NEED TO KNOW | GEAR REVIEW

Solar-powered Solio cellphone charger

By Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
12:55 PM PDT, May 04, 2007

Here's a cool portable device that uses the sun's energy to recharge almost any hand-held electronic gadget. The cellphone-sized Solio looks like a three-petal flower when unfolded. Those petals are really solar panels that fuel an internal lithium battery. (You can also charge it from a wall socket.)

The Solio comes with attachments so you can hook it to your iPod, cellphone, PDA and hand-held computer games — and operates with only one button. The drawback: It takes eight to 10 hours of direct sunlight to charge fully. But an hour of sunlight supplies enough power for a 10-minute cellphone call.

$99.95, Better Energy Systems, (510) 868-8714, www.solio.com.

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