Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp. announced Monday its technical team developed a solar lantern with high powered LED lights that also operate as a charger for small electronic appliances, which are especially carried by people living without electricity.

At about 15 cm tall, the newly developed device which is equipped with a solar panel, LED light bulbs giving around 100 lumens per watt and a rechargeable battery in addition to a USB port, will be small enough to place in the center of a table or hang from a bag without noticing it's there until they turn it on, Masatsugu Uemura, a spokesperson for the company's technical team, told Xinhua.

He added the solar lantern can provide light at night and be used as a power source to charge small devices including smartphones and portable computers while noting that the model is expected to replace kerosene lamps which are currently used for lighting in off-grid areas in the world.

The Osaka-based maker will bring the new LED lantern to the market in autumn this year after the display of a prototype of the device at official side events during the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development to be held from June 1 to 3 in Yokohama city.