. I needed a handsfree device, but I despise Bluetooth headsets, and my XM radio takes up my only cigarette lighter slot. I needed the Nextar Solar Handsfree kit.

This device seems perfect in its simplicity. You get a nice Bluetooth enabled, handsfree speaker kit, rechargeable battery, and a passive solar collector to charge the battery while you are driving around not talking on the phone. The device comes in two flavors - the NXBT-001 / NXBT-002. The 001 offers 250 hours of standby and 10 hours of talk time, and the 002 offers 150 hours of standby and 6 hours of talk time. Other than the battery capacities, the devices are identical.

Available in the spring, the devices will run $59.99 and $69.99. If the sound quality is as good as the concept it will be a steal. After all, one ticket in Santa Fee will cost you three times as much as the handsfree device.

via UberGizmo