Me and my Solio: My Solar Powered Charger

I wanted a Solio because I wanted to be able to charge my BlackBerry phone with it. Using the power of the sun.

The product tag line is "Plug into the sun". And plugging into the sun is something I've always wanted to do. Since I was a little boy. Oh yes.

So I went looking on different websites to see where it was cheapest, if anywhere, and I went ahead and bought one. I chose pink. It was the coolest looking colour.

That picture above is me holding my Solio up to the sun (and the clouds) :-)

The moment I got my hands on the big brown envelope I ripped it open and released my Solio.

And there it was! My Solio! In all it's pinkness.

I didn't know how large or small it would be because I couldn't really get a feel for the thing just by seeing the measurements.

It is about the size I was expecting it to be.

I wouldn't want it to be any smaller because the battery power and solar panels would have to be smaller, and performance would drop too, and I wouldn't want it any larger because then it would be too bulky to take anywhere.

I think they've got it just about right for a portable solar charger!

When you first pull the Solio package out of the delivery envelope your first thought is "Blimey! That's heavy!" But if that is your first thought, you'd be wrong.

The Solio itself is quite light, at 156 grams (5.6 ounces).

The heaviness comes from the 'plug-into-the-wall' charger you get with it, the alternative plug ends so it will work all round the world, the adapters so it will charge nearly every portable electronic gadget you own, the little suction thing to stick it to a window, and a thing to plug it in when you're in your car.

So you get loads of stuff to make sure it will work for you for whatever you want to use it for.

You don't get a case of any kind (although I'm not sure one is even needed).

The Solio is sturdy and very well made. I imagine it would be quite difficult to break because I've seen the pictures of people in the North Pole with their Solio, and the people in deserts, so it must be pretty strong! And it does feel strong.

But it just feels a bit weird just dropping it into my bag just as it is. I think I imagine the solar panels would get scratched or cracked. I don't know if they will because I don't know what the coating is on them, but I worry a little bit.

So you should probably also look at getting one of the Solio carry cases. They are made from recycled Columbian truck tires, and they do look pretty cool.

They are military grade, high impact, and insanely durable.

It's probably best to just buy one as an extra to extend the life of your Solio. I'll post some links at the bottom of the page.

In short, most portable electronic devices.

But, of course, there will be some anomalies. You get quite a few tips to add onto the end of the charging wire, and these tips have got most devices covered.

So if you're travelling somewhere you can leave all your other chargers at home, and use the Solio as just an adaptor and charge your devices through it, with power from the wall socket.

Your cell phone is likely covered, your BlackBerry, iPod or MP3 Player, PDA, your Nintendo or Sony game players, GPS, your Digital Camera...

You can now run these things on the power of the sun!

Except because of the time the Solio takes to charge from the sun you might want to get two if you're thinking of charging all of those devices that I just mentioned using only solar power!

The point of owning a Solio for me is to charge as many devices as I can with the solar panels. The only portable device I need to charge at the moment is my BlackBerry Pearl. What you should do is eliminate the need to charge as many devices as you can.

And it starts with a Solio. Plug into the sun :-)