IPhone & solar charger

To really charge an iPhone you would probably need a solar panel about 12 inches square at a minimum and that's with it pointed directly at the sun on a clear day. Anything less and I don't think it would put out enough juice.

The iPhone charger is rated for output of 5V @ 1A in case you want to shop for something. Remember though, if the solar panel is not pointed "directly" at the sun the power output drops off significantly.

I bought a solar charger/battery from iPodJuice, the one that's a clamshell with two solar panels. I thought this would be good as an external battery pack with the added benefit of solar. It does not work on the iPhone. I had one, it didn't work and they sent me a replacement, that one didn't work either. I did a bunch of tests and it will charge via AC adapter and by solar and it works with my Palm Treo 650 but could not power/charge my iPhone or iPod. I contacted them, sent both units back and got a refund.

Well, the solar charger they're selling is supposed to charge up the internal battery (of the charger, not the iPhone) in about 8 hours, then you'd plug the iPhone into that to charge and use as an external battery pack. So it's absolutely not supposed to be used to directly solar charge the iPhone as the current is way too low. But the pack didn't work for my iPhone anyway so the point is moot.

Message was edited by: Baron Sekiya

Message was edited by: Baron Sekiya

12 hours with a 12"x12" solar cell? Huh?

How about this device:
http://www.vavolo.com/productdetails.asp,mode,1,ProductID,4565,,.htm

"...
This compact and versatile charger is a green product which offer a green, and economical solution to charge iPhone, and wide range of handheld device, build-in a 1350mAh high capacity rechargeable polymer battery, equips a large high solar energy convert efficiency solar panel, it collects power directly from the sun when sunlight is available, and store the power inside its built-in battery for future use.
...
comes with various connector, which offers the wide range of compatibility with handheld digital devices, such as mobile phone, digital camera, PDA, MP3, MP4, just connect the USB cable with the solar emergency charger and a compatible connector, it takes 180 minutes to charge up your handheld digital device.
..."

Or this device:
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1964/83/
"...
For those of you with the 3G, you may have noticed an issue with a rather short battery life. Well, Mobilefun has a solar powered case that will help you with that problem. The solar case can provide enough charge for functional use in less than 3 hours, but it will take a full 10 hours to fill the battery. Maybe the thing to do is leave the case on the dashboard or window sill all day, then charge your phone up at night.

The case uses a solar panel to soak up sun, holds generated energy in a 1500 mAh battery, and then charges up your phone when you insert it. If there isn’t enough sunlight for a good charge, you can also use a mini USB; but if that’s the case you might as well charge your phone the “regular” way. The solar case is compatible with all iPhones, so if you have an older phone, you can still get your time in the sun.
..."