You really need a couple of things. A small foldable solar panel and a companion battery pack. Most if not all solar panels do not charge Smartphones, Tablets and the like very well. The reason is that as the sun conditions change those intelligent devices will stop charging. An example would be if a cloud passes in front of the sun. The voltage from the solar panel will drop significantly. When that happens smart devices stop charging automatically. Even if the sun comes back out in full glory the device will not start charging again till it is unplugged and plugged back into the charger, in this case the solar panel.
To get around that you purchase a battery back to complement the solar panel. You set the solar panel in the sun, plug the battery pack into the solar panel and then plug the iPhone or iPad into the battery back. The solar panel charges the battery pack while the battery pack charges your device. You can charge the battery pack by itself and then use it to charge you device from the battery pack at night or charge the battery pack and device at the same time during the day. The battery pack serves as a buffer and if the sun goes behind a cloud the battery pack keeps on charging your device.
I recommend a solar charging kit from Goal Zero. It would include a foldable solar panel and a battery pack designed specifically to charge smart and other devices. As a starter I would say get the reconditioned Nomad 13 solar panel that is on sale at half price for $79.99 http://www.goalzero.com/p/300/nomad-13-solar-panel-reconditioned
For a battery pack get the Guide 10 Plus Recharger for 49.99. http://www.goalzero.com/p/133/guide-10-plus-recharger/22:1/ That combination will charge up your smartphone and will partially charge your iPad. To fully recharge your iPad you would need the Sherpa 50 battery pack http://www.goalzero.com/p/151/sherpa-50-power-pack or the Yeti 150 battery pack http://www.goalzero.com/p/164/goal-zero-yeti-150-solar-generator All of the battery packs can be charged from a regular AC wall outlet so it will be ready to go when you lose power.
The Sherpa 50 and Yeti 150 are more expensive options but give you more options for charging or powering other devices you may have. The Yeti 150 has an AC power outlet to plug in additional chargers for other devices or regular AC (wall outlet) devices. The Yeti 150 is larger and heavier than the Sherpa but has a greater capacity and can be left plugged into a wall outlet and forgotten till the power goes off. The Sherpa can be left plugged into the wall but needs to be periodically used to charge your iPad or the battery life will be significantly shortened.
I don't work for Goal Zero I'm just an enthusiastic user of their products.
Tom
From: iPad@yahoogroups.com [mailto:iPad@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 2:42 PM
To: iPad@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [iPad] Looking for reasonably priced solar charger for iPad
Hi, I managed to get through the first New England blizzard of the year without losing power, but I'd like to be prepared for future power outages. Can somebody recommend a reasonably priced solar charger?I have a nice big south-facing bay window that should be perfect. Thanks. Joyce
Posted by: "Tom" <tseals4@centurylink.net>
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