Solio S323-B36T Hybrid 1000 Universal Charger for Mobiles, Ipod and Cameras Reviews

• So far so good

  
  By A25G91WJZDNYYA on 2008-05-01
  I had been looking at this unit for a bit and finally decided to get one. The unit is small and thin and looks pretty cool. In the box you get three adapters (more on that in a minute) and a USB attachment.
  
  The three attachments are for the most common cell phone(s) (nokia) as well as an attachment for blackberry type units and then finally the iPod.
  
  Charging the unit takes some time. It needs DIRECT sunlight. You can tell if its getting good light by a red LED light on the front. It will stay lit up when its getting full on light. The sun light charge was "slow" so I decided to USB charge the unit the next day at work. That took about 2.5 hrs (the unit probably needed a full charge). After that I connected my iPod and began the "charge". It was slow and took a few hours to get the iPod back to a full charge.
  
  Solio has a web site that can get you all the connections you might need. (PSP to Phone/camera etc). I could not find my phone so I emailed them and got a response about 24hrs later. (not too bad). The attachments appear to be about 9.95USD.
  
  If you are looking for "fast" charges I'd say just use your wall outlets/usb's etc. I leave he Solio in my car during the day and get the sunlight..then I'll charge my iPod or my phone (when I get that attachemt) during the ride home.
  
  A cool device and I feel like I am doing the right thing.
  
  

• JoWow stole my money.

  
  By A2325YD7UQQME1 on 2008-06-17
  I ordered this charger for my husband's birthday in February. It did not work (at all). Defective, okay, it happens. Returned to JoWow and they are STILL (June 15) giving me the runaround/no longer responding to my request for a refund or replacement. Eighty six bucks is a lot of money to me.
  
  NEVER order from JoWow.
  
  

• Solio Charger a bust

  
  By AVH6NTYKJTWIM on 2008-06-09
  I purchased the Solio charger so I could charge my iphone on the AIDS/LifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The charger was almost useless. Mounted on the back of my bike, only once in 7 days of biking did it charge more than halfway. When it was charged less than half, it would not charge my iphone. Complete waste of money.
  
  

• Better than Advertized

  
  By A86EBUL8UNW8X on 2008-08-04
  I bought this before going to summer camp for a week with my son's BSA troop, and honestly, I expected to reap more envy from the other technophiles in the troop than to actually put it to much use (admittedly a shallow motive for buying it). But I was surprised and pleased to actually find it of value.
  
  I charged it from my computer before setting off to camp with the idea that it would be an emergency back-up battery from my mobile phone. By Wednesday evening I'd made a few calls from the remote campsite and had killed the charge on my cellphone. I fully recharged it in short order from the Solio, which was still 60% charged after this.
  
  By Thursday evening, another ASM needed to recharge his phone and I was able to accommodate him with my Solio (which I'd had out in the sun all day and was back at full power).
  
  Finally, on the bus ride home, I was able to loan the fully charged Solio to two scouts to recharge an iPod and another mobile phone. I also recharged my own iPod as well before I had completely discharged the Solio.
  
  Maybe I had better luck than others have had, but I have found that the device recharges more quickly than advertised. I had it out in the sun on my backpack or on my tent all week and it was always ready for use.
  
  And of course, it also paid off in my more mundane expectations and many people admired it, making it a great icebreaker with members of other troops.
  
  I didn't give it five stars only because it still takes a long time to charge it fully and you need to keep your expectations in line. But it does what it says and probably does it a bit better than documented.
  
  

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