(andPOP) - The Solio Magnesium Hybrid Solar Charger is a small, compact device that acts as a mobile battery pack. The charger works in two ways: solar power and conventional electrical power. The charger can be powered by plugging it into an electrical source for six hours, or by fanning the three sections of the charger out and placing it in direct sunlight. Once the charger s fully powered, it can be removed from its power source and be used to recharge various electronic devices (such as cell phones and iPods) via adapters that come with the charger. Extra adapters for other devices (such as hand-held video games) can be purchased off the Solio website.
A gadget like this is designed for someone who travels frequently with numerous mobile devices and does not want to lug around a separate charger for each item. It's obvious that Solio is attempting to hit a very particular niche in the market, and it makes sense. I hate brining three different chargers when I travel anywhere, and the Solio charger eliminates the need to carry extra baggage.
The charger looks very futuristic, so I was really excited to try it out - until I noticed that the instructions really didn't "instruct" very well. The instructions are made entirely of diagrams, which were helpful at times, but it really doesn't explain how to use the product. It took me a few tries to figure out how to could tell when the charger is fully charged - which I eventually discovered is indicated by the number of times a light on the device blinks. Even then I had a hard time counting blinks because they went so rapidly.
The Solio Charger comes with outlet adapters for continents other than North American, including Europe and the UK. The charger, however, only comes with one adapter that is compatible with personal entertainment devices - an iPod, to be exact. Adapters for other devices, such as cell phones, must be ordered off Solio's website. This is fine, but I found it to be a bit disappointing as the packaging has pictures of iPods, cell phones, game consoles and cameras on it to advertise what the charger can power.
As previously mentioned, this version of the Solio Charger uses both battery and solar power. I am all about green energy and power sources, but I really don't think a device powered by the sun is practical for a product marketed to ALL travelers, when really it's only useful if you are away from an electrical outlet for numerous days.
The instructions advise that the device should be in sunlight for a total of 10-12 hours in direct sunlight, or 12 - 48 hours if the sunlight is coming through a window - or if it happens to be partly cloudy outside. In my experience, hotel rooms (or hostels) never get a ton of sunlight and rarely have balconies. The solar option is probably most practical for campers or people who don't have access to an outlet, but even then you might have to stay in the same place for two or more days to recharge the device.
As far as the life span of the charger, I wasn't disappointed or impressed. When charged by the sun, the device lasted for about two and a half days after it charged my iPod, and I got similar results when I charged the device using the plug-in option. The website boasts that 1 hour of sunlight = 20 minutes of talk time, but in my experience that was accurate only if you used your phone as soon as it was charged by the Solio device.
Using this device didn't really convince me that the Solio Magnesium Charger is a great alternative to just buying a outlet adapter and bringing whatever separate chargers you need. It can be, however, be very useful to people who are camping, hunting, or going on some other long-term excursion into the outdoors and want to keep their cell phones, MP3 players or cameras working. If you're more of a domesticated traveler who likes to stay indoors, I wouldn't say the $200 Solio Magnesium Hybrid Solo Charger goes for is necessarily worth it.
