Chinavasion Solar Charger Review

After my first app review attempt was destroyed by poor battery life I looked at options for solar charging my iPhone. The cheapest and most flexible option was a small solar charger from Chinavasion and after ordering it online I headed off to the high-country near Tarli Karng to review it.

Chinavasion have a range of solar chargers, but I chose this one as I liked that it didn't attach directly to the phone and that way I could keep my iPhone safe from the weather while charging it. It not only comes with a wide range of adapters, but also allows you to plug any UBS device in, making it very flexible.

The Review

Before leaving home I charged the device from a power outlet. The first night away (in a cold tent) I attached my half dead iPhone and by morning it was fully charged again. Unfortunately, the charger doesn't have any charge indicator, so I wasn't sure whether I had much power left. Assuming I would need to charge the phone again that night I decided I needed to catch every bit of sun I could that day, and showing my true nerdy colours I set about proudly attaching the charger to the top of my pack. Nothing a snap-lock bag and a bit of gaffer tape couldn't take care of.

Later that day I was frustrated to find that the GPS tracking app I was also trying to review had consumed most of my battery power and I was at risk of losing my tracking. Solar Charger to the rescue! Again plugging in the phone I was happy to find that my charger had been working away catching power for me and sure enough, my phone started to charge again. The phone's battery percentage increased a little over time but it seemed the phone was using the power to quickly. It made it through the day and as soon as I had finished walking I turned the phone off and left it charging.

The next day there was still only a little charge in the phone and I knew that the tracking was a lost cause. I turned the phone off, but left the solar charger going.

Later that day I turned on the phone again and plugged in into the charger. The phone started to charge again and I was able to continue tracking for the rest of the day.

The Verdict

The charger does charge the phone if it has enough power. The charger does capture energy from the sun. What the charger doesn't do is capture enough energy to maintain the battery through intense operation, even on really sunny days.

If however, you weren't trying to constantly track your position and were just using it occasionally I have no doubt that it would do the trick as it did effectively charge the phone. It also charged the phone very well from the power it had stored from AC.

At it's price, I think it would be a great buy even if only as a backup battery. The fact that you can get power from the sun too is a bonus!