Customer Reviews

Solio Magnesium Edition Universal Solar Hybrid Charger

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I shopped around quite a bit before buying this solar charger. After using it for a week while camping in the New Mexico wilderness, I have the following to report.

(+) It does indeed hold a charge for a long time. I charged it up to 5 flashes (full charge) via plug-in power beforehand, and it was still full charge when I needed it 2 weeks later.
(-) I couldn't imagine any better condition to charge from the sun, than on top of my car's hood, under a clear New Mexico sky at ~10K altitude. Even then, a full day's exposure would only get about 60% charge (3 flashes out of 5, starting from 0 or 1).
(+) It appears to be water proof/water resistant. I decided to leave it out on my car's hood even during the rain. It still works!
(-) I experimented with charging it on the dashboard of my car at home. Even after sitting on the hot/exposed dashboard for several days, it didn't appear to get any charge. This might be due to my polarized front windshield -- not sure, but after my camping/raining experience, I won't feel bad about leaving this exposed on my porch, from now on.

Over a week's use camping, it did manage (barely) to keep my iPhone charged up. So, all in all, this isn't bad, but it isn't perfect either. It would be even better if there were some real time indicator showing if it was getting a good charge or not.

This product was purchased as a back up energy generator for back-country hiking.It is small,handy and light enough for that purpose.
It is nice that the GPS without batteries can be operated while attached to the Solio daytime and only use the GPS's AA battery at night time.Or have the GPS's AA battery installed and connected to the Solio and have it charged on a bright day while hiking and have it on for navigation.The solar source of energy is not like connecting to a wall outlet so don't expect the charging process being efficient and quick.
It would be nice if Solio would add one more "fold" when closed, to cover the last and exposed solar panel for protection.It is yet to be seen, after closing and storing in the back-pack among other things how soon the last exposed solar panel will be damaged and what detriment will it cause to the overall functioning.It is not an accident that in all Solio's advertisements the closed unit is not shown from the "other" side.I advise, to select and use for protection a better "padded" case, than the flimsy cheese-cloth bag supplied with the unit.

I live in an apartment in Australia which gets a lot of sun in the afternoon (and living in Sydney means that we have mostly sunny days thanks to the extended drought that we've been in). When the sun is shining on the Solio, it charges quite well through the window - but if the sun is indirect or if it's even slightly cloudy it wont charge. It takes about 3-4 days of this type of charging to fill up.

When I first tried to use this product with my Palm Treo Pro - it wouldn't work. I charged the Solio from the wall outlet so it was flashing 5 times to indicate full charge. Sometimes the phone charge light would go on, sometimes it wouldn't. Even when the Treo charge light was on, it wasn't charging. I was all set to return the product when the Solio customer service department informed me there was a workaround. I had been using the USB cable that came with my phone to charge from the Solio. That cable is able to charge the phone from my computer or a wall charger. However, it doesn't work with the Solio! Solio told me to use an iGo charging tip which plugs into their universal charge cord. When I did that, it charges every time! So if you are considering this product, I recommend getting a compatible iGo tip. Note that I have tried some other external batteries (Kensington) and they never worked with the Treo Pro, either - so this is probably more of an issue with the phone than the battery, but I'm happy to report that the Solio does work if you use the iGo tip!

After browsing different websites for alternate energy chargers for my electronic devices for about 3 days I decided to go with the magnesium Solio. I mostly bought it because I'm not only a gadget freak but also a "green" freak in a sense.
My expectations were average, I just wanted to make my ipod energy efficient and have something cool to show off laying around the house. It came within 3 days of ordering it, at the time it costed $120 so i'll base the review on that price. The look and design of the Solio was more than I expected I'd say, it looks sleek and easily fits into my pocket for portability when folded up. I set it up the first day to charge (keep in mind inside my house looking out a window facing the sun for probably 7-8 hours per day). I checked after 2 days straight of clouds and rain and it showed 2 blinks which stands for about half way charged, an average 25% charge per day through a window and clouds which seems pretty fair to me.
After about the last 4 months using this device I'd say im pretty happy with it. It may seem expensive which i wont deny it kind of is but its really a top of the line green gadget to have and i'd easily recommend it to any of my friends who were looking into buying something like it. Instead of going with a cheap version of a solar charger that could break within 2 weeks (I've had much too much experience with that) definitely go with something like this that has durability and will last a long time, you wont regret it. Mine's sat through rain outside numerous times and it's even been dropped a few times and shows no damage at all. Anything that uses usb to charge can be charged with it with the included female usb plug which makes it extremely convenient.
My only real flaw with it is the actual charging time really varies and sometimes it will fully charge in 2 days, other times it takes a full week but once it's charged it can charge my nano twice and have some extra juice left over just incase.
Overall I definitely recommend the Solio, I've had no problems with it at all and it seems like it will last me for at least a few years into the future.

Overall rating: B+

Bought this two weeks ago and I'm pretty impressed with it (my expectations were not huge given other reviews and research). But it does what is says and is a cool concept.

Warning - will not charge a Palm Pre without an additional 10 dollar adapter (the A138) which isn't even sold by Solio. They said to try igo(dot)com or The Shack (Radioshack). Charges a blackberry 8300 and my sansa clip just fine. Would like the solar recharging time to be faster, which will only be a matter of time as technology improves.

The Solio Magnesium Solar Hybrid Charger is a terrific concept that does not seem to work as represented. After more than 5 days of exposure to direct sunlight, the indicator light showed a 40% charge. I was never able to achieve more than that. It did, however, partially charge my cell phone. Either the device will not fully charge or the indicator light is inaccurate, but either way, the thing does not work properly, as other reviews appear to corroborate. Too bad.

The industrial design is great. The unit is seems very solid and simple to use. I plugged my new Solio into the wall to charge for the first time. After I used it on my iPhone, I've had it in the sun for about 4 days...still sitting at 25% charge. This is not very practical for much of anything. Bummer - great idea.

The solio magnesium charger is one of those products that I probably won't use until the power goes out and I need to charge my phone, but now that I have it I am kind of looking forward to a power outage. Included in the box are, a pencil to angle the solio towards the sun, assorted charger tips , an ac wall charger for filling it up without the sun, and a neat hemp bag to carry the solio and all of the charger tips. The only thing I am concerned about is if it would actually hold up to a camping trip as it doesn't seem to be very durable.

Pro's

Always good to have a backup for small devices, just in case.
Decent amount of charging tips included, many more available for purchase.
AC charger for charging w/o the sun.

Con's

Somewhat questionable durability, front solar panel is exposed. They really should include a cover.
Takes almost a whole day to charge in 100% sunshine.

I use the Solio to charge my iPhone 3G. I had to buy the special iGo charging tip, but it works fine.

I was a little disappointed that the Solio takes quite awhile to charge, however. In one afternoon on a typical day here in New England, I found it charged only about 20%.

Then I figured I might be able to get a better charge if I kept it aimed at the sun a little better. The only mechanism they give you to do this is a pencil! But I have a mini tripod I don't use very often, so I attached it to a railing and then jerry-rigged the Solio to the tripod using a heavy duty elastic. (See Customer Photos above.) Whenever I go in or out, I just swivel the Solio a little to point it at the sun.

I don't have enough data to say how much faster it charges (the system of "flashes" is not very accurate), but it's a fun and handy way to position the Solio. If I were to redesign the product, I would definitely add a tripod mount!