Arctic C1 Mobile Solar Panel USB Charger for Mobile Devices 4440 mAh

Comment:
I left this out in sunny areas for a good week and then tried to charge my iPhone. Went from 20% to 21% before stopping the charge.Using the wall charger, this acts as a great battery backup. I'm sure the solar charge helps but it seems that when the battery is dead, no amount of solar charge helps at all. So my advice is to pre-charge and then put out in the sun as well while charging a device.

Comment:
Granted I have not opened up the C1 to inspect the wiring, but I am quite impressed with the build quality Arctic has achieved here. The case edges are all rounded, the seams fit together almost perfectly, and while it's a little creaky when squeezed, it should survive most gravity-only impacts unless something shatters the solar cell.The quality of the USB output connector is above average: it has well-tempered latches which grip the inserted cable quite tightly. In fact, I have biked around with the C1 just hanging by the USB cable to catch some sun while it charged my cellphone (which was stuffed into a pocket on my bag). It does have a 2"-wide loop on one end for strapping it to something, but it seems like that would let it slide around a lot (unless you have something 2" wide to attach it with...) In my opinion, a centered hole for a keyring or lanyard would be nice, although it wouldn't keep the solar cell facing outward. The included cable is coiled, and rather thin, which is a the weak point here - it would likely get cut or shorted within a month the way most people treat their electronics. The adapter tips provide compatibility with some common cellphone brands (the ones that use those ridiculous proprietary connectors); these attach via a cylindrical barrel connector - which is a bit baffling, but I guess it's more economical to make them that way. Many people will likely have their own cables already, so the included set can get stuffed in the glove compartment or junk drawer for backup.While there are three issues I've found with the device, one may not be accurate, one is beyond Arctic's control, and the other is simply personal preference. First and foremost, I've seen several reviews stating that the C1's solar cell will not recharge the battery if it is completely empty. I have not thoroughly tested this claim, but I did observe that when the battery has been fully drained, the charging indicator does not come on when the solar cell is receiving direct light. When there is an existing charge, the LED comes on immediately when exposed - close proximity to a 13W CFL bulb is enough to activate it. This could just mean that there isn't enough voltage yet to power the LED. If not, well... In a populated area you can just go home and recharge from a USB port, but if you are stranded out in the woods somewhere, you will not be best pleased. Issue two is also an important one: Many consumer devices are horribly designed. In this case, I'm referring to energy usage in portable devices. The first cellphone I ever had used an LED to show the charging status. Red for recharging, green for charged. Simple, easy. But the phone I bought two years ago... both the screen and its backlight stay on permanently while charging, and this cannot be changed. Even if you power off the phone, the screen and backlight will turn on just to say "Charging". Which means that while you're charging it, you are wasting (comparatively) massive amounts of additional power for NOTHING.Lastly, the C1 is almost identical in size and weight to an LG CX-9200 cellphone (friendly name "Keybo 2"), where I had expected it to be closer to the height and width of a paperback novel. My cellphone's battery holds 950mAh and is rated at 3.6Wh (so 3600mWh). The C1 is rated at 4440mWh, with an output voltage of 5.5V - divide those two numbers and it indicates a ~807mAh battery. So, even though it's rated at a higher output than the battery in my phone, the capacity is less. That, coupled with electrical inefficiencies and not being able to turn the screen of my phone off, the C1 can't fully charge it even once - and that's just your average qwerty phone, not a power-hungry PDA.In conclusion, this little guy is small enough to be unobtrusive, sturdy enough to survive being in the bottom of your pack (or your purse) and adaptable to almost any device thanks to USB being so ubiquitous. Personally I would have preferred to pay a bit more for a slightly larger device for faster charging and more battery capacity, but in a pinch this will give you enough power to make that important phone call. This review was modfied by poster @ 07-17-11 11:12 PM

Comment:
I use it with my htc G1 (about 1100 Mwh) while geocaching (heavy data and gps activity). Normally cellphone goes about 3 hours of this on a full charge and is drained. This unit gets me additional 3 hours and leaves me with enough to still make calls. When sunny it charges self or phone without seriously draining its' battery. Once drained, that's it... sunny or no, there's no more charging. Not sure that amount of charge is actually 4400 Mwh comparatively. Works well!