The $5 USD retail looks suspiciously like $47.95, or am I missing something [1]? Could not see a sku w/out charger, though [2]

[1] http://www.amazon.com/d-light-Rechargeable-S300-Lantern-Char...

[2] http://www.amazon.com/d-light/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_3023737011?i...

Looks like they don't have the new model, the A1 Solar Lantern, on Amazon yet. The one for $47.95 is bigger (16 hours of light instead of 4 hours) and has a USB charger to charge a phone.

Link with more info on the A1, including specs: http://www.dlight.com/solar-lighting-products/single-functio...

The light shown in the video is quite different than that one. It is smaller and cheaper looking.

Regardless, $5 seems doable. Rechargeable batteries are cheap. LED lights are dirt cheap. Solar panels are pricey, but I see some 1W ones for under $5 on Amazon, which means they probably cost $1-2 in bulk.

http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1pc-181ma-Solar-Module-Charger...

http://www.amazon.com/Weiheng®1-1w-183ma-Solar-Module-Charge...

Given that, around here anyway, solar powered "night lights" for use outdoors are very prevalent and only set you back about a dollar a piece... $5 certainly seems very possible.

Now these lights I'm talking about are really quite dim (and omni-directional), but they really are disgustingly cheap as well.

A product designed to be of practical use rather than almost purely for decoration, and at 5x the price point, would most likely fare a lot better.

Edit: Would "likely" fare better? Obviously it does. I seem to have lost track of the point I was trying to make, namely the price. XD

What about the gravity light? Solar-powered is good, but the sun isn't available for a few hours every day. Gravity is there all the time.

http://gravitylight.org/

I feel that the Gravity Light is the way to go because it can work throughout the whole night. It is totally independent of Sun or any weather conditions.

The statement that it is the most afforadable is not true.

There are bottles that refracts light in liquid invented by a Brazilian car mechanic Alfredo Moser.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2393454/Brazi...

They don't work at night.

What about soda bottle lights with bleach?

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-SOLAR-BOTTLE-...

The ones from the article work at night though.

How do they charge a mobile? A very important job. Perhaps more so than the light.

This one doesn't, either.