Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger Review

Today I am checking out the Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger. This charger has a battery and a little solar panel on it to help keep your gadgets ready to go at all times. If you are outdoors a lot and away from an outlet and need to keep your gadgets charged this might be perfect. Read on for all of the details.

Gallery

3 images

Specifications

The Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger is a multi-charger and supports 3200 different devices and it comes with tips for anything that charges with USB and several others. The battery inside is a lithium ion unit with 1650mAh of power. It can charge from an AC outlet or from a USB port as well as harvesting power from the sun.

In Use

The Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger is a very cool little gadget that will help you keep your smartphone or MP3 player charged up and running. It provides an output of 5-6V and 700mA to any of several tips that are included. The tips will allow it to work with just about anything you might have. The USB tip will charge the iPhone and lots more.

The internal battery is large and has lots of power inside. You can charge the internal battery from the wall, a USB port, or using the solar panel. Naturally using the solar panel is much slower than using the other two methods. The wall charger came with my review unit, but it is optional.

The hardware inside the charger won't allow the batteries to be overcharged and will cut off once a full charge is made. I already mentioned the USB port, but the device also has a tip that will work with Blackberry smartphones, and more tips are available too.

I hooked my iPhone 4 to the charger with about half the iPhone's internal battery left. The charger was recognized right away and worked just as you expect it to. I still had power left in the Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger when I removed my iPhone for the charger after the battery charged my iPhone 4 nearly all the way back to full.

This may be the perfect gadget for people that like to camp and want to take music with them. It will take a long time to charge the internal battery fully using the solar panel. That's not something I can really measure, but it takes overnight to fully charge the battery on AC or USB so the solar panel will take much longer. Still, it will eventually charge up and you can make your calls or play music.

Verdict

Conclusion

The Solio Mono Hybrid Portable Solar Charger is a cool charger that is perfect for the user away from an outlet for long periods.

Updates

A breakthrough dye-sensitized solar cell enhances power efficiency

Source: Ecofriend

Solar power is known as an exemplary way to generate sustainable power. Solar researchers across the world are working tireless to boost the efficiency of solar cells of various genres. Of late, a team of researchers at the Northwestern University ha ...
Full article at: Ecofriend  More like this  22 hours ago, 5:17am CDT

Huge solar tower in Nevada to generate power for household users

Source: Ecofriend

A Federal government-funded massive solar tower is under the final stages of construction in the desert north of Tonopah, Nevada. The 600 foot solar cell-studded skyscraper is meant to produce power for t ...
Full article at: Ecofriend  More like this  1 day ago, 3:38am CDT

Changing Smartphones: Top 5 Futuristic Features

Source: Redefining Tech

If you think your phone is smart now, it’s time to step back and take a look at what the next generation of phones will be able to do. A recent Huffington Post article and HotengKiat post profiled some of the most intriguing concept phones th ...
Full article at: Redefining Tech  More like this  1 day ago, 6:18pm CDT

Don't miss ...

• More I4U Gadget Reviews Stories
• I4U News Homepage