Solio Solar Chargers

Solio Solar Charger
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

One of the better portable solar chargers on the market, folds away nicely. It has a battery built in and an "intelligent" plug into to the mobile phone itself which knows what voltage to deliver. Takes about 4-5 hours to charge a mobile phone when put in the sun. One Solio unit, when full, can fully charge two phones. I think they might want to think of an option to simply charge a couple of NiMh penlights this way so you could charge your audio recorder in an emergency. Power is a serious challenge in most remote areas. Cost? Currently US$99.95 on the website.

They now offer a special Magnesium version of the Solio at US$199.95, obviously targeted at the "serious adventurer" community. This unit is also hybrid because it can accept power from either the wall socket or Sun storing this energy within Solio's internal rechargeable battery. Solio then uses this energy to power your gadgets at the same rate as if they were plugged into the wall. Solio will also hold its charge for up to a year.

Other manufacturer's stats

One hour of sun will give you enough juice to play your iPod™ for about an hour or provide up to 25 mins of additional talk time on most cell phones.*
Provides an emergency power source when away from power outlets.
Adapter tips allow you to power multiple gadgets with a single charger ( tips for most products included in pack.)
Works with multiple gadgets, including mobile phones, iPhone™, Bluetooth® headsets, smartphones/PDAs, MP3 players, portable gaming devices, digital cameras, GPS and much more.
Reusable - use it again and again.
Compact lightweight design - convenient for travel or emergency use.

More details at their website