Phone charger - Anyone tried the solar types?

[Black Panther]

I'm referring to this type (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-6AH-Portable-Solar-Battery-Charger-For-LG-KM900-ARENA_W0QQitemZ270412896256QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_M obilePhones_MobilePhoneAccessories_MobilePhoneBatt eries?hash=item3ef5dd5800).

I was going to buy a car charger (the one you pop in the cigarette lighter) but a solar charger is ideal. Reason is we go out at sea a lot, and I use my LG Arena as a GPS. Now GPS really drains the battery quickly...

I have a cigarette lighter socket on the boat, but suppose battery goes flat...

So, have you ever used one of these chargers?
Do they do their job well?

[dr emulator (madmax)]

hm seems a little to good to be true
i've seen a freeloader here (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=115150&TabID=1&QV=Y) and that has only got a 1000mah l'ion battery in and it is about 25 quid
although i have to wonder about what "they" actually know about there products as they say that their solar cells work under even fluorescent light, which is true to degree but you wouldn't get much power from them at all, how do i know ?
well we have got a rock light on top of the stairs (so we can go to the loo without switching the stairs light on)and it never switches off when it's near a fluorescent only a normal bulb

[Black Panther]

If it works with the good 'ole sun it's fine by me.

Only if it works...

And on ebay there isn't one single UK shipper... they're all from HK...

Edit: Btw I've got a couple of very cheap calculators which are 'solar powered' and well they work as long as I point them to any light source, be it sun, bulb, neon tube.... could be the same kind of technology?

[dr emulator (madmax)]

yes but we live in the uk :p
it's upto you b p ;)
i'm not saying everything from hk is rubbish but i often wonder about the ott ratings things get like 2700mah
btw i'm a solar cell fan and it does seem to have a good crystaline cell in it
if it had 1 of those black cells i would have said don't bother
i bought one from a reputable company and the cells started peeling of the glass :eek: suffice to say that was returned and refunded:)

[Steevo]

Modern panels work by utalizing more UV light than before, so we ahve panels available that work under 4" of snow.

[DanTheBanjoman]

I have one at home, though never really got to use it. Besides we don't get much sun here :)
Though when i got it I tried it and it did seem to work. I got it off dealextreme. They also have some really cheap batteries, they had some 25000mah one for like $10, it probably doesn't actually hold that much but even half of that is nice for the price.

[@RaXxaa@]

i dont know how to describe it but there is this device that charges a phone at low power because it has a 1.5v cell, you can use it anywhere and keep on changing the cell and its small as a finger, i dont know if you can get that here or not or maybe you have to look for it but its a good thing, and there are other versions of it too that hold 2cells or 3


kinda like this http://www.energizer.com/products/energi-to-go/Pages/ipod-cell-phone-charger.aspx