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Big complaint is that there isn't a cover for the bottom solar panel - you can't see this in the product pics. Great product - flexible since the Solio can be charged through an outlet or via sunlight. Solio should really design a clip-on cover (or something) to protect that panel, and then this product would be perfect.
Casey Schultheis The unit works great and is pretty light. This is not made of solid Magnesium but rather a thin Magnesium coat. A top product and looking forward for more things like this to come out. I would have to say they only thing I thought that was a bit odd was the word "Magnesium" in the title. I mean I thought I was buying a tuff Magnesium device. I would recommend it.
Whenever I go in or out, I just swivel the Solio a little to point it at the sun.I don't have enough data to say how much faster it charges (the system of "flashes" is not very accurate), but it's a fun and handy way to position the Solio. If I were to redesign the product, I would definitely add a tripod mount. But I have a mini tripod I don't use very often, so I attached it to a railing and then jerry-rigged the Solio to the tripod using a heavy duty elastic. The only mechanism they give you to do this is a pencil. I had to buy the special iGo charging tip, but it works fine.I was a little disappointed that the Solio takes quite awhile to charge, however. I use the Solio to charge my iPhone 3G. In one afternoon on a typical day here in New England, I found it charged only about 20%.Then I figured I might be able to get a better charge if I kept it aimed at the sun a little better. (See Customer Photos above).
They said to try igo(dot)com or The Shack (Radioshack). Warning - will not charge a Palm Pre without an additional 10 dollar adapter (the A138) which isn't even sold by Solio. Would like the solar recharging time to be faster, which will only be a matter of time as technology improves. Overall rating: B+Bought this two weeks ago and I'm pretty impressed with it (my expectations were not huge given other reviews and research). But it does what is says and is a cool concept. Charges a blackberry 8300 and my sansa clip just fine.
This product is of course subject to the same limitations as any other solar charger, but it seems to charge whenever there is a sunny day. No more, no less. It successfully has charged all of my household products, so I'm happy as can be.
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