The Pico Freeloader is a portable solar charger I reviewed about six months ago. Since I reviewed it here, the charger has received a number of positive reviews on Amazon, so I wanted to follow up with a post which recapped some of the reviews. Not only does the Pico Freeloader charge the iPhone, but it is also capable of charging a number of small portable devices. Since I originally reviewed the Pico, the price has dropped greatly. It is currently available for $29.99.
Pico Portable Solar Charger Recap
Before I get into recapping a few of the user reviews, I wanted to quickly go over the Pico. The Pico is one of the more compact cabled iPhone solar chargers. It has a 800 mAh internal battery which is enough to feed an iPhone 4 or other smartphone with some additional power while you are on the go but it won’t fully charge the iPhone. Along with charging from the sun (which takes about 10 hours), the Pico also can charge via USB in about 3 hours. The Pico has a four LED light battery display. The Pico can charge the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
Pico Freeloader Reviews
Now let’s get into the user reviews I found. The Pico Solar Charger has a review average of 4 of 5 stars with no review below 4 stars. Again this is a good time to give the Pico or an iPhone solar charger a try because the price drop. In all I’ve included snippets from two reviews and links to the full reviews for additional reading.
Review 1: How Much Charge Can It Deliver?
“They work as advertised. It kept my iPhone going on a 4 day pack trip. They will only charge your iPhone 50%, so I carry 2…” keep reading
Review 2: 4 Star Review Pros & Cons
“pro’s- small enough to fit in your pocket, has charging lights, heat doesn’t seem to bother it (i know i know, but i leave it on the dash in arizona summer weather..), and it’s green
con’s- lights aren’t labeled, (i have no idea if it’s collecting solar energy or gettting ready to self destruct), there’s a random button on top (no clue what it does either), didn’t come with instructions…” keep reading
As you can see the reviews are in the middle of the road. The Pico is nice to bring along as a power source, however it won’t function as a complete power source. It will offer about 1/2 to 3/4 charge for an iPhone. If you are looking for an iPhone solar charger that has a larger battery, look over the free PDF Solar iPhone Charger Guide. Many of the solar chargers listed have a larger battery than the Pico.
