We’re hauling around gizmos galore these days, so it’s no surprise to see a proliferation in portable charging options, especially ones that might be touted as green. The latest example: A USB solar charger from Suntactics that the company says can’t be beat for its efficiency.

According to Suntactics, its new PC5 unit is different from other portable solar chargers in that it doesn’t send power to an internal battery that then charges your device. Competing products, Suntastics says, “are literally charging a battery from a battery. The solar panels on them are too weak to charge the USB handheld device directly.” Not so with the PC5: “The PC5 solar charger has 5 watts of solar power potential as compared the ~2 watts in most of the other chargers. The PC5 will not only charge the USB handheld device, it will run it on dead batteries.”

Suntactics bills the device as best for iPods, iPhones and Blackberries. It can power an iPad, but it takes about an hour to provide a 10-12 percent charge, the company said.

Suntactics is based in San Jose and bills the PC5 as “Made in USA.” It’s selling the device for $129.95 through its website.

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