A solar-powered battery should be part of any disaster-preparedness kit, and the myCharge Solar PowerFold can keep an iPhone up and running just by sitting in the sun for a few hours.
We tested the ability of this very portable device to capture the thermonuclear power of our nearest star. Here’s how it went.
You never know when you’re going to need to recharge your devices. It’s annoying enough when your phone dies at the office, but on a long hike or far from outlets it can be more than inconvenient. So it’s worth having a charger that works even when there’s no outlet to be found.
This week, protect your new iPhone 8 Plus with some inexpensive cases. Or consider a crazy-low deal on an older iPhone, a hot buy on the latest iPad Pro or other bargains in our roundup of the week’s best Apple deals.
The year’s winding down but there’s no sign of slowing for the great deals coming into the Cult of Mac Store. From a premium wallet that also charges your phone and a security-enhancing keylogger to a mini-guitar made for the digital age and a charger that draws juice from the sun, we’ve gathered some of the very best new deals.
Raise your hand if your iPhone has run out of juice at the worst possible time? Yeah, I’m sure that’s most of you. Certainly me. That’s why I have a battery pack case for my iPhone. While it’s good, it does have a little flaw—I still need to plug it in to charge.
Now a solar pack can help eliminate some of this need. No, not all, but let’s say, a lot. The Monster Watts case acts not just as a batter pack, but it has solar panels so you can recharge your phone wherever the Sun shines!
Since I got the Changers solar charger to test, I haven’t plugged a USB-chargeable device into anything else (with the exception of my iPad). Changers comes as a kit containing a solar panel and a battery pack, along with a a bag of tips that fit most cellphones and gadgets. But this description doesn’t do justice to what is a rather excellent and useful device.
The iPhone is a phenomenal tool for a bit of tromping about in the bush; navigation, stargazing, photographing/filming and even staying alive can all be accomplished with the help of the little gadget. That is, if it’s got any juice left.
Solio’s Rocsta ($80) — a solar panel mated to a thin slab of a battery in a sleek, flat, user-friendly housing — seems to have been created with a nod to minimalist adventurous types who want a rugged, no-fuss solar charger aong on their next Iditarod or photo shoot for National Geographic.
