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Product Review: Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger

Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger (Photo taken by the Author)

As I mentioned in a prior post, the Wife and I just spent a few days in San Francisco for our honeymoon.  During our trip, we depended heavily on our iPhones for directions and communication with our friends back home.

iPhone Battery Woes

As any smartphone owner knows, any sustained or frequent use of your smartphone will tax your battery.  The iPhone is no exception.  However, since the iPhone doesn't have a removable battery, you can't just take out the battery and pop in a fresh one.  When traveling, an external battery is a must.

Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger

As we stood in the Apple store located in San Francisco's Union Square, I realized we had a problem.  Even if I bought a backup battery for our iPhones, we would have no way of charging them up since we didn't plan on sitting next to an outlet for the next few hours.  Then, the Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger caught my eye.

But does it work?

My answer would be a qualified "yes."  The Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger includes the words "Hybrid" and "Emergency" for a reason.  As you can see in the picture above, the Solio Mono includes a large solar panel for charging the internal battery.  The Solio can also be charged via USB as well, hence the term "Hybrid."

The word "Emergency" is a wiggle word.  Unfortunately, you can't rely on the solar panel as your sole source of energy.  If your Solio is completely out of juice, it takes about 5.5 hours of sunlight to get about a 20% charge.

Of course, we basically used the solar panel charging function as a supplement.  Once we emptied the Solio on the first day, we just left it out to literally soak up the sun for the rest of the day.  We actually got a few more minutes of 3G data access from leaving the Solio out.  If you're an outdoors enthusiast, the Solio's solar charging can be a useful last resort if you're nowhere near a power outlet.

Not just for the iPhone

The biggest strength of the Solio Mono is not the solar charging function, but its ability to charge USB devices.  Many iPhone accessories are limited to use with Apple products.  Not so for the Solio.  The package includes a USB charging cable to enable charging of virtually any other device that can accept a USB charge.

Action Items

1. If the Solio Mono Emergency Hybrid Solar Charger is for you, click here to purchase it via Amazon.com.
2. E-mail me or comment below to tell me about your travel experiences with your gadgets!

Note: The above links are affiliate links.  This means that if you click the above links and subsequently make a purchase, I will receive a commission for referring the sale.

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