Review: AS012 GoSolar Charger
Score:
78%
Buy Link | Download / Information Link
I'd been looking for an affordable, functional solar charger for a while, after being caught out while camping last summer. When your smartphone is not only your telephone but your personal entertainment device and principal camera, a battery charge only just gets you through a day, meaning daily recharges, which isn't possible when you're camped in the back of beyond.
Unless, of course, you have a solar charger. A little Googling turned up a few devices, each of which I ordered, tried and rejected. The problem was that each charger output power at just under 6V, right at the lower end of the charging range for a modern Nokia smartphone, with the result that as soon as the voltage dropped significantly (after a few minutes), charging stopped.
Oh, the research we put into finding working products for you to read about on AllAboutSymbian... Finally, I came across i-nique UK's AS012 GoSolar, which ticks every box and is handily designed into the bargain.
The AS012 is sturdily constructed, in blue plastic, about the same size as a typical smartphone. The whole top of the device is hinged, backed with a mirror, and can be lifted and lodged at roughly 90 degrees (vertical), in order to gather in a little more sunlight and bounce it onto the main (5.5V, 0.6W) built-in solar panel. This in turn charges up a 1100mAh Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery, with a full charge needing a full day in direct sunlight. Once charged, I brought the device indoors to put it to the test.
On the output side, there's a switch to select 5.8V, 7.8V or 9.8V, depending on your mobile device. There are adapters for Motorola, Samsung, Siemens and Ericsson devices, but the default cable slots into a Nokia phone and, armed with the Nseries pin adaptor, I selected 7.8V and plugged it into my nearly empty Nokia N70.
The device's output LED stayed green for over an hour, after which it started flashing orange, indicating that the N70 was nearly full and only trickle charging. Finally, the LED went out, with the smartphone still charging up until the last second. Now, the vagaries of Nokia's 'bar' system for battery state means that it's difficult to make accurate observations here, but I'd estimate that the fully charged AS012 can provide about 600mAh of charge, equating to around 70% of the full 850mAh capacity of the BL-5C battery used on so many Nokia smartphones. That the 1100mAh battery can only deliver 600mAh, by the way, is to be expected - these energy transfers are always lossy, to some extent.
In a nutshell, if you have guaranteed sunlight for ten hours or so and can work within 70% battery capacity then you have a sustainable way of keeping your smartphone charged, away from any man-made power source.
Note the 'if' in the previous paragraph though. Getting blue skies all day in the UK only happens for one day in 5, though obviously getting the necessary sunshine may be easier in hotter parts of the world. Note also the battery restriction - while away from base, the chances are that you're going to use your smartphone more, not less (i.e. with comms, music, games, etc), so you'll probably find yourself needing a full (100%) charge every single day. For a device like the E61, with its 1500mAh battery, the AS012 will only refill around 40% of total capacity.
But I don't want to finish on a gloomy note. The AS012 is well designed and delivers a flexible voltage and satisfying power output (for its tiny size). For anyone heading off camping this summer, this is a small and lightweight gadget that may just give you enough top- up solar power to keep you going each day until you next hit a vehicle or mains socket.
And, of course, you could always buy two, for 1200mAh of smartphone charging capacity each day....!
Steve Litchfield, June 2006
If you've tried a larger smartphone-compatible solar charger and can recommend it, please email me with details.
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at