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High-tech company expands downtown
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Region's stocking full of ideas for those on the prowl for holiday gifts
Ohio sues credit-rating companies
Study tracks newspaper, online readership
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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
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College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Angel Food Ministries helps stretch grocery dollars
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Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
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For your Saturday entertainment …
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Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
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Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
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Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
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Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 13-47
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Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
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OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
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Four area football teams play tonight
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Headed For Disaster
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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
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TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
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Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
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Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Computer's USB port, wall outlet with adaptor also suitable for device
By Stanley A. Miller II
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published on Monday, Apr 28, 2008
Despite better battery life in today's gadgets, a little backup power is always best — and what more suitable source than the sun?
The Solio Hybrid 1000 from Better Energy Systems is a solar panel and battery in a light, slender case that can charge mobile phones, music players, digital cameras or portable gaming systems.
It has several adapters to cover a range of electronics, including three that come with the device: a mini USB adapter to power up toys such as Sony's PlayStation Portable, a female USB tip for Apple iPods; and one for Nokia N series handsets.
This portable charger boosts its own battery from either the sun, a computer's USB port or from a wall outlet using an adapter that is not included in the basic $79.95 package, available at http://www.solio.com.
The energy stashed from the sun or other sources sits in the Solio's rechargeable lithium ion battery, which can boost gadgets at the same rate as if they were plugged into a wall outlet.
Pressing and holding its ''start'' button for about five seconds causes a green LED to flash one to five times indicating the Solio's battery level, one showing only 20 percent is left while five indicating it's fully charged.
The device's photovoltaic panel takes eight to 10 hours to charge completely from the sun, according to Better Energy Systems. With peak charging times between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., that means the process takes at least two days, and placing the device behind a window reduces the amount of energy absorbed.
Any shadows on the panels also will reduce its solar recharge time.
And for the panels to work best, they need to be in direct sunlight, requiring occasional repositioning as the sun moves throughout the day.
Those challenges were a factor over the course of a few weeks of testing, which revealed the Solio to take a lot longer than a couple of days to charge exclusively solar, thanks to a string of cloudy days.
Still, a fully powered Solio charges a typical mobile phone once, including an iPhone, or can provide up to 10 hours of digital music, depending on the device.
The equation Better Energy System offers is one hour of sunshine for 14 minutes talk time or 40 minutes of digital music. Regardless, after the Solio is fully charged, it can hold its energy for a year.
More realistically, however, a USB AC adapter — an accessory that plugs into a USB cord so you can plug it into an outlet instead of a USB port — charged the Solio much faster, although the solar panel served as a suitable backup trickle of power as the device dangled from its built-in carabiner on my backpack.
Weighing 4.6 ounces and measuring 7.8 inches long by 0.71 inches high by 2.6 inches wide, the Solio isn't small, but it isn't a burden to carry around as long as it's clipped to a bag.
Despite better battery life in today's gadgets, a little backup power is always best — and what more suitable source than the sun?
Get the full article here.
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