The Bottom Line: If you?re going to buy the Solio Solar Charger, find a review where your particular cell phone or device was used with the charger.

I purchased the Solio Solar Charger for a camping trip this year. I needed it for my Garmin Edge GPS and my cell phone, since I didn't expect to find many power outlets. Of course in this day and age solar seems like the best way to go, and the convenience of the Solio makes it sound like a perfect charger for anything from mp3 players to cell phones. Since it has an internal battery, you're not totally dependent on the weather. The manufacturer says you can charge the internal battery in 4-8 hours and charge your cell phone in an hour. Sounds great right? Well the manufacturer has apparently never used the Solio Solar Charger.

First, it takes about 12-18 hours of strong directed sunlight to fully charge the internal battery. I did this a couple of times to make sure it wasn't just the first charge. You need to rotate the charger every couple of hours so it's facing the sun if you want the most efficient/fastest charging. I tried this while I was camping at 10,000ft and it charged faster but still more than 8 hours for a complete charge. Either the battery is larger than they suggest or the solar cells are poorer quality. In either case the manufacturer needs to rewrite the owners manual

Second, the list of compatible devices you'll find when you search for't try all of the devices on the list but I did try my Garmin Edge 305 and my Motorola L2 cell phone. Neither of them worked with the Solio Charger. In fact, it really messed up the software on my Edge. I had to do a hard reboot on it repeatedly. I do not think there was permanent damage, but I do not know for certain yet. Both my cell phone and GPS said they were charging normally, but when I checked they had not received any charge from the Solio.

The Solio is specifically intended for cell phones so there are a lot of accessories (i.e. mp3 player) that will require a special adapter from Solio. The charger also comes with a suction cup so you can put the charger in a window while you drive. Ideally you can charge your cell phone and the charger at the same time. Be aware, though, the charger is too heavy for the suction cup. The unit fell off of my window even after I cleaned it. You definitely do not want to put the charger on a window where it might fall on a hard surface and be damaged.

My final suggestion is, if you are going to buy the Solio Solar Charger, either find a review where your particular cell phone or device was used with the charger, or get it from somewhere with a good return policy. The charger is too expensive to buy if it does not work.

Update:
I recently located the specs for the Solio on their website. They say list the maximum voltage output for the device as 3V at 2Amps. Since all USB devices are based on 5V at 100mAmps design, it's unlikely that devices designed to charge through the USB will be truly compatible with the Solio. If you have a device that requires only 3V the Solio might work well for you.

Technical Specs
* Nominal DC Output: 3V 2A
* Maximum Wattage: 6 Watts
* Battery: Rechargeable Lithium Ion 3.7V 1.65A cell
* DC Input: 5-6V 0.4Ah
* Dimensions (LxHxW): 4.72 x 1.34 x 2.56 in (120 x 34 x 63.5 mm
* Weight: 5.6 oz. (156g)
* Temperature Range: -4F to 131F (-20C to 55C)