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Powermonkey eXplorer
The Powermonkey Explorer Solar Charger is another solar charger that is compatible with a wide range of gadgets. This will charge most cell phones, media players, iPods, cameras and handheld consoles. Wether you are on holiday or on the road, it should be considered an essential gadget to have with you, and the best news is it won't cost you an arm and a leg to buy one either!
The PowerMonkey has an internal battery were energy is stored until you plug a device into it through one of the many tips available. You can charge it direct if you have it enabled with a device connected too. The PowerMonkey eXplorer is a hybrid charger - this means you will be able to charge its internal battery either from the sun (which is the standard mode of operation), from a mains power socket or even from a USB port on a computer.
One small problem with the PowerMonkey we reviewed however is that after a while the tip became loose in its housing, and its quite possible this could have fallen out, or dislodged had the charger been used on the road. This may have been a fault with the tip, but they are also inexpensive to replace.
It is however very efficient and the internal battery can hold a fair bit - the manufacturers claim "it can power an iPod for 40 hours, a mobile phone for 96 hours, a digital camera for 1,600 pictures, a PDA for 48 hours" which is mighty impressive. You can view the current state of the internal batteries charge from the small LCD screen and also has short-circuit protection, over-charging protection and over-discharging protection. The included mains charger has interchangeable heads for UK, Europe, US and Australia.
Although the price tag puts it amongst the more expensive chargers available, it is still affordable and you will soon get the same back from not having to buy batteries all the time; it also also very robust so wont break easily and it is also water resistant (which being outdoors, is a very good thing!).
If you think the PowerMonkey is too expensive you should consider the Solio Solar Charger as a viable alternative - they have similar solar panels on them but the solio has a slightly smaller battery capacity.
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