SolarCharger 908 – Monocrystalline Solar
Panel for handhelds
Reviewed by Robert L. Pritchett
Introduction
“i.Tech Dynamic introduced
SolarCharger 906, a portable unit that lets on-the-go consumers charge their
cell phones, PDAs and other handheld mobile devices with solar energy wherever
they are—day or night.
The company also introduced the SolarSet
905, which combines SolarCharger 906 and i.Tech’s portable in-car speakerphone
in one package. When used together, the products provide more than 30 hours of
in-car talk time, longer than any other product currently on the market.
SolarCharger 906 Charges Most
Mobile Devices Anywhere, Anytime
Roughly the size of a deck of
cards, SolarCharger is small and light enough to fit comfortably in a purse,
tote, briefcase or glove compartment, and it is compatible with most mobile
devices.
“It happens to everyone: You need
to use your cell phone, but it’s out of power and there’s nowhere to charge it.
That’s when SolarCharger can be a real life-saver,” said Stephen Ngan, Deputy
Managing Director of i.Tech Dynamic Ltd. “SolarCharger is ideal for taking anywhere
you go as a backup charger, and it’s perfect for emergency use. When your
iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry or other power-hungry portable device runs out of
juice and you’re away from an electrical outlet, SolarCharger can get it up and
running again quickly.”
Superb Performance
SolarCharger features highly
efficient solar conversion due to a high-performance monocrystalline solar
panel and special solar chipset. The panel-and-chipset combination enables the
unit to quickly respond to solar energy and generate more power from the solar
panel’s surface area than other solar charging devices.
When fully charged, the
eco-friendly unit will completely charge one or more USB devices, depending on
the target device’s charge capacity and current charge level, and it can store
a charge for up to a year.
What’s more, SolarCharger only
needs to be 40% charged to provide a cell phone with enough power for an
emergency call.
In addition, unlike other mobile
chargers, SolarCharger is designed to perform even in hot conditions: It
charges at temperatures up to 158 degrees Fahrenheit, and it charges mobile
devices at temperatures up to 127 degrees Fahrenheit—higher than any
other portable charger on the market today.
The elegantly designed unit also
includes an internal, high-density lithium-ion battery, so it can be charged
through a computer USB port (cable included). It fully charges within 22 hours
in optimal sunlight and within three hours with USB connection. (USB connection
should be used when SolarCharger is being charged for the first time, when the
device is totally drained or when it has been idle for three months or more.)
Many User-Friendly Features
SolarCharger comes with 10 adapter
plugs for use with a variety of mobile phones and entertainment devices, including
iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry and other name-brand products.
“Other solar chargers only include
a few adapter plugs,” Mr. Ngan said. “By including a large assortment of
adapters standard, i.Tech minimizes the chance that customers will need to
order additional ones for charging all of their portable devices.”
Ideal for in-car use, SolarCharger
comes with a cradle, suction cups and plastic tips for attaching to a
windshield.
A red light indicates when the unit
is charging: The light flashes when the unit is solar charging and is solid red
when charging via USB. A separate row of four battery status indicator lights
specifies the device’s charge level.”
Other specifications include:
Solar Panel: .5V, 1A
DC Charge Time: 3 hours with USB or
22 hours with sunlight.
Battery capacity: 1260
milliamp-hours
DC Input and Output: 5V, 500mA
DC Charging Temperature: 0 to 53C
or 32 to 127 F
Solar Charging Temperature: 0 to 70 C or 32 to 158 F
Dimensions: 105 (L) x 64 (W) x 15
(H) mm or 4.13 (L), x 2.52 (W) x .59 (T) inches
Holder: 130 (L) x 71 (W) x 17.5 (T)
mm or 5.12 (L) x 2.80 (W) x .69 (T) inches
Weight: 100 grams or 3.53 ounces
What I Learned
With this solar power storage device, I no longer need to
worry about running out of juice when using my iPhone while driving hither and
yon on service calls for 10 hours a day. I could use a car adapter, but why, when this makes it so much easier!
It took me a while to figure out that the USB adapter was
provided to charge the iPhone instead of using the proprietary adapter used by
Apple Corporation for the iPhone. No Apple-provided cable, no worky.
There are technically about 6 hours of useful light per day
for solar panels, so if there is no USB connector available (Mac Book Pro), it
may take up to 4 days to charge the unit if sunlight is the only option.
The adapters are an interesting lot: iTech DC, iTech USB
(8-pin), female USB (iPhone and iPod), LG (for Chocolate), Micro USB (for Motorola and Blackberry), Nokia 2 mm
jack (NK), Nintendo DS Lite (ND), Samsung (D800), Sony Erickson SE for K750i),
and Sony (PSP).
I found it interesting that the charger will not charge
below freezing, so I assume it is a function of the monocrystalline structure
of the solar cells (liquid?).
Even though the unit can hold a charge for 1 year, they
recommend that it be recharged every 3 months.
The manual also states that for the solar panel to help
recharge the batteries, they have to be at least 40% charged already (2 LEDs
lit).
Also, if the windshield has been UV protected, the solar
panel will not charge. It needs direct sunlight (perpendicular) and is affected
by shade.
Getting the device wet is not an option, not so much for the
solar cells, but for the lithium-ion batteries. Also, if the device gets too
hot (over 70 C or 158 F), the circuitry will cut off for self-protection.
The reason the device has a 1-year warranty is probably
because the full charge/discharge cycles are only 500 times!
I left the unit fully charged on the dash connected to my
iPhone. When I got back from a service call, the iPhone was dead and the device
fully discharged. That was a rather unpleasant surprise!
Conclusion
If you want to have “peace of mind” and like the green
aspect of using solar power to charge portable devices, then this one seems to
fit the bill for the price. Weigh that against what it costs for replacement
batteries in an external battery device for portables and this may be seen as a
real bargain.
Then again, you probably would be wise to carry a
traditional alternative energy source (vehicle auxiliary power device) –
just in case. ;^)
