Freeloader product reviews

I got this unit about 2 months ago, after seeing it at a recent trade fair. I thought it would be a smart unit to have in the car, just in case - my smartphone isn't exactly the most frugal user of battery power and it would be just my luck for it to die when I needed it the most.

I have already lost count of the number of times this little beauty has saved me from disconnection in times of need. Nothing quite says "GEEK!" as someone standing at a bus stop powering their phone with a solar panel while checking the bus schedule online to see if he'll make it home in time to collect his youngest from daycare.

A recent trip to Auckland, that would entail much data usage, thus battery power, had me concerned as to the lifespan of my phone... so I quickly whipped this unit out of the glovebox and popped it on the dash to charge as I drove and while I was in the event. Sure enough, by the end of the day the unit was fully charged and my phone was at 40% battery. while heading home and needing to make some calls and the hands-free function active, the battery bars were disappearing at an alarming rate... once more, a quick stop to shunt the power from this unit into my phone and by the time I had completed the 2 hour drive, my calls were all made, and the phone was now at 62% power!

Frankly speaking, I think this unit is just plain amazing... so good in fact, I plan to buy another one to keep in my backpack for when I am riding public transport around town - one small way to try and reduce my carbon footprint. When I am near my PC I can charge it via USB, when I am out and about I recharge it via the built-in solar panels - it really couldn't be any easier! I would like to see a couple of added features - particularly an indicator that shows "full charge" when recharging via solar - you get one with USB, but not via the cells. I would also like to see a "running indicator" of charge - a small LCD panel, or even just a series of LEDs showing 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and FULL charge would suffice.

Overall, the cost of this unit is nothing compared to the relief you will feel the first time it saves your butt. I can only wish I had one of these 18 months ago when I was stuck on the shore of Lake Taupo with a busted trailer and no way to contact help due to my old cellphone having gone dead 20 minutes earlier.