I kind of really want to buy a few of these, but I got 'the look' this morning when I told my husband about all the Sylvesters I bought last night. Dammit.
If you were to place the phone and the power bank in an ideal place in the sun for proper charging, the phone would overheat and phones battery would spill because of the heat, then you will be out of a new galaxy or iPhone :-(
@Rodytoon Cover your phone with a tshirt or whatever, problem solved. But you don't have to have this in the sun to charge your phone, just so it can charge itself, so that's not really an issue.
@Rodytoon@belowi I went to Palm Springs during the summer a few years ago and listened to music on my phone next to the pool, at least with an iPhone it tells you the phone is too hot and needs to cool down.
Amazon reviews seem to pretty much like it. 14 bucks seems very reasonable, not a horrible price just for the 4,000 mAh battery functionality alone.
Would be great for off the grid camping. If we didn't already have a stack of 10,000 mAh USB batteries and a portable 55 watt solar panel kit, we'd grab one or two of these.
@RedOak If you intend to use this solely as a battery that is one thing, but all these cheap chinese "solar" batteries are great except the solar doesn't work for shit.
This is the sort of device that is absolutely useless for most people, but could probably save a life in the right situation. If one of those girls that got lost and died in the Panama jungle had one of these, they -might- have been able to get help and survive. Good for campers/hikers that are directly out of reach of civilization but close enough where they may just reach a phone tower or otherwise benefit from one.
@eyewerks How about you inform yourself with the story first? The girls kept wandering around lost trying to get reception. They likely missed a chance to dial for help as they would turn their phone off to save juice. There were a few instances they found on their phones where they just barely had a signal but it didn't make it. They were on the outskirts of a tourist town and could have survived if they were not idiots. They were also using their phones as flashlights.
@MindlessMachina And you no doubt know this because they kept copious voice notes on their phones detailing every aspect of their ordeal. Screw the solar charger, ...if they had a helicopter with them they probably would have survived. Hell, maybe just a damn flare gun. Or some survival skills. Or maybe just a sense of direction.
@eyewerks What's wrong with you? The investigation into their deaths is pretty open and this information is public. Their phones were recovered so the sad pictures they left behind and call logs are mostly available online. If you don't know what you're talking about, then just say so--no need to take your personal frustrations out on people more informed than you!
Amazon likes it, so for $14 bucks I'm willing to see if I like it. Could be nice to have for backpacking though I'm not crazy about the extra weight. I guess I could leave my camera at home and just use my phone's camera.
@mick I used to look forward to the middle of the month for the expected Woot! Off. Now I can't remember the last time I even visited their site. Must be 2 years since I bought something at a Woot! Off. And Meh! Off just doesn't have the same ring to it.
@dubloe7 lots of those are people bitching about the seller, and from those that apparently don't know how the device works. It won't completely charge its internal battery via sunlight. At least one reviewer stated that it charges more like 2800mAH - so barely enough for most "modern" high-draw phones. Still, for emergencies $11 isn't a lot of green
Sold out in an hour? Aaaaand now I'm going to be up all night wondering what everybody else knows that I don't about the need for solar powered phones.
@HELLOALICE You didn't miss anything. These probably require direct sunlight and ten hours to charge at least with an effective rate of 1000mAh after power lost in conversion.
@amoseley2 It's a lot easier when they were also sold out at 5:45 am et. Also that they were sold out at literally every minute between 12:57 am and now.
DAMN YOU MEH for having something I actually have been wanting for the first time in months, then running out BEFORE 8 AM. That's it I'm canceling my premium status.
What a bummer. I was up after midnight with work and was so damn-ass tired that I didn't even think to check here. In for 2, if anyone wants to throw me a pity sale.
I passed on this last night, and was really surprised to wake and find out they sold out in less than an hour. I get that it's cheap and all, but it it really seems so inconvenient compared to traditional portable, rechargeable batteries. I'm finding it hard to see how useful it would be even out in the wilderness for extended periods of time, with the long recharge rates.
Maybe it's just not my thing, but again, surprised. Congrats, Meh!
I think mine might be having problems, but I'm not positive.. I have it suctioned to a sunny window, and after 3 weeks it doesn't seem to have charged at all.
