ReVIVE Series Back-Up Rechargeable POWER Boost for ALL BlackBerry's, Kindle 2 & Kindle DX - Refuel 3 Ways AC, USB and SOLAR

by Accessory Genie

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• ASIN: B002NNICUW
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2009

Product Description

Color: Silver

SOLAR POWER Boost

Powerful enough to charge all of your portable electronics using the POWER of the SUN!
Provides a source of POWER when away from outlets!

Solar Panels charge and maintain 1400 mAh of power!

60 minute charge provides up to 180 minutes of talk time or 72 hours of standby time.
AC power adapter charging 2-5 hours.
Computer charging 3-5 hours.
Solar Charging 5-7 hours.

Includes Plugs to CHARGE and POWER your Blackberry's, and Amazon Kindle 2 & DX.
Ideal power solution for recreation and business activities, or any time you are on the go.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

134 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice and compact, but has serious shortcomings, October 26, 2009

By 

Stephen M. Charme (central New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ReVIVE Series Back-Up Rechargeable POWER Boost for ALL BlackBerry's, Kindle 2 & Kindle DX - Refuel 3 Ways AC, USB and SOLAR (Electronics)

I bought this because I wanted something small to keep in my briefcase for when I needed extra power for my BlackBerry Tour or iPod Touch, and also because of this product's claimed solar recharge ability. The product comes with lots of different tips (though remarkably not one for the Kindle 1, which was a disappointment).

When I initially reviewed this product I gave it four stars, but based on my further experience using it and a recent serious emergency discussed in my latest update below, I have downgraded it to three stars and do not recommend it for emergency use with a BlackBerry.

1. This product did power my iPod Touch for two hours. But then this product took 3 1/2 hours to recharge in an AC outlet. I have another portable charger (Tekkeon MP-1800) that is a little bulkier, but provides a much longer charge time and has a shorter recharge time. A portable charger should not take a lot longer to recharge than the charge it supplies. And for a long plane or car ride, this unit would quickly "run out of gas."

2. When this product is charging in an AC outlet, you can simultaneously power a gadget. That is fairly standard with any portable power supply. I was hoping, however, that I might be able to do the same thing with a solar charge after I had sunlight on this unit for a couple of hours. No such luck. Instead this unit powered my iPod Touch for only a short time after being exposed to the sun for a couple of hours and not reaching a full charge. This means that if you go to the beach, for example, and forgot to charge your iPod, and have used up the power on this product, then you will be out of luck for many hours.

3. Any portable power source eventually loses power. However after a few days in my briefcase this unit lost more power than I expected.

4. Most portable power sources require a USB cable to power an iPod gadget. Not this unit, which instead uses a simple adapter. While it is convenient not to have to bring along a USB cable, unless you keep the adapter perfectly straight while attached to this unit and the iPod, you will lose the charge connection. If you are not using the iPod and are just charging it on a flat surface, that is fine. But if you want to put it on your lap and listen to it while charging, this unit requires more effort than when you use a USB cable and just put the portable charger someplace off to the side.

Bottom line: This unit does work, but has a limited power capacity compared to other portable chargers. The trade off is that it is much smaller and more compact than most portable chargers, so if size rather than charging capacity is more important, this unit will do the trick. However since the solar charge takes so long, and since the unit will not power a gadget during a solar charge (as opposed to an AC outlet charge), the solar charge feature has limited usefulness. I guess if you are going camping it would come in handy. But if you are riding in a car, for example, even if the sun is streaming in the window, this unit will still run out of power because it uses power much faster than it can be replenished with a solar charge.

I like to have this unit in my briefcase for an emergency. But I prefer my Tekkeon MP-1800 (which I have reviewed on Amazon) as a portable power source for my gadgets when I travel.

Update September 11, 2011: Due to hurricane Irene we lost power in our home for four days, and on top of that our corded land line phone stopped working. Although we stayed with friends until power was restored, I had to be at my home during the day to supervise a flood restoration crew and other persons. Even though I fully charged this unit at our friends' house, it failed miserably at keeping my BlackBerry charged for any length of time, and on top of that if I moved it ever so slightly the connection with my BlackBerry was lost. Fortunately I also had my Tekkeon MP 1800, which worked quite well to keep my BlackBerry sufficiently charged during the day so that I could make and receive phone calls and email.

Bottom line: This failed miserably in a true emergency. I no longer keep it in my briefcase, but instead keep the bulkier Tekkeon MP 1800 on hand.

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 12, 2010

By 

T. Swanson (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ReVIVE Series Back-Up Rechargeable POWER Boost for ALL BlackBerry's, Kindle 2 & Kindle DX - Refuel 3 Ways AC, USB and SOLAR (Electronics)

I received this as a gift, and was quite excited when I first got it. It seemed to work very well, it charged from the lamps in my house, it had many different kinds of connectors and it was a very handy size. But, as soon as I started to use it, I realized how poorly made it really was. The seller claims that it will work for any BlackBerry, but it wouldn't work for my Curve 8310 from the beginning. On top of that, the BlackBerry connector broke after just a few attempted uses. I have tried it on my iPod, and it gets the job done, but the battery doesn't last very long and it takes about 7 hours if you want to charge from solar. It does charge from three sources, but charge time isn't very good. The quality of the product is quite poor also. I was reading the labeling on the device, and some of the lettering was upside down. The device will tell me that it is fully charged when I push the "Status" light, but I will then plug it in and it charges for hours. The thing really isn't well made. Don't buy it. The thing is more trouble then it's worth.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DON'T BUY JUNK!, August 30, 2010

By 

DRPPERD - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ReVIVE Series Back-Up Rechargeable POWER Boost for ALL BlackBerry's, Kindle 2 & Kindle DX - Refuel 3 Ways AC, USB and SOLAR (Electronics)

I had to give this item a 1 star rating because there isn't a ZERO star rating option!

I got this solar charger to provide backup power for my Amazon Kindle and yes, the charger was adaptable to the Kindle USB port. I dutifully charged it up using the USB power feed from my computer, and then it simply wouldn't work to provide power to my Kindle.

This thing is JUNK!

The batteries will not hold a charge over night. It is worthless.

Do not buy it!

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