Free Loader Solar Charger- on the go charging for your portables

Ok, so we did report a bit back that solar panels may not be as environmentally friendly as they first appear. But you can’t say that they wouldn’t be handy. Maybe there’d be a problem entirely sustaining a phone using just the few rays of sun Britain gets in a year, but for a little top off when your mobile runs out of juice and you have an important call to make then they do appear to be a good way forward.

Which is why my coolest gadget of the week is the Free Loader Solar Charger. It absorbs the suns energy in a way that I will never understand and can store it as electrical charge for up to three months (after that it collapses in on itself and creates a mini black hole. No it doesn’t- just a little physics joke. But it would be kind of cool if it did…).

The Free Loader is 120mm long when fully extended, and 17mm thick, made of smooth aluminium. The solar panels slide out when you want to charge it, and can alternatively be charged via USB if the sun hasn’t got his hat on. Then you add on one of the various included adaptors, connect it up to your chosen device and voila- extra juice! It can run a phone for 44 hours, an iPod for 18 hours and a PSP for 2.5 hours. Apparently.

If you need a lot more charge there is also a pro version available, recommended for cameras and camcorders, as well as an add on to charge batteries with. So it really is an adaptable little gadget which has the potential to make itself invaluable.

Plus, and here I let out my girly side, it comes in pink. And silver for anyone who doesn’t like pink.