Been into Solar Chargers for the past 6 months. Interest in solar charges grew from wanting to be prepared for emergencies. The electronic devices that I have are powered through AA, AAA, and USB sources. Therefore, my focus was on finding a solar charger that can power one or any combination of the three. I was hopeful for this solar charger would be able to charge my iPhone and Sanyo Eneloop USB Battery Charger. The Sanyo Eneloop USB Battery Charger can charge either up to two AA or AAA batteries at a time. This is the review of the XTG SOL1500 Premium Solar Charger.
First, this solar charger appeared to be of quality build. It is roughly the size of an iPhone, but significantly lighter. The item arrived in new condition, well aligned, and finished nicely. Second, the solar panel is able to charge the internal Lithium Ion battery very fast. I never had the charger completely drained, but it did not take more than several hours in full sun to completely charge the internal battery. Third, the device successfully charged my iPhone, iPod Shuffle, and Sanyo Eneloop USB Battery Charger. Fourth, the internal battery charge indicator is so helpful and useful. Four separate LEDs can light up to indicate 20, 50, 80, or 100% charge with a push of a button. Last is the LED light which is quite powerful and unexpected.
I would improve this device with relatively minor adjustments. First, I would not mind more capacity. Second, due to personal preference in the way I store electronic devices, I wish the lithium ion battery were removable and interchangeable. On that note, having an internal, non-removable battery sort of limits the life of the device overall. Keep in mind that these are very picky things which that would not bother most people.
Overall, I rate this XTG SOL1500 Premium Solar Charger a 4.8 out of 5.0 stars. I am very pleased with this device and would highly recommend it to friends. Most of my experience with solar chargers has been very disappointing. This is the only one, so far, that I can honestly recommend.
UPDATE 01/14/13:
I am changing my rating of the XTG SOL 1500 Premium Solar Charger to a 3.8 out of 5.0 stars. As reviews critical of this solar charger have mentioned, the device is not going to get a full charge from the solar panels. During my initial use of the device, I believe user error on my part (mixing up when I charged the device via USB and solar) led me to rate this device higher. After almost two years, I found this solar charger while doing some cleaning for the new year. Since digging it up, I have tested the device everyday.
- If connected to the USB drive, the device will get a full charge.
- Off a full charge, this device charged my iPhone 4S from 34% to 100%. I do not normally like to allow my iPhone to go below 50% and 34% is the lowest that I tested.
- I have only been able to charge the device to about 50% even when leaving it on my dashboard for a week with full sun each day.
- After allowing the device to charge via solar cells, it was able to charge my iPhone 4S by only about 27%.
With these results, I rate the device a 3.8 out of 5.0 stars. It has some utility, such as being a charger, whether solar or USB, and a battery pack. It also has a LED light which would be useful in an emergency. There is also a switch to either turn on the LED flashlight, start charging (indicator glows blue), or turns off the device, which puts it in charge mode (indocator glows red when charging). However, it will not fully charge its internal battery via solar. As such, I knocked off an extra point. I would recommend this for most people, but would tell them to consider the PowerFilm 10W Folding Solar Panel first.