I've had this for what is approaching five years now, and I bought it because I wanted something to allow me to take my phone and MP3 charges off the household electricity supply.
Admittedly I use my phone (Only a basic Nokia text-call phone - not a smart phone) with moderately (three to four calls a week, and two or three dozen texts per week), which means it only needs charging every couple of weeks or so, but my MP3 player (Creative Zen Vision M) gets a lot of use.
You have to get into the rhythms of the seasons to get the most out of it, as obviously there's more daylight hours, and stronger sunlight in mid-summer than in winter, and as such, you'll get more charges in Summer.
In midsummer, two days in the sun will charge it completely (A real corker of a day will even do this in one go), which is enough to charge both the MP3, and my phone fully. This will lengthen to about one whole charge every week and a-half in the deep midwinter, and even longer if there are no sunny days, so it should not be thought of as a definitive solution for regular year round charging, but a way to clip a portion of the charges off your yearly total... I'm charging from mains less than a third of the time I used to without it, and over the five years, has probably paid for itself in this way.
As it sits on the window sill (Not it's intended use), the panels need wiping regularly to keep the dust off, and so maximise their exposure to the sun - keeping windows clean, and minding nets and curtains are also a consideration -
It is capable of charging direct from the panels, but this can only work in full direct sunlight (uninterrupted, as a passing cloud will cause it to stop charging), so accumulating the charge in the battery is the practical solution.
One very odd downside of this is that the rubberised casing of both panels and charger have been bleached white, hardened, and cracked (like they've petrified in the sunshine) which is a very strange choice of material to use on something designed expressly to be exposed to the sun.
For what it is, I'd say it's a five star product of it's kind, and where you have a reasonable expectation of what it can do, in terms of charging, and removing those charges from your household electricity bill, but it loses a star for me by virtue of the barmy choice of material for the casing (accepted it's there to make it resilient and robust - which it is).
Comes with the nice woven zip up case, and a range of adapters which I have been able to charge various phones of friends and family with, including a Samsung model, and a couple of iPhone models, as well as an ipod.
But larger devices such as portable DVD players and tablets have struggled to get anything from it when I tried, and anything larger than than requires something more (Power Gorilla).
But overall does, and has done what I require of it, constantly, and consistently.
(I may one day have an army of these lined up like soldiers on the window sill - but only when they make them from a better casing material)
| Color | Grey |
|---|---|
| Style | Portable Charger |
| Compatible with | Cameras |
| Connector type | USB |
| Item display length | 9 centimetres |
| Number of pieces | 2 |
| Power source | Solar Powered |
| Seasons | Evergreen |
| Usage | Water_sports |
| Batteries included? | Yes |
| Brand | Powertraveller |
| Manufacturer | Powertraveller |
| Item model number | PMEV2001 |
| Product Dimensions | 8.89 x 8.89 x 3.56 cm; 82 Grams |
| ASIN | B001W031KI |