Feb 18, 2005 02:30 AM
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In 150 million years, the Solio solar gadget charger from Better Energy Systems will be completely useless. By that time, our sun will likely have burned itself out, rendering all these hippy-type solar gadgets useless. Take that, hippies!
Fortunately for us, the Solio is not a dreadlocked follower of the String Cheese Incident. It's better suited to a roomful of irrationally exuberant Mac-o-philes, and this is precisely why the device made its first American appearance at MacWorld San Francisco. The white shell means it'll match your white laptop, white iPod, white socks, and white rolling papers.
The Solio, however, would rather not be inside of anything: you've got to be outside on a sunny day for this thing to work properly, a fact which makes its British origins something of a mystery. On a sun-drenched California day, this little clover-shaped charger behaves like a champ. On a typically rainy London day however, this device is unable to show off its sunny disposition.
But all is well, as the Solio also functions as a portable battery. It takes quite a while to charge said battery in the sun, anywhere from six to nine hours, but the included AC adapter makes that something of a moot point. Simply plug it in, and you've got around four extra hours of iPod listening tucked away in your pocket.
Thanks to a whole slew of connectors, the Solio can also charge a myriad of cell phones, PDA's, and MP players. There's even an adapter for your GameBoy, something that can make playing Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, a solar-conscious videogame, an almost zen experience.
The unit itself is fairly sturdy, and it comes with a convenient hole down the center. This is designed to allow a pencil to be poked through as a prop, but I had a little trouble keeping it completely steady like this. Perhaps it was the booze, but the Solio felt rather slippery. I also found that the thing wasn't terribly happy unless it was pointed directly at the sun at all times.
Therein lies the only issue with the Solio. Charging it on sunlight is something of a chore. Just leaving it on the windowsill won't fill it up, and depending on the skies, it might not do much at all. Also, you'll have to buy the various adapters you'll need for your phone, PDA, and vibrator separately, though there is a Car-style adapter that may work if you have those adapters for your gear.
If you're often in the woods, or away from outlets, the Solio will make your life much easier. Just pray that the skies are clear overhead, because clouds play hell with solar powered iPods in the wilderness.
See also: Better Energy Systems Solio Solar Powered Charger [iPodlounge] (I stole your pic, Jeremy. Sorry! -joel)
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