Icetech I101 Portable Solar Charger/Battery
by Icetech
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Our Price: $17.99 Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Icetech I101 Portable Solar Charger/Battery
Customer Review: Works, and that's the point
Summary: 3 Stars
I thought I should chime in with my experience, which varies slightly. First of all, this charger works for any device that takes a mini-USB, which includes my RAZR, my GPS, and a small Skype phone. I don't know about the other connections, except that it doesn't work on any Apple device (Ipod, Iphone) unless you buy the extra tip on their site (which I haven't yet bought, but which I'm assuming works). Also, it doesn't seem to work with a Zune.
Essentially, this charger is only for devices between 3.5 and 5 volts. So don't expect it to charge something like a laptop, and check the voltage of the things for which you intend to use it.
There's one strange thing: the two lights, and the on/off function do not work as described, at least on my unit, which I think is genuine (due to the correct packaging) and not a knockoff. When you plug this unit in to an electrical outlet to charge it, a blue light flashes. When the charge is full, the flashing blue light goes off; it does not stay on solidly to indicate a full charge, as the directions stated. The only thing the ON/OFF switch seems to do is turn solar-charging capabilities on or off. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to turn the charging of devices on or off, either. So actually, there doesn't seem to be any reason to ever set it to Off. When you're charging in sunlight, it allows solar charging, as indicated by a violet light. When you're charging from an electric outlet, the results are the same whether the switch is set to On or Off. and the charging blue light will blink anyway. If you connect something to be charged when the switch is on Off, it charges it anyway. If you connect something to charge when the switch is on On, it charges the same. So why ever turn if off? I have experimented with "double" charging. I plug in the device, leave the switch at ON for solar charging, and also leave it in the sunlight. The violet light that indicates sun charging stays on, and the blue light, indicating electrical charging blinks as expected, too, and I think charging time is reduced. So everything works, just differently than described. I hope this will be of benefit to someone, because it took me a week of experiments to figure it out. I emailed the company about the issue, and their answer was, yes, I was right, but that they hadn't had a chance to revise the directions. One more caveat: don't expect to put this in the sun, attach a device, and get it charged. You've got to charge up the battery of the solar charger first, either by means of an electrical outlet, or by leaving it in direct sunlight for 12 full hours. So if you're using it inside and depending only on solar charging, you'll probably need 3 or 4 days to charge the solar battery completely, because what home gets direct sunlight 12 hours a day? I think it's better to charge it from the electri socket, and then never use it so much that you drain it completely. Then you can refresh it in the sun in one day. Basically, I say buy this, because it works and the price is right (though it has gone up $4 since I bought it about a month ago). Not only that, but I accidently dropped it from a 2-story height out my window, it fell into bushes, yet it still works fine.
Customer Review: Solar charger - yes, Works out of the box with 3G iPhone - no
Summary: 3 Stars
Summary:
* Supplier was depressingly slow to ship
* Doesn't work with my 3G iPhone (yet)
So I bought this little solar charger gadget thingy hoping to charge my iPhone when I go camping. It ended up taking the company over a week to ship it out, so i got it after my camping trip.
Once I got it, I followed the instructions and charged it up, and was excited because it came with a female USB port on the cord. Unfortunately, my phone will not charge via USB using this connector. I was able to however charge my Bluetooth headset using the USB cord. Seems like a pretty slick device.
I was going to send it back, but I decided to take a gamble and order the adapter sold on the Icetech company website for 13 bucks (including shipping). [..]
I noticed one of the other reviewers mentioned this as a solution. Feel like a bait and switch sucker, but I really want the convenience of charging the phone away from home.
On a final note, I sent the company an email for tech support to make sure I'm not doing something wrong, but I only got an automated response that someone would get back to me... Really made me feel good about my money I spent (sarcasm).
Total cost so far is 46 bucks and I don't even know if it works for my iPhone.
Customer Review: great product, silly costs for additional tips though.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a great device. The solar cells even work in diffuse light from cloudy days or in a window with no direct sunlight. But at reduced power obviously.
But now I must warn any potential buyer. Additional power tips cost at least $5.00 + $5.99 shipping. Although I've escaped having to pay that much by going to Ebay and buying whole USB cords for $3 - $6 each total bill. The tip commonly known as "yellow tip" is so common on non-cellphone things - I am not sure why they do not include that one in the package.
Customer Review: Does not stand up to description
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this solar charger to charge my motorolla droid and ipod touch. the description said it would charge these devices but all it charges is my old Lg phoneCustomer Review: BUYER BEWARE!
Summary: 1 Stars
July 10, 2010 EDIT- Hm. It's been a year since I've bought this little piece of junk,'ll see to it that I write another review. And I'll "attempt" to be less harsh.
First off, "Customer Service" finally replied to my review, nearly a year later. Trying to get me to write a better review in exchange for a free iPod adapter tip. Nope, sorry. Not gonna' happen.
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When you first get the product, in comes in this cheap, flimsy packaging. Unlike the more popular (and annoying) blister packaging, this arrives in some plastic which you would see a $0.99 flashlight from the dollar store. That really doesn't matter, though. I opened it and followed the directions given, to charge it via USB first. The indicator light flashes when charging, and goes off when done; simple enough. I was excited to start using it, so I reached for the USB tip and pluged in my old phone, (enV2) it simply did not work. The battery icon did not animate, like it would when it is charging. [one star lost 4/5] I then took my Jabra Bluetooth headset and wondered if that would work. Again, nothing. [another star lost 3/5] In a final desperate plea, I reached for my iPod touch (1st gen) and attempted to charge it. Fried. So now, as I look back I payed money to ruin a device. [{being nice} only 1 star lost 2/5]
I called up customer support using the number I found on my invoice sheet. They answered almost instantaneously, but the person seemed to be as if he was talking to someone else. He sounded like a 18 or 19 year old, and was laughing in the background. No help at all [another star lost 1/5]
I find out that in order for this "product" to work properly, you first have to buy it, and then spend more money for it to actually WORK. With no doubt, this is an extremely poor product; and it was a complete crime for you to bribe me to write a good review in exchange for a free iPod tip. But you might be asking, "He didn't talk about how the actual solar-charge function worked" Yeah, I didn't talk about in on purpose, I wanted to be nice in this review, so I didn't want to get into how crappy that was, either.
I ended up dismantling the device and use the solar panel for other products. My rating still stands at 0/5 stars, if possible.
Old review:
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This product, by far, is the worst thing I've ever bought. The description specifically said it charged iPods, it fried mine, it doesn't charge my enV2, nor my bluetooth headset or portable speaker. When i called customer service, they pissed me off so much. Customer Service is nothing but a couple teenagers...
Buyer beware this is a bad choice. If possible i would give this 0 stars.