External batteries are a useful accessory for any iPhone. Most such batteries are charged by plugging into an outlet for a few hours. But what if you don't have access to an outlet, such as if you are on an off-the-grid camping trip? Or what if there is a power outage? After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there was no power at my house in New Orleans for over a month. I remember trying to use a device after Hurricane Katrina with a hand-crank on it, the idea being that you could crank for a long time and then store enough energy to power a cell phone for a short while; that device worked poorly with 2005-era mobile devices, and I suspect it would be useless today. More recently, late last week, areas around Baton Rouge, LA received record rainfall and flooding — "1,000-year rain" according to the National Weather Service — and as a result tens of thousands of people in Louisiana are still without power. One way to get electricity when the traditional power grid is not an option is to use solar power. You can now use the sun to charge your iPhone or iPad thanks to Solartab, an external battery with a large solar panel on it. The company sent me a free review sample, and I've been trying it for a few weeks. While it takes a while to charge the device, Solartab does let you charge your device using solar energy.
Solar Panel
The marquee feature of Solartab is that it includes solar panels.
The device itself is about 6.5" x 9.25", similar to the size of a standard 9.7" iPad. The Solartab has a built-in case with an elastic strap, so you can cover the solar panels to protect them when you are not charging.
The same cover can be used to prop up the solar panels at an angle. It doesn't fold up the same as a Apple Smart Cover, but the idea is similar. You can place the solar panels at different angles so that you can get the maximum exposure to the sun whether the sun is high in the sky or closer to the horizon.
Four green lights on the side of the device indicate the amount of power. One light means 0 to 25% power, two lights mean 26% to 50%, etc. Press a button next to the lights to see how much the Solartab is charged.
I was disappointed at how long it takes to fully charge the Solartab. I drained the battery to zero and then placed it in my backyard to charge for about 8 hours, and that only brought the battery back to around 50%. I had to charge it for a second day to get to a full charge. Part of the problem at my house is that I have trees in my backyard, so every few hours I would need to move the Solartab to a spot without shade to get maximum charging. If you are in a wide-open space with no shade, I suppose this device would charge faster. The company says that with the right sunlight, this device can charge in 12 hours.
Note that you can also charge this device via the Micro USB port. Of course, that means that you need access to an outlet, but you can fully charge the device in about five hours. It may seem that using an outlet defeats the purpose of a device with solar panels, but I can see charging a Solartab using an outlet before taking a trip so that it starts fully charged, and then using the sun to recharge it during your trip.
External Battery
Once you have power stored in the Solartab, using it to charge your device is easy. There are two USB ports on the side so you can charge two devices at once. Each port is 2.1 A, so you can charge either an iPhone or iPad.
The capacity of the battery is 13,000 mAh. That should be enough to charge an iPhone a few times, and enough to charge an iPad maybe once, depending upon which model you have.
One of issues that I see with the Solartab is that there is a high price to pay for that charge, both in terms of cost and weight. For example, last year I reviewed a Lumsing external battery with a 13,400 mAh capacity (about the same as the Solartab) and which costs about $25. The Solartab is currently selling from the manufacturer for $89. So you could buy three Lumsing batteries for less than the cost of one Solartab, and you can take them on your trip and never have to worry about finding sufficient sun to recharge. Also consider weight; those Lumsing batteries weigh 9.3 ounces each; the Solartab weighs 2.6 pounds, so about the same as more than four of those Lumsing batteries.
Of course if you have a long enough trip without access to an outlet, then the Solartab might be better because you can keep recharging it long after your other batteries have run through their power — although remember that it may take more than a day to recharge the Solartab. Another advantage of the Solartab is that, in a power outage scenario such as after a major storm, you may appreciate the security of knowing that you can recharge just by finding the sun without having to worry about how long it will be before the power is restored or you can find a friend with a generator. On the other hand, if you know in advance how long you will be without power, planning ahead with the right number of external batteries might be all that you need.
Conclusion
I love the idea of the Solartab. Being able to get power just using the sun can be very useful in the right circumstances, plus it is sort of fun to recharge that way. I also really like the design, with the built-in case. And the ability to also charge from an outlet via Micro USB means that you can get the best of both worlds.
However, there are some drawbacks so this product is not for everyone. Depending upon where you are using the device, you may have to adjust it multiple times throughout the day so that the Solartab continues to review direct sunlight, and charging from the sun takes a long time. And it may be cheaper and lighter for you to charge using multiple traditional external batteries.
Having said that, the Solartab works as advertised. It could definitely give you some comfort to know that if you find yourself in a longterm power outage, you can use the Solartab to keep an iPhone charged even if you forgot to charge your other external batteries. So long as the cellphone towers are running again — the restoration of which is typically a priority for officials after a disaster strikes — having a Solartab means that you'll have the power to use an iPhone to communicate with others and get access to information, two of the most important things after a disaster. If you can see yourself in a situation in which using the sun to charge an iPhone makes sense versus the cost and convenience of traditional external batteries, then the Solartab does the job.
