Waka Waka
/by Moonrose Cheng
About 4 years ago, I bought this product called the Waka Waka Power. And now I'm going to review it!
The Waka Waka Power is a solar charger that includes 2 ports: a USB and a micro USB. not only is it a charger, it's also a flashlight.
The flashlight can be turned on to various levels of brightness, from dim to very bright. I find the flashlight function to be quite useful.
Because it has a stand, the flashlight can be used as a small lamp. So if you like to pretend you are camping and want to read a book, this is great for that purpose. It's also good for actual camping or walking at night.
Now onto the charging function, you simply plug in the cord to your device and the charger and press a button to start the charging. You know it's charging by a blue light near the port. It's quite easy to use.
When it runs out, the blue light will not be lit. And to know how much charge the Waka Waka has, you press the button and on the top is an indicator with 4 lights. 4 lights means 100% full, 3 lights is about 75% or more, and so on. Again, super simple.
As for the efficiency, it's not the greatest, as it is a small handheld device, about the size of an old iPod. Depending on the season and level of the Sun's intensity, it takes 3 or more days for a full charge. A full charge on the Waka Waka is usually a little less than full charge for an iPhone. A full charge for the flashlight use however is about several hours, depending on the level of brightness it's on.
I usually just put it right up against my window and leave it there. When I find my phone is dying and I have to be on the go, I will bring it with me. However, I don't depend on it to charge my phone daily.
Overall, I like this product for the novelty of a solar powered charger. It really is useful in certain situations, and I like how it doubles up as a flashlight. It's not very cheap, but it's cheaper than the other solar products out there, or at the time it was.
Even after 4 years, it works perfectly the same as when I bought it!
One cool thing is that for every product they sell, they give one of their regular Waka Waka flashlights (no charging capability) to someone who lives in a destitute area without electricity or who need a lamp, like students.
