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Solar power has been around for a long time, and more and more products are now available all the time that allow us to more efficiently use solar power. Monaco is one of many companies that offer solar chargers for wide variety of mobile devices.

The regular price for these devices is apparently around $79.95, but you can get them for $39.95 at Wireless Underground.

The Monaco solar charger can be used to charge almost any device that charges using USB connectors. Many mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets, and portable media players support charging through a USB connector, and Monaco has the options to fit your need. The charger comes with a standard USB out port to connect any device’s USB cable for charging other devices. They also provide a universal cable that has a USB connector on one end an a round connector with interchangeable tips on the other.

The Monaco Mobile Solar Charger comes in a very plain white box and absolutely no instructions. Now I understand that this unit is very simple and has only 2 connectors ports, but I would have expected something inside the box that at least explains the universal connectors on the USB cable.

The bottom of the device has two USB ports; One port is used to charge the device from either the supplied electrical charger or by connecting the device to a USB port of a computer. The second port is the USB power out connector.

You can charge the unit using the supplied Electrical charger when you don’t have access to ample sunlight. You can also connect the Monaco Mobile Solar Charger to the USB port of any computer to charge up the battery inside. Obviously, the best solution is to simply place the unit in direct sunlight as often as possible and help the environment. According to the documentation on the web site, charging takes around 6 hours from the supplied Electrical charger or by using your computer. Charging using the solar panels takes a little while longer at 8 hours.

The unit also has a colored LED on the front just below the Solar Panel. The LED lights up Red when the unit is charging and turns Green once the unit is fully charged.

You can connect the unit to your device using a standard USB that came with your device or you can use one of the 2 connectors included with the universal USB cable as shown below.

It would have been nice to have a simple display or a couple of LEDs that could be illuminated by pressing a button so you could make a simple check to see if the unit still had power in it.

With a rated 1800 mAh, you could charge a few devices in one go. The device is a USB device and charges as though your connected to your computer port so be prepared to wait a while for a charge. From what I can tell, the device will charge itself at the same time as charging another device so in theory, you could keep your device running for ever as long as you had the sunlight to keep the battery pack charging.

The Monaco Mobile Solar Charger is a great addition to anyone’s arsenal of mobile accessories.
The body of unit feels solid and pretty well made. While the Solar Charger is fairly expensive even when you do consider the advertised discount, it’s almost expected given the quality of the device and the fact that any type of solar power still carries a higher initial cost compared to traditional methods. There are other products on the market for less money with a bigger battery size, and you’ll have to try those on your own.

Supplier: Wireless Underground
Manufacturer: Monaco
Price $39.95

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