Solar charger for iphone

[Baylor3217]

I'm constantly on my phone for work and although I have several chargers, a power in edger and 9 volt charger for car, I still sometimes find I'm out of juice or not near a conveniently located plug.

Anyone tried using a solar charger for your phone?  Any recommendations?

[arebelspy]

Solar take awhile to charge, and unless you have a specific idea in mind (some specific spot in the sun, for whatever reason - office window, car dashboard - though it sounds like you have both of those places covered) I'd recommend just getting a compact external battery pack that you can recharge via USB.

These sorts of things: http://www.amazon.com/s/url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=iphone%20battery

If you're really draining that much, you may want to consider one of the iPhone cases with a built in battery pack, like these: http://www.amazon.com/s/url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=iphone+battery+case

[James]

I've read a lot of reviews for iphone solar chargers and it doesn't sound like we are "there" yet.  The good ones are expensive, and the cheap ones don't work well enough.  I have an Anker external battery that I use for charging, works well and isn't limited by sunlight or time.  I can work while charging and take it on trips.  Charges cameras, other phones, even two devices at one time.

[stinkindog]

  just hack it!
 
http://hacknmod.com/?s=+charger

[Enphuego]

To be honest, the iPhone is the problem.  It's just not designed for that sort of use - if it at least had a replaceable battery you could charge one while talking on the other.

If you used Google Voice, you could use a combination of phones including landlines or a longer lasting dumb phone.

[Spork]

To be honest, the iPhone is the problem.  It's just not designed for that sort of use - if it at least had a replaceable battery you could charge one while talking on the other.

If you used Google Voice, you could use a combination of phones including landlines or a longer lasting dumb phone.

This was my thought, too... and I was suppressing the urge to blurt it out.  They're cool gagetygizmos.  I've not been overly impressed with them as phones. They're battery pigs and have no consumer friendly way to swap batteries.  My 7 year old brick-of-a-phone has really good voice quality, many day battery life and I can buy multiple batteries to charge/swap as I please.

[Jamesqf]

Did the OP say he had an iPhone, or just a phone of some sort?

In any case, I doubt if a solar charger is going to work for him.  To output any reasonable amount of power, the solar panel needs to be outdoors in sunlight.  For best results, it also has to be positioned pretty much perpendicular to the sunlight.  I can't think of many situations that would combine these conditions with talking on the phone a lot.

Also you need to consider the size of solar panel needed.  You get something like 750 watts/m^2 incoming energy.  Solar cells are maybe 15% efficient, so to produce 1 watt (typical talk power) continuous power, you'd need a panel about 10 cm square.

[daverobev]

Mm but don't most of the solar chargers have a battery pack built in - so it can charge the phone, and the solar charger's pack then recharges the rest of the time?

But yes, it sounds like the phone is the problem. I have (had - my wife had much more need of a decent phone) an HTC One V, which - while certainly nothing like my old Ericsson T68, which would last days - will last at least a day, even if you use it a lot.

[Jamesqf]

I wouldn't even say that the phone is the problem.  It's just that the OP is "constantly" on the phone, so using more energy than the designers built in.  There's a tradeoff between talk time and weight/size of the phone, and if they expect the market to want small phones that are used for at most 2-3 hours of talk a day...  Well, then they build in a small battery.

Seems like an external battery pack would be the best option here.

[James]

I've read a lot of reviews for iphone solar chargers and it doesn't sound like we are "there" yet.  The good ones are expensive, and the cheap ones don't work well enough.  I have an Anker external battery that I use for charging, works well and isn't limited by sunlight or time.  I can work while charging and take it on trips.  Charges cameras, other phones, even two devices at one time.

I guess I started the iphone idea, he doesn't say what sort of phone he is using. I just said iphone since that is the phone I was interested in charging on trips out of the country, but it would apply to other smart phones as well.  I assume he had a smart phone because otherwise he probably wouldn't be having a problem. I do miss the battery life of my old dumb phone.


Regarding the iphone battery, it lasts as long (or longer) as anything with similar functions.  I'm happy it isn't user replaceable, because that makes for a more solid and lighter phone.  Purchasing spare batteries and keeping track of them and a separate charger is just as complex as having an external battery, and the external battery can last many times longer than a replacement battery. I also like the google voice idea, but that wouldn't work for everyone. The external battery is also a multi-tasker and will continue to work with future phones, while a second battery would need to be purchased with each phone you change to in the future.

[arebelspy]

I guess I started the iphone idea, he doesn't say what sort of phone he is using.

Well he did title the thread "Solar charger for iphone."

;)

[Spork]

Purchasing spare batteries and keeping track of them and a separate charger is just as complex as having an external battery, and the external battery can last many times longer than a replacement battery. I also like the google voice idea, but that wouldn't work for everyone. The external battery is also a multi-tasker and will continue to work with future phones, while a second battery would need to be purchased with each phone you change to in the future.

yeah, but my dumb phone battery costs $9.95. :)

[James]

Well he did title the thread "Solar charger for iphone."

;)

Ah, that's where I got it from...  :D

[Reepekg]

I was gifted an iGo solar charger which I was pretty excited about.

Turns out, I didn't find it to be very good for every day use. It takes a very long time to store significant charge, and I'd end up only putting 10% or so in my smartphone after a few hours of it sitting in the windowsill. Since my electric utility switched to 100% wind, I also don't feel bad about just plugging in.

I do envision using it on multi-day hikes or some other outdoorsy situation.