Save the world, and save yourself some hassle!

Introduction

Global warming/climate change is an issue that gets a lot of people worked up (and ironically generating a lot of hot air). Wherever you stand on the issue, it's fair to say that it probably can't hurt to generate a bit of energy from "renewable sources" such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass. Whilst doing this for yourself on a home-wide scale is still a pretty expensive option (and probably prohibitively so if you're not building something from scratch), you can make a small contribution with gadgets such as this solar charger.



Given its size and portable nature it's also ideal for travelling. It is supplied with ten adapters to fit the following:

1) iPod, iPhone, iPhone 3g, iPhone 3gs, iPod Touch, iPod Nano etc.
2) Nokia phones using both standard and mini adaptors (2 supplied)
3) All current Samsung phones (2 supplied)
4) All current LG phones
5) All current Sony Ericsson phones
6) Nintendo DS Lite
7) Mini USB adaptor for Motorola phones, Blackberry and most smartphones, Garmin / SatMap and most GPS, Bluetooth headsets, PDAs
8) 4mm tip for Sony PSP, Archos and most MP4 players, 2 way radios, portable DVD players, e-books, digital cameras and PDAs

Set Up

Take it out of the box. Before using, it's recommended that you charge it up via USB first, and then you can charge it up from the sun in future. You should also charge it via USB occasionally (once every few months) to ensure that it gets a proper charge. To charge, simply open it up and twist so that both panels face the sun. When you're done, twist and close and you've got a little charger ready to charge up your devices.

In Use

There are 2 sides to this. There's the "charging something with it" part, and the "charging it up from the sun" part. They are both very simple.

I've charged up various things using it without any problem, mostly my own mobile phone (Sony Ericccson) and an X-Mini II portable speaker (another great camping accessory!) Here's a specific example of when it's really useful. We were camping a couple of weeks ago, and a friend's Nokia had run out of charge. "No problem" says I, and I pull out the solar charger.

"This little gadget will sort you out."
"But I haven't got my phone charger to plug it into!"
"No problem, it comes loaded with all the adapters you could probably ever need."
"Oh yes, that's the one for my phone."

And so we all trundled off to bed and left the phone charging overnight. And when we woke up for some bacon sandwiches, the phone was fully charged and ready to go, and there was still plenty of charge left in the charger. But as it was a sunny morning, I left it sitting in the sun on a chair, panels facing the sky, and it sat there charging up whilst we put away our tents. Brilliant. And that's all there is to it.

The "CamCaddy" that is included is also ideal for charging up most types of camera battery, and really adds to the value of this set! 

Conclusion

A brilliant gadget that helps to save the planet and helps you out of a tight spot when your "insert portable electronic device that you rely on here" runs out of charge and you're away from a reliable power source. The most obvious application is for outdoors/camping types who spend time out in fields away from electricity, or who go on long walks and want to recharge their GPS/phone/MP3 player/whatever whilst out. And providing the weather is ok, you can then recharge your charger whilst you're out and about. It would also be great for foreign travel if you're concerned about access to the right kinds of power source when you're away.

It's not all that heavy so it won't weigh down your rucksack or hand luggage, and it's pretty easy to attach it to a rucksack or similar in order to charge it whilst you're on the move.

An ideal Christmas gift for friends or family who like travelling or the great outdoors and mighjt want to charge up their gadgets whilst there! The CamCaddy will come in very handy if your friends or family are into photography!