The PowerPot is a Kickstarter project that has already earned funding with 8 days to spare. What is it? It’s a portable thermo electric generator. Take it camping, fill it with some water or food, place it on your  campfire and you’ve got instant power.  There are two versions: the PowerPot V and the PowerPot X, which respectively produce 5 and 10 watts of usable electricity. An attached USB cable (yes, it’s fire resistant) connects to your device. They  provide enough power to charge 2-3 smaller devices like your mobile phone, GPS, MP3 player or LED light. A larger version is in the works that will be able to charge a tablet. They can even work with a candle instead of a campfire, so you could use them in the event of a power outage. If you pledge $125, you’ll receive the smaller PowerPot V backpack version that can hold 1.5 quarts. $199 gets you the larger PowerPot X which has a 2 quart capacity.

Filed in categories: News, Outdoor Gear

Tagged: charging, Outdoor

Cook up Some Pork & Beans and Charge Your Phone With the Same Device originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 25, 2012 at 5:43 pm.

It seems more and more gadgets, although they may have a wall wart, are ultimately USB-chargeable.  Replace a normal AC wall socket with the USB Outlet Quattro from CurrentWerks, and you’ll be able to charge up to four USB devices at once without using those wall warts.  With the Quattro, you have four standard USB ports in a single wall outlet.  The Quattro accepts 90-132VAC 50/60Hz 0.7A current and outputs 22 Watts 5VDC 4.4A (2.1A maximum per port).  CurrentWerks says the Quattro has been tested to UL standards, fits all standard single gang electrical boxes, and draws no vampire power.  It’s available in white, ivory, and light almond for $39.98; faceplate is included.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: charging, USB

USB Outlet Quattro from CurrentWerks originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 7, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Cost Plus World Market sells a line of inexpensive, attractive home office furniture.  The Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch sits on top of the Charles Sawhorse desk to provide a place for charging your gadgets;  there’s also a place for note cards or pens.  You apparently provide your own power strip, which will fit inside the hutch.  The Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch is normally $49.99, but it’s on sale for $24.99 now.

Filed in categories: Gear, Miscellaneous, News

Tagged: charging, Charging station

Natural Charles Charging Station Hutch from World Market originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 25, 2011 at 10:00 am.

The Energizer Inductive Charger and the iPhone 4 Qi (pronounced chee) Sleeve is the newest wireless charging system promising to simplify your charging experience for your myriad rechargable devices. It uses the Qi standard for charging, which is a global standard for wireless charging systems. What this should mean is that as more devices ship with integrated induction charging using this standard, you’ll be able to use them with this charging pad. In the meantime you’re stuck using sleeves to add the necessary charging magic to existing devices, and this is where the promise of easy cable-free charging meets the stark reality of not having any native support in a sleek device for such charging.

Stuff Inside

The system consists of the Charging Pad & its wall wart. The Sleeve is just that – only a sleeve that connects the dock of the iPhone4 to the inductive power receiver embedded in the back of the sleeve.

The Charging Pad

The Pad provides two charging spots (marked with the Qi symbol) with corresponding blue LEDs overhead to indicate charging status. On the back edge of the Pad there’s a standard powered USB port, for charging devices via wired USB. When a Qi device is placed pretty much anywhere on/over either spot, The blue LED lights up indicating the device is charging. It goes out when the device is fully charged.

The Sleeve

The iPhone 4 sleeve is the weak link in this system. Although it is easy enough to side a bare iPhone 4 into/out of the sleeve, and you could leave your phone in the sleeve at all times, it is both too large and heavy and makes for a poor phone case.

You can see the sleeve provides routing for the bottom speaker and mic to the front of the case. However, the dock is “consumed” by the sleeve, so there is no way provided to connect your en-sleeved iPhone 4 to anything else.

The sleeve covers the back fully, with a cutout for the camera & flash.