Initially I plugged it into a wall charger and fully charged it. Then I hung it in the window to maintain its charge in case it was needed.. When I got that rechargable shower head, I decided to use this to charge it.. That brought my battery down to within the 3/4 range.. It's hung in that window for 3 weeks and hasn't increased at all. I have tried it with the switch set to charge, as well as whatever they call the other position of the switch.
Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong? I really love the idea of this product, and I hope I can get it working correctly!!
One other thing that might be noteworthy.. When I first pressed the suction cup onto the solar panel (I didn't even press hard!) the panel seems to have pushed back into the shell a bit. It didn't seem like a huge deal, which is why I forgot to mention it in my first post.. But maybe it is? Should I contact the manufacturer for warranty support?
Specs
Condition: New
Warranty: 3 Year Accessory Power
Estimated Delivery: 5/6 - 5/8
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Solar powered power bank
2x Window suction cups
1x Carabiner
1x Solar panel extender for additional panels
1x USB charging cable
Pictures
Retail box
Everything included
Carabiner and top view
Outlets
Back view
Price Check
109.99 List, $29.99 at Amazon (sold third party)
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a reply to this comment
Estimated Delivery
FedEx SmartPost: Monday, February 26th - Monday, March 5th
:( No.
I can't steal the sun's power! I am not Superman!
@ELUNO I will dare to be like Superman.
Is this microwave safe? The last power bank I bought from you guys was not.
"phone not included" ------- NO DEAL
neutral-dry-patch
I kind of really want to buy a few of these, but I got 'the look' this morning when I told my husband about all the Sylvesters I bought last night. Dammit.
@PurplePawprints yeah, he probably wanted the Tweety's
If you were to place the phone and the power bank in an ideal place in the sun for proper charging, the phone would overheat and phones battery would spill because of the heat, then you will be out of a new galaxy or iPhone :-(
@Rodytoon why not just charge the power bank in the sun, then once it is charged use it to charge the galaxy or iphone?
@thismyusername Because then there would be no drama.
@Rodytoon Cover your phone with a tshirt or whatever, problem solved. But you don't have to have this in the sun to charge your phone, just so it can charge itself, so that's not really an issue.
@Rodytoon if you have the 10ft usb cord that meh sold and gave away in the fukus thete would be no problems
@Rodytoon Or, you could put the phone... wait for it... UNDER the charger.
@Rodytoon @belowi I went to Palm Springs during the summer a few years ago and listened to music on my phone next to the pool, at least with an iPhone it tells you the phone is too hot and needs to cool down.
@JonT oh, come on, you live in Dallas like I do. Surely you've seen that warning just while driving around town!
jolliest-fluffy-possum. And I already have 3 mobile chargers. But this is the first one powered by the sun!
Makes me strangely nostalgic for speaker docks
@alblazek what you really want to ask...can this power a speaker dock...
@alblazek Don't even joke about that.
I like this, but don't need it. For that reason alone, Meh.
ritzy-addictive-silk
Because I'm styley like that.
And somewhere north of Alaska.
Because I am superman.
http://w3w.co/ritzy.addictive.silk
@joelmw Are you the REAL superman ,superman?
@mick You can call me Clark.
@joelmw jesuschrist.
@lera
@joelmw I've always felt like jesuschrist would make a great buddy.
This is great, love useful gadgets
Will this work in moonlight, or do I need a Lunar Panel Power Bank for that?
@heartny you'll need some moon block to do that...
taunting-temporary-sea
Amazon reviews seem to pretty much like it. 14 bucks seems very reasonable, not a horrible price just for the 4,000 mAh battery functionality alone.
Would be great for off the grid camping. If we didn't already have a stack of 10,000 mAh USB batteries and a portable 55 watt solar panel kit, we'd grab one or two of these.
If you honestly want to invest in a solar charger, these are garbage, you should get a decent one that has half a chance of actually being useful. I got this one and it works awesome. http://www.amazon.com/Anker%C2%AE-Dual-Port-Charger-PowerIQ-Technology/dp/B00E3OL5U8
@Saffer49 That's a solar panel but no battery included. And 50 bucks. Don't get me wrong, I like Anker stuff, but not a comparable deal.
@RedOak If you intend to use this solely as a battery that is one thing, but all these cheap chinese "solar" batteries are great except the solar doesn't work for shit.
This is the sort of device that is absolutely useless for most people, but could probably save a life in the right situation. If one of those girls that got lost and died in the Panama jungle had one of these, they -might- have been able to get help and survive. Good for campers/hikers that are directly out of reach of civilization but close enough where they may just reach a phone tower or otherwise benefit from one.
@MindlessMachina Because, of course, the Panama jungle is riddled with cell towers.
@eyewerks How about you inform yourself with the story first? The girls kept wandering around lost trying to get reception. They likely missed a chance to dial for help as they would turn their phone off to save juice. There were a few instances they found on their phones where they just barely had a signal but it didn't make it. They were on the outskirts of a tourist town and could have survived if they were not idiots. They were also using their phones as flashlights.
@MindlessMachina And you no doubt know this because they kept copious voice notes on their phones detailing every aspect of their ordeal. Screw the solar charger, ...if they had a helicopter with them they probably would have survived. Hell, maybe just a damn flare gun. Or some survival skills. Or maybe just a sense of direction.
@eyewerks What's wrong with you? The investigation into their deaths is pretty open and this information is public. Their phones were recovered so the sad pictures they left behind and call logs are mostly available online. If you don't know what you're talking about, then just say so--no need to take your personal frustrations out on people more informed than you!
I was going to pull the trigger but then I thought maybe there'll be a wind-powered power bank on Meh soon. :P
Amazon likes it, so for $14 bucks I'm willing to see if I like it. Could be nice to have for backpacking though I'm not crazy about the extra weight. I guess I could leave my camera at home and just use my phone's camera.
How'd you know I wanted a solar charger? You mind readers.
Weird, amazon's price just went up to $59.
@belowi black one is still $29.99
@username I noticed that too, but the one for sale here is white.
@belowi Prices fluctuate frequently on Amazon.
The last price change on this product was on March 11, 2015.
With great power comes great responsibility.
You can use this to charge a charger, according to the Amazon page,.
Hmm, I guess I could get some use out of this when camping. At $14 I'm in for one. hellish-sad-hammer
In for a weighty-shallow-ferret:
almost worth moving to Greenland for.
or not...
only thing i don't like is USB-in is not a usb connector.
always have to worry about not losing that little cable
@username I was thinking the same thing, I hate when companies do that!
the newer version on amazon is waterproof, has a better solar panel and a slightly bigger battery for $5 ($18.99) more http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Transfer-Rain-resistant-Shockproof-Bumblebee/dp/B00KZG3HZO/ref=dp_ob_title_wld . Its only the black one thats $30 on amazon http://www.amazon.com/ReVIVE-Series-ReStore-Portable-Charger/dp/B00FH5SX3E/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2ZMWBP05360R6&tag=meh0ec-20
leggy-pristine-bushbaby
Two days in a row! What are you doing to me Meh! And nothing from the woot-off yet!
@shortman is it just me or has there not been a single bundle of carp this woot off?
@thismyusername It's not just you. No bundles of crap the last two woot-offs.
@shortman I could'nt find anything I wanted to buy in the woot off either. It's been pretty boring.
@mick I used to look forward to the middle of the month for the expected Woot! Off. Now I can't remember the last time I even visited their site. Must be 2 years since I bought something at a Woot! Off. And Meh! Off just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Got me a tangled-normal-mosquito
Sold out before an hour is up. NEXT DEAL??
@elpepe will be posted at midnight Eastern!
Well that was fast.
@SpenceMan01 That's what she said
here is a better one even cheaper http://www.amazon.com/Rain-resistant-Dirtproof-Shockproof-Portable-Smartphone/dp/B00KU24RRK/ref=sr_1_16?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1429851996&sr=1-16&keywords=solar+chargers
@cmostrowski Nearly a quarter of those reviews are 1 star reviews...
@dubloe7 lots of those are people bitching about the seller, and from those that apparently don't know how the device works.
It won't completely charge its internal battery via sunlight.
At least one reviewer stated that it charges more like 2800mAH - so barely enough for most "modern" high-draw phones. Still, for emergencies $11 isn't a lot of green
Sold out in an hour? Aaaaand now I'm going to be up all night wondering what everybody else knows that I don't about the need for solar powered phones.
@march5th00 it's summer time soon, you never go out for fun in the summer and end up with a dead phone?
@thismyusername so... it's NOT the zombie apocalypse?
@march5th00 don't think so, but remember when it does happen... ladders will be worth gold!
SOLD OUT????? NOOOOOOOO
@HELLOALICE You didn't miss anything. These probably require direct sunlight and ten hours to charge at least with an effective rate of 1000mAh after power lost in conversion.
I don't even have a smart phone sooo, I don't have to feel bad about what I missed out of. This time.
@mick You can just spend your time feeling bad about not having a smartphone. :)
@mick you could totally charge your $8 meh choppers with this.
Damn, the first thing I actually wanted in a while, and I got on too late. Oh well.
Oh man, I missed it. I've wanted to try out one of these.
Dammit. I would so have been in for a couple of these. Got up in the middle of the night to check and already sold out. Arrrrgh.
I couldn't stay up til midnight for this, so I bought a 7200mah solar model I've been watching on amazon for $6 more. I'll have mine on Sunday.
@derek17j Linkage?
@Bingo I'm guessing this one http://amzn.com/B00DLUYSPO
That was good meh...moar pleeze!
How can you be sold out at 7:30 a.m.?
@amoseley2 sold out at 12:57 am ET
@amoseley2 It's a lot easier when they were also sold out at 5:45 am et.
Also that they were sold out at literally every minute between 12:57 am and now.
@amoseley2 7:55 am et. and still sold out. Weird.
@MrMark well FFS it's 8:14 and STILL sold out!!!!1111oneoneone
Wow sold out. Well congrats I guess.
Keeping your phone in the sun. Great idea.
Hopefully you all have much longer USB cables.....
@Pufferfishy this pic implies you cannot charge the panel and feed a phone at the same time, so no worries on leaving your phone in the sun:
@RedOak OK - that seems a better idea.
@Pufferfishy But.... if you wanted to (and could) I would just put the phone UNDER the device thus shading it from the sun :) )
@ilovereality however if that charge battery or phone switch is labelled correctly you still could not charge the phone at the same time.
No Georgia Red. . . for that alone, meh.
DAMN YOU MEH for having something I actually have been wanting for the first time in months, then running out BEFORE 8 AM. That's it I'm canceling my premium status.
What a bummer. I was up after midnight with work and was so damn-ass tired that I didn't even think to check here. In for 2, if anyone wants to throw me a pity sale.
cool stuff is gone . of course.
thanks for nothing meh.
I passed on this last night, and was really surprised to wake and find out they sold out in less than an hour. I get that it's cheap and all, but it it really seems so inconvenient compared to traditional portable, rechargeable batteries. I'm finding it hard to see how useful it would be even out in the wilderness for extended periods of time, with the long recharge rates.
Maybe it's just not my thing, but again, surprised. Congrats, Meh!
@ACraigL I would not have used this as a permanent resource - but I would have thrown one in my glove box/backpack/kyak gear as emergency "fuel"
Here is Vinsic the best power bank 20000 mAH up to 44% OFF
Hey.. I don't know who else got one... but Is it worth it to get the add on to 1/2 the charging speed... I'm leading to yes... but it all depends on if I'm going to use it or not.
http://www.amazon.com/ReStore-Charger-Power-Universal-Charging/dp/B008187COU
is the link the add on at amazon.
@sohmageek I am waiting for meh to sell them 2 for $10 ;)
@thismyusername I wouldn't mind hooking 2 of them up to the charging unit
I think mine might be having problems, but I'm not positive.. I have it suctioned to a sunny window, and after 3 weeks it doesn't seem to have charged at all.
Initially I plugged it into a wall charger and fully charged it. Then I hung it in the window to maintain its charge in case it was needed.. When I got that rechargable shower head, I decided to use this to charge it.. That brought my battery down to within the 3/4 range.. It's hung in that window for 3 weeks and hasn't increased at all. I have tried it with the switch set to charge, as well as whatever they call the other position of the switch.
Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong? I really love the idea of this product, and I hope I can get it working correctly!!
(@JonT @hollboll)
One other thing that might be noteworthy.. When I first pressed the suction cup onto the solar panel (I didn't even press hard!) the panel seems to have pushed back into the shell a bit. It didn't seem like a huge deal, which is why I forgot to mention it in my first post.. But maybe it is? Should I contact the manufacturer for warranty support?