Introduction

Most of us carry around a bunch of tech devices throughout the day, and pretty much all of them require batteries. And we all know that batteries usually don't last all day long, especially those in power-hungry cell phones.That's where Sandberg's Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh comes in.The Sandberg Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh permits you to charge your mobile devices when a wall outlet or USB power source aren't to be had.The Sandberg Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh features a new Solar EcoPanel.The SandbergSolar PowerBank 6000 mAh also accommodates a extended 6000mAh lithium power bank,enough to charge your entire devices.Can it keep us powered all day long? You'll find out soon!



Specifications:




Packaging & Contents

The Sandberg Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh is packed inside a small clear plastic box that allows you to take a close look at the unit prior to purchasing it.



At the rear of the box we see a description of the product printed in many languages right above the contents and specifications lists.



The contents of the box includes only a manual and a micro usb cable.




A Closer Look

The Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh comes in a brick style form with a soft touch body.The Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh is made up of a soft-touch plastic.



In the front side of the charger is a casing holding a solar panel.Simply place it in the sun,and it will instantly start charging!



The handles on top lets users hook it to their bags or even their belts.



The Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh has 4 LED power indicator lights above the power button.The LED lights up blue and shows the remaining charge left in 25% increments.



The Solar PowerBank comes with 2 built-in USB cables.The full sized USB cable is the charging cable for the Power Bank.The microUSB cable is for your devices.It's very easy to use and has only one control button on the front below the four LED lights.The button can turn on charging as well as check battery level.



The battery doesn't automatically charge when you plug in your mobile device, you must press the power button to turn on charging. Your device will wake up when the batter is fully charged and the battery has no other alert for a full charge. It does turn itself to sleep once the mobile device is fully charged.



The Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh has a large Lithium-polymer battery that's 6000mAh in capacity.The large battery offers 1A output power via the built-in Micro USB cable and up to 2.1A power from the full USB port for charging your mobile devices.It can charge two devices at the same time, but the output can only charge two smartphones not a smartphone plus a tablet.



Despite having extended contact points on the bottom, it will scratch if you are not careful where you place it.




Performance

You do not have to leave this charger outside in the sun for it to charge.I was able to leave it on the kitchen window sill and the red light came on, indicating the solar panels were charging. While the solar panel may eventually charge the device, it will take at least 30 hours in strong, direct sunlight. The purpose of the solar panel is to trickle charge the battery. When the charger is filling the battery from sunlight, one LED turns red. When the charger is in use, 1 to 4 LEDs will turn blue, indicating how much charge is left in the device.It charges well even in cloudy weather.



For a test, I let my non-smartphone (LG Cosmos Touch) reach critical levels, and plugged it into my fully charged solar charger. After 2 hours or so, the cell phone was fully charged, while the device showed 2 blue LEDs of its 4. So, it likely has enough juice to fully charge a smartphone twice.I used this device to alternately charge an iPhone, iPad, and a Seagate Wireless Plus hard drive. With a full charge, I could get 1.5-2 full charges on my iPhone and/or the Seagate Wireless Plus, and about a 75% charge on the iPad. This was about what I expected based on the product specs.The best case is leaving the charger in the sunlight while it is charging the phone. This will help keep the battery topped up.I tested a wide variety of devices and found my eInk reader, GPS and MP3 player would all charge from this.




Conclusion

There is a lot to like about the Sandberg Solar PowerBank 6000 mAh including its large capacity and the clean design.The battery is super easy to use and it's compact enough to carry with you on the road.It works with smartphones, digital cameras, portable gaming devices and even tablets, though not all tablets work with the battery.The built-in 4 LED lights come in very handy for check out power level.In conclusion, this is an excellent backup battery with the nice add-on of slow charging of the battery from sunlight. I definitely recommend this for emergency power, and think it would shine if taken on a hiking or camping trip, where it could keep devices topped up while topping itself up from the sun. It would probably also be excellent for keeping GPSs charged while using them on, say, a bike or motorcycle.By leaving it in my car and next to the window in my office I've been able to charge my phone fully every few days (it sits on the dash of my car nicely on hour long car rides and doesn't slide at all).Note: I live in an apartment surrounded by trees on all sides, so you might be able to get performance than I do.Even with indirect sunlight, the charger can still charge. In that respect, it's quite impressive.Cons:Charges one device at a time.



It is one of those things that can serve you well-especially if you are sometimes forgetful.You forgot a charging cord? No prob-hook up your solar device and charge your smartphone or tablet using no electricity! It just makes sense to use the Sun God gave us, eh?Solar is going to be around and takes very little effort. You are cutting your grass-bring the unit outside, you are raking leaves, bring the unit outside. God doesn't tax us on His resources!!!!