Kiwi Choice launches U-Powered USB portable solar charger
By Darren Murph 
posted May 17th 2010 8:00AM
posted May 17th 2010 8:00AM
The company ships the device with 11 different tips, one of which plays nice with Apple's dock connector. We tested it out on a few obvious candidates, and while it had no issue juicing up our iPhone 3G, the in-house iPad saw the dreaded "Not Charging" logo appear moments after it was connected. The bundle also includes an AC plug and an in-car cigarette adapter for times when the solar charger is pooped, but unfortunately, neither of those options would charge the iPad, either. We will say, however, that it managed to charge every other handheld we had just fine, and while the build quality wasn't exactly world class, it's suitable for tossing in the car and having around when energy is needed. It's available today for $49.99 if you're interested.
Magnets? How do they work?
@Dale P these might be expensive. i donno if you've heard of "householhacker" but they showed how to make a solar powered cell at home which is cheaper. I'd rather go with that
oh,i got first post
@mirrorself
no you didnt lol! XD
@2her0ck
edit profile name:
killself.
lawl.
in a couple generations, they are going to wonder why we wouldn't just be getting power wirelessly from bigger solar panels... at least i hope!
Someday, when the sun has run out of juice, we'll hook a USB cable to it so that it can be booted up using some of the solar power we've stolen from it.
Most of the photos show it being held up the the light while using it as power source for an electronic device.
The manual says it will take 17+ hours to charge in sunlight.
Doesn't that mean it would not be effective in the sunlight as a charger but rather as a charger after having been in the sunlight for approximately 17 hours?
I guess I'm wondering whether I can really use my device while this is charging in the sun.
@jbgadget I think the idea is you leave it in a place in the sun (like on the car dashboard) and leave it there all the time, then whenever you want to use it, it's ready to go.
@cashclientel Umm, doesn't heat degrade battery life? The hotter the battery, the less capacity it will allow you to charge, not to mention the permanent long-term effects. "The most important thing is to keep your iPhone out of the sun or a hot car (including the glove box). Heat will degrade your battery’s performance the most."
http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html
$50 for something like this is pretty good price, I have a single panel one that hardly ever works costing as much.
So, with an an LED flashlight feature, you can officially say that you now have a Solar Powered Flashlight!
One of the creations I thought would never come to exist.
So, it's got a battery in it? Is the idea that you charge the internal battery via sunlight and then use that battery to charge whatever device? If that's the case, then this might be worth the time and money. Much better than just a solar panel that plugs into your phone.
AT&T... no signal? NO, SAY IT ISNT SO!
Search ebay for Solar Panel Battery Charger. I got a 2600mah charger for $5, shipped from HK.
We need someone to come up with a good kinetic charging system. That way the more we move the more our phones charge... That would be far more efficient that solar charging!
Maybe it is my lack of understanding of basic physics principles, but isn't 2000 mAh about the storage capacity of a single low end AA rechargeable nimh battery? 17 hours to charge that amount doesn't sound very useful. I suppose it is rather portable, which I guess is nice.
In my own search for solar power for my stuff I ended up with a Brunton Explorer solar panel (http://www.rei.com/product/800500) with a Brunton BattPack (http://www.rei.com/product/784349) AAA/AA battery charger (haven't had enough sun to actually do a good test on it yet). A little more than twice as much as this, and decidedly less portable (although compact when folded up), but it can theoretically charge 4 AA batteries in 4 hours of direct sunlight, and then charge my phone off of those batteries (or directly off of the panel) through a USB cable.
I just don't get these little low power/low efficiency chargers. Or maybe I'm completely off on my understanding of all of this and it is a really good product.
This is way too like the Solio
You won't get much power if you leave the phone covering the panels like that.
This is going to be great for backpacking in CO during the summer.
Does this thing do helicopter too ?
I love how there are NO service bars on AT&T in the photo. Typical shitty network....