Smart phone/ I Phone. Tame these power hungry beasts..... or just recharge them.

[Bodge]

Hi,

After tinkering with solar chargers and the like and not getting anywhere I have finally found a decent charger to power my Android phone.

I have used an Aldi solar battery pack for a while with mainly poor results. It worked kinda ok with my Blackberry but seems to suck power out of my Android. I find myself having to sit in my car for an hour at meets to charge up my phone as my 12v power point in my car is ignition fed.

Whilst browsing in Maplins I came across a pile of solar chargers from Power monkeys to own brand things. The problem with all these solar efforts is the output voltage, which is at best 500mv. I was approached by a staff member to see if I needed help and explained my problems with charging my phone. He immediately diverted my attention to one of these.

What a cracking bit of kit IMO. The output is 1000mv and it charges my Android as quick as the mains charger 3 times from about 20% to full.
Build quality is very good and it comes with a usb lead with interchangable bits (mini usb and micro usb) It charges via micro usb from your phone charger (min 1000mv) in 8 hours or via your usb on the pc in about 12 hours. All for less than £20 (just)


I don't use my phone much when in the woods so I can see myself getting 5 days use out of my phone using this gizmo.

 

[swright81076]

Thats handy to know. I'm going there tomorrow to get some bits. I'll pick one of these chargers up too. Hanks.

 

[Mesquite]

Cheers for that Bodge... I think I'll invest in one of those for my phone

 

[ZEbbEDY]

ive got a 7000mah version which has a 2amp output

charges my phone a good few times and can charge it from solar USB

 

[Teepee]

I've been using an £13 Aldi 2200 mAH battery pack/charge anything kit for emergency charging, I can get 2 full charges on my HTC Desire.

That one looks even better value.

 

[NS40]

I got one of these... New Trent iCruiser IMP1000 11000mAh External Battery Pack (after it being recommended by another member here).

I'd had bad experiences with solar chargers in the past so was looking for something that really worked. I charge this once a week and it's tend to be the only thing I use to charge my android phone. It means that I can have my bluetooth, GPS etc on while I'm out secure it the knowledge I can re-charge it as the notion takes me.

It's a stunning device and small enough to stick in a pocket to connect & charge your phone as you walk.

 

[rik_uk3]

I've been using one of these
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/aa-battery-usb-emergency-backup-power-and-charger-pack-15048 4 AA's charges my S2 two or three times. My lad and I used it last camp for four days keeping my S2 and his HD7 charged, no problem. Pretty good for £2.50 delivered.

 

[Buckshot]

For me one of the big advantages of Andriod over apple is spare batteries
I have 2 spares batteries I bought for £3 each and rotate them round.
Light weight and small. They work really well

Mark

 

[tim_c]

Teknet also make a 5000mah with 500ma and 1a USB outputs for <£20. I have one and it works really well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TeckNet®-Du...Q92W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334646181&sr=8-1

Also I have a Powermonkey Extreme and the battery pack (9000mah) from this, although fairly hefty, will fully charge my smartphone (htc sensation, 2400mah) 3 or 4 times comfortably.
https://powertraveller.com/iwantsome/primatepower/powermonkeyextreme/

 

[dwardo]

For me one of the big advantages of Andriod over apple is spare batteries
I have 2 spares batteries I bought for £3 each and rotate them round.
Light weight and small. They work really well

Mark

I do the same, much lighter and smaller that a battery charger pack. Think i picked up two new HTC branded desire batteries for about £20

 

[mrcharly]

Aye, if you are only talking about one device, then spare batteries are going to be lighter, cheaper and more efficient.

An external pack might be 5000mAh, but that doesn't mean it will put 5000mAh into your phone battery.

 

[ex member pyrophil]

If you really need your phone on all the time i would say spare batteries are best. I have my phone switched off all the time so dont need to charge it when out. Battery boxes aa or 18650 if you ok with lithiums are good for charging lots of different things. solar is good if you have a base camp, leave it out all day, not so good if your walking all day.
My sony mp3 player last 59 hours playing so ok for over a week, only use it at night.
I take spare touch batterys, thats all i need in a week, if longer a battery box and solar panel.
checkout the solar charging post.

 

[NetFrog]

I have 3 spare batteries for my android gs2 in a ziplock bag, mainly because I use it for pictures and some nice mushroom/wildlife apps. Works a treat and no worries about bulk chargers. Think i spent around 4 bucks per additional battery.

For me one of the big advantages of Andriod over apple is spare batteries
I have 2 spares batteries I bought for £3 each and rotate them round.
Light weight and small. They work really well

Mark

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Sounds simple but I found turning off my HTC Desire allows very fast charging in the car and on 240v. Sometimes 90% in ten minutes !

 

[Woody110]

Sounds simple but I found turning off my HTC Desire allows very fast charging in the car and on 240v. Sometimes 90% in ten minutes !

Scots_Charles_River, I didnt know that I will try this next time, as my car radio has a USB slot and charges the phone, however it takes for ever.
I also have a 12v car plug thing which is wired direct to the car battery (via a fuse), and that also has USB slots.

I am only charging the phone so don't need to worry about the starter battery going flat.