The top and left side are left uncovered to allow for access to controls and the headphone jack:

Charging

The good news is, the system works really well. Slide the iPhone 4 into the sleeve, and you’re done. Just drop it anywhere generally over the Qi circle on either side of the charger, and your iPhone will happily report it’s “plugged in” and charging

Pick it up, and it’s “unplugged” – drop it back on, it’s plugged in.

Charge times

As far as I can tell, the power supplied by the Energizer Inductive Charger is roughly equivalent to that provided by the Apple mini AC adapter – there is no technical information provided with either the pad or the sleeve, nor on the Energizer website, detailing the amount of power being delivered. Nonetheless dropping the iPhone 4 on the pad delivered a fully charged iPhone 4 in roughly the same amount of time as it would if plugged into AC.

Usage Ups and Downs

I tried to leave the sleeve on during the day, but it’s just not practical. I’m not at all happy with the additional bulk and weight – the iPhone 4 itself is 137 grams, the Qi Sleeve is nearly exactly 1/3 of that at 46 grams. It adds 9mm to both the width and height, and a massive 6mm to the thickness of the iPhone 4. Even worse, I lost the ability to dock in my car (which has an iPhone/iPod dock) or to quickly dock/sync/grab a photo off via USB cable at work, without taking the sleeve off. Swapping the sleeve multiple times during the day just didn’t work.

What did work was just swapping my normal jell case (which adds a couple grams of weight and less than 1mm all around) for the sleeve when I arrived at home, and then returning the iPhone to the jell case as I left for the day the next morning. Leaving the charging pad on the bedside table, I just dropped the phone on it before turning in, and grabbed it (and then, swapping cases… argh!) in the morning.

Conclusion

The Qi standard for inductive charging should finally allow manufacturers to embed the receiving portion of the system into new rechargeable products, eliminating the major flaw of requiring a sleeve or other add-on to bridge the native wired charging port to an inductive receiving system in the sleeve. Until that time, the design of the sleeve is critical, and the current Energizer iPhone 4 sleeve doesn’t quite provide a usable solution. The added size and weight, along with the nearly fatal blockage of the dock without even providing an alternate microUSB connection, makes it impossible to go any significant amount of time with the Sleeve on the phone. So, you can plug and unplug a cable to charge, or you can plug and unplug the sleeve to charge. Either way, you’re still plugging every time you charge.

Filed in categories: Blackberry related, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: Blackberry, charging, inductive charging, iPhone

Energizer Inductive Charger and iPhone 4 Qi Sleeve Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm.

Energizer joins companies that will support the QI wireless charging standard. At CTIA wireless 2011, Energizer showed several wireless products, including iPhone/iPod sleeve and micro/mini USB  charging adapters. The micro/mini USB charging adapter can turn any gadget to QI wireless charging compatible. Prices and release date are not available in this moment.

More details can found here.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News, Wireless

Tagged: charging

Energizer will offer wireless charging solutions for your gadgets originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 26, 2011 at 2:00 pm.

The wireless power consortium is trying to drive a standard for wireless charging, called QI wireless charging. The goal is to enable a future where there is no need to connect your gadget to any cable for charging. Panasonic took advantage of the security show in Japan to show a solar power table with QI wireless charging capability. You can put your cellphone, camera or any other gadget with QI enable battery on one of the four charging pads, and the table will convert the sun light to electricity and charge your device. Panasonic is planning to offer this table for sale by the end of 2011/early 2012. Expect to see more products with QI wireless charging capabilities in the coming months. I wouldn’t mind to have wireless charging using solar panels capability in my car.

More details on QI wireless charging technology can found in the wireless power consortium site.

Filed in categories: News, Outdoor Gear

Tagged: charging, Solar

Panasonic demonstrates solar-power table with QI wireless charging technology originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 25, 2011 at 10:00 am.

We reviewed the original Powermat Wireless Charging System and thought it was an interesting product, but weren’t sure if it was something we’d use every day due to the bulk it added via required cases for our