Hello Kitty, Goodbye Disposable Solar Powered Cell Phone Charger
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York 
on 09. 6.08
Solar powered Hello Kitty chargers sound adorable, right? And the little one just has to have every piece of Hello Kitty merchandise there is—it’s part of the collector’s set! She needs them all! Even the overwhelmingly pointless, waste-producing products like this Hello Kitty Disposable Solar Powered Cell Phone Charger.
Well, it’s not supposed to be disposable, but evidently the Kitty's solar charger sputters out after 500 uses or so. That means you'll have to pick up a new one every year or so. And the strange thing is, Sanrio already makes a fully functioning, longer-enduring Hello Kitty cell phone solar charger.
So why offer a downgraded, so-called solar powered renewable charger that’ll add to a landfill in less than a year? It’s all about the money of course—that superior charger hits the upper echelon of the portable solar power price range at around 160 bucks. With so many other solar chargers to choose from, we say skip the Kitty altogether and head towards more affordable, more functional pastures—a solar charger that won’t dry up after a year’s use, and won’t break your bank.
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@Brian,
Do you have any specs for this device or are you just guessing it will last a year?
I'm asking because I can counter your argument ( without specs) that it could last almost 10 years and while likely over-priced because it is Hello Kitty branded it still an environmental gadget.
ie 500 uses of this device as a secondary power system -- say once a week it charges your phone.
52 weeks in a year * 10 years = 520 charges so not quite 10 years.
Here's the kicker -- it might get some of the Hello Kitty fans to start thinking more about the environment, and that positive environmental outlook may be worth the horrible cutesy effect of Hello Kitty
As an environmental device this 500 use device is much better than the one-use-battery charger system for cell phones. It might even compare favorably with some rechargeable battery charger systems that use wall plugs for power.
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Of course if you are going to use a solar charger as the primary power system for your cell phone you should be thinking about a top of the line version not a cutesy version, but most people are going to be using these as secondary or emergency power systems for their cell phones.
Yeah, the math doesn't work. It would wear out in a year only if you charged your phone more than once a day.
And is there any solid reason to believe the other one would last longer?
Another question would be whether it uses (highly toxic) NiCd batteries or relatively benign NiMH or Li-ion.