As its name suggests, the Solartab is a solar panel with an integrated battery pack that has two USB power output charging ports. The built-in Mono- crystalline solar panel on the Solartab has an output of 5.5 watts, which is enough to completely charge the Solartab’s internal 13,000mAh Lithium- Polymer battery from dead to full in one full day of direct bright sunlight. If it’s a dark rainy day, you can always resort to charging the Solartab via its micro USB input charging port and the included 10 watt USB wall charger.
The Solartab has two USB ports with a combined maximum output of 2.1 amps. On the manufacturers website, it is stated that the Solartab is capable of charging an iPhone 6 in 1.5 hours and an iPad Air 2 in 4 hours. Based on my tests, I can confirm that these statements are accurate. During my testing, I found that when fully charged, the Solartab was able to fully charge roughly 6 iPhones before its own internal 13,000mAh Lithium-Polymer battery became depleted.
There are green LED indicator lights for the 2 USB ports: 1 for the micro USB port, 4 for the battery capacity, and 1 bright white LED to indicate how much light the solar panel is receiving.
The protective folding case is permanently attached and also doubles as a stand for the Solartab. This allows you to properly orient the solar panel to the sun. This case also has an integrated elastic band/strap that keeps the protective cover snug against the solar panel. This design makes the Solartab look remarkably like the shape, size, and weight of the first generation iPad.
Having the Solartab’s shape and size so closely matching that of an iPad it makes it very convenient to carry in a wide variety different backpacks, purses, and even various jackets that have special pockets specifically designed to carry an iPad sized tablet. The Solartab weighs in at 2.65 pounds and has the following dimensions: 9.7” x 7.6” (D) x 0.35” (H) inches.
If I could improve anything on the Solartab, I would like to see some rubber plugs to protect the USB ports from the elements. This is, after all, a solar panel, which means it is going to spend a lot of time outside. I also think the protective case should be removable/replaceable.
To sum things up, the Solartab is an awesome solar battery pack. It will easily fit in just about any backpack. It can simultaneously charge your iPhone and iPad. More importantly, it’s reliable, built solid, and just plain works. I highly recommend it.