Instant Power 3-in-1 Sony CLIE Charging Kit Review

Product Requirements:
Device:
Sony CLIÉ T, NR series devices

Having the ability to charge your PDA when you are no where near an AC
outlet, can be a very important thing when your PDA is either dead or on its
last few gulps of juice. The Instant Power 3-in-1 Charger Kit from
Electric Fuel gives you that power
(ha! I made a pun!) and 3 different ways that you can perform it. With chargers
and kits available for a variety of PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras and
camcorders, I was sent the 3-in-1 kit for the Sony CLIÉ T and NR series PDAs.

Included with the kit is an Instant Power Charger cartridge, SmartCord, Car
Adapter and a USB Adapter. The only difference between this kit for the CLIÉ and
another kit for say the iPAQ is the SmartCord. This cord has the PDA (or other
device) connector at one end and then a universal type connector at the other
end. The universal connector can plug into the Instant Power Charger cartridge,
Car Adapter or USB Adapter.

The SmartCord is about 3 ft long with a plastic wart in the middle. This wart
has an LED that glows green while charging and turns red when charging is
finished. If you happen to be charging using the Instant Power cartridge, the
LED will keep glowing until you unplug BOTH the cartridge and the PDA from the
SmartCord.

Let me talk a little about the Instant Power cartridges. These are zinc-air
cells which are assembled in series to provide the required voltage and set in
injection-molded plastic cases which contain holes to allow air access to the
cells.

Capacity: 3300 mAh
Dimensions: 52 x 68 x 13 mm (2" x 2.7" x 0.5")
Weight: 76g (2.7 oz.)
Operating Voltage: 4.8 – 3.6V

Each cartridge has a self life of 3 yrs when unopened, and 2-3 months once
opened. They are environmentally safe, disposable  and can provide up to
three charges.  When you are in an area without a power plug, car or
notebook, the Instant Power cartridge is a great power source. It is small, and
simple to use. The down side is that they don’t last forever, so you have to
replace them.

I was able to test the function of a cartridge on both a CLIÉ NR70V and a
T615C. I performed both tests on completely dead PDAs. The first test was with
the NR70V. I plugged the adapter in at
10:10am and 2hrs later at
12:10pm the LED on the SmartCord turned red to indicate it had finished. At this
point, I checked the battery voltage on the PDA, and it showed that it was
charged to 81%.

I also had tried to use the dead PDA upon first connecting the Power
cartridge. I found that I had to wait at least 10mins before I could start using
the PDA. And, even after that, it took another few minutes before I could turn
on the backlight…

I also tested the T615C. I started charging it (from a completely dead state)
at 5:00pm and it was finished at 7:00pm. When I checked the percentage, it was
at 100%. I’m not sure why the NR70 only charged to 81%…

The Instant Power cartridge does get slightly warm to touch while charging.

If you need to charge while in a car or boat, the car adapter works great.
Just plug it into the SmartCord and plug the SmartCord into the PDA and you’re
good to go! Simple, no fuss, no muss…

And the third charging option is to ‘steal’ power from your PC or notebook’s
USB port by using the small USB adapter. As with the other methods, you just
plug the adapter into the SmartCord. If I were going to use the USB charging
method most often, I would buy a USB charger/sync cable such as the one from
Brando instead.

The Instant Power 3-in-1 Charging Kit is easy to use and works great. It
takes up very little space in a backpack or suitcase where it can remain until
your PDA starts yelling for juice!
 

Price: $29.95 (Instant Power Replacement cartridge
$9.95)

Pros:
3 charging options in one kit

Cons:
Charging device only. No syncing features