If you live in an area plagued by frequent power outages, keeping your cell phone and other mobile devices charged can be a real challenge.
I wrote a post a while back explaining how a spare battery backup unit is a great tool for keeping your devices charged up.
But if you’d rather not have to deal with keeping another battery backup charged and at the ready, there is a great alternative available: a solar powered USB charger
One major advantage of solar chargers is the obvious: As long as the sun shines you can keep a charge on your devices’ batteries. Of course that’s also the main disadvantage – no sun, no charging. But most models have a built-in backup battery for charging your devices during times of darkness or heavy cloud cover.
There are many brands and models of solar powered USB chargers available, but they all work basically the same way. They capture sunlight and convert its energy into electricity, which is then used to charge the batteries in your portable devices.
Solar chargers are available at a wide range of prices, but you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to get a good one because some of the least expensive ones do a fine job. The key to finding a great charger at a good price is to read the user reviews of the models currently for sale on Amazon. Click here
One bonus tip: Most chargers come with an assortment of adapter plugs to mate up with most any portable device. Just be sure you choose a model that will work with yours!