Apple has developed a reputation for sleek, hip and user-friendly computers and electronics. Now, Veranda Solar, a Portland, Ore.-based startup developing small, easy-to-install solar-power systems, says it wants to become the Apple of consumer solar products.

How so? Instead of focusing on a new solar chemistry or production technology, the company hopes to differentiate itself with its aesthetics, appeal and ease of use, CEO Capra J’neva says. “We interact with real people to create our products, so we are reducing market risk by understanding the real needs of people who will buy [them],” she told us last week.

The Veranda Solar system “will appeal to the type of people who like Apple products,” J’neva said, though the company is also focused on the subset of those Apple aficionados who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle and do something positive for the environment. But unlike Apple, Veranda plans to offer affordable prices.

Founded in December, the startup is designing solar-power systems, made up of small (about 24-inch and 60- to 70-watt) panels wi