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It's frustrating getting caught short without any power and and finding yourself iPod-less until you can find a charging source. Enter Proporta's Mobile Survival Kit can keep any iPod, iPhone or other small USB device running much longer between charges, wherever you are.
Plug the USB powered mobile device into the battery's standard USB port and recharge anywhere with runtimes up to five times longer when connected to the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger which stores an impressive 3400 mAh of power for when you need it. You can also charge your device and/or Mobile Device Charger while traveling using Proporta?s Essential Travel Bundle.
The unit can be used as an emergency charger, which can be recharged from any convenient USB port. With a fully charged Proporta Mobile Device Charger, you should be able to charge most mobile devices between three and five times from completely empty. This is a significant improvement over traditional 'emergency chargers' and you should remember that your battery is rarely completely empty.
Full-sized iPods have OEM battery capacities of around 850 mAH to 1,200mAh capacity so 3400 mAH is a lot more juice than your 'Pod's internal battery supports, the mobile device charger could more than quadruple your runtime between charges if you start with both batteries fully charged.
With its white livery and a form factor and footprint roughly the same as a traditional full-sized iPod, the Mobile Device Charger harmonizes nicely appearance-wise, and will fit in a soft iPod sleeve for carriage. It comes with high-quality in and output USB cables, also in white, and a selection of USB device adapters for iPods and other machines.
The Mobile Device Charger is simple to use. To charge, just connect it to any standard USB port. The charge indicator LED on top of the Unit will glow red while the battery is charging, then green when it is fully charged.
Then you just plug your iPod or other USB device into the output port for hours of power and/or a recharge of the music player's internal battery.
I also tried the Mobile Device Charger with a rechargeable Bluetooth mouse, with which it worked just fine. It even powered the cooling fans in my Targus ChillMat laptop cooler, which could be handy when the computer's USB ports are needed for other purposes. However, it didn't have enough juice to power my i-Rocks external USB hard drive enclosure, but that's not a criticism; that drive needs power from two USB ports on my 17-inch PowerBook to spin up, although it does work through a single port on other machines. I digress. And of course, this USB device is no help with my old FireWire-only antique iPod.
For its primary intended purpose - extending the battery-power runtime of iPods and other portable music players, mobile telephones, PDAs, SmartPhones, GPS navigation devices, and digital cameras, the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger works just fine.
To charge and/or run your mobile device, connect it to the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger using one of the supplied cables and the appropriate cable connector, press the button surrounding the charge indicator LED, which will glow green if the unit is charged and you're away to the races. When the Mobile Device Charger's internal battery is almost discharged, the LED indicator will begin to flash red, indicating that it needs to be recharged.
With a fully charged Proporta Mobile Device Charger, the company says you should be able to charge most mobile devices between three and five times from completely empty. HOwever, note that he Proporta USB Mobile Device charger is not compatible with the Microsoft Zune.
The included white cable with a standard USB on one end and a mini USB on the other is used to charge the battery of the unit. Simply plug the standard USB plug end into a computer's USB port or a USB AC adaptor and the mini USB into the battery pack and charging will commence. When the charging is complete the light will turn green.
The battery comes with four connectors (a Sony Ericsson, two Nokia, and an iPod connector head) as well as a USB to Mini USB cable to charge any Mini USB compatible devices. The connector heads are to be used with the retractable cable that is also supplied. If you have any other product that you wish to charge using the portable battery then you will need to have a USB cable which is compatible with your device (i.e. a USB connector on one end of the cable and a suitable connector to fit into your device on the other end).
Once the correct cable has been identified it needs to be inserted into the battery and into your device (device needs to be on when charging), you should then press the green button to turn the charger on. Your device should then begin to charge.
Features
• Charge anywhere, recharge anything - standard USB input and output
• Comes with USB to Mini USB cable, and a retractable cable which is compatible with the following inter-changeable connector heads: 2 x Nokia, 1 x Sony Ericsson, 1 x iPod
• Compact, slim and lightweight (measures just 100 x 62 x 15mm or 3.9 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches and weighs 120g or 4.2 oz)
• Impressive 3400 mAH storage (recharge your devices several times)
• Powerful 5v, 700mA output (enough for even the most power-hungry mobile devices)
• Environmentally friendly (rechargeable)
• LED charge and discharge indicator
• Microswitch on/off selection
The Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger sells for $ 44.95
For more information, visit:
http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=2725&t_mode=des
Shipping worldwide for any of these products is $4.95, and there's the charming Proporta signature touch that orders ship with complementary packets of real British tea, such as English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey, or Darjeeling by Taylor's of Harrowgate (Family Tea Merchants; est. 1886) that came with each order Excellent tea!
Charles W. Moore
Tags: Hot Topics ď Reviews ď Utilities Reviews ď iPod ď iPod Hardware ď
