Camping is a great getaway from the everyday grind. While you may not want to bring all of your gadgets from home, a few will undoubtedly make the trip. Your iPhone or smartphone is one of these items. Like the Swiss Army Knife, your smartphone can do many different things (play music, make calls, take pictures, etc.). Unlike a multi-tool knife, your smartphone requires power which can be a bit tricky when your outdoors for an extended period of time. Solar powered chargers are a great device to keep your smartphone going.
Portable chargers that are solar powered can transform sunlight into usable power for your mobile devices. Being equipped with one while camping can provide the additional battery life you will undoubtedly need by the second or third day of your getaway. iPhone or similar solar powered chargers are quite small. Many are about the size of your smartphone. While this makes for easy storage and transportation, they do take about a full day of sunlight to charge.
Many solar powered chargers are capable of charging via USB or wall mount prior to making the trip into the great outdoors. This only takes about half of the time which depends on the charger. This pre-charge is great because essentially you have have two batteries at your disposal and you can continue topping off the solar charger each day to keep your smartphone continuously charged.
You'll find mobile device solar chargers generally are available in two styles, which are on device and corded. On device chargers will attach directly to your smartphone of choice without any additional cordage. The device will either rest on your smartphone like a case or below the device making it longer. Corded chargers attach with a charging cable, but are capable of charging multiple devices. So if you can't make it with just your smartphone alone, a solar powered charger can give a little extra juice to your digital camera or iPod as well.
Solar powered chargers can tackle a Smartphones biggest setback (their ability to blow through battery life). Typically solar chargers are relatively inexpensive. Blackberry and iPhone solar chargers can be found for as little as twenty dollars. Higher end solar chargers are also available for anywhere between forty and eighty dollars. These will typically include additional features (such as a docking station or additional solar panels) and are also more solidly built. One thing is for sure. Any solar charger is better than a dead battery for the rest of your trip!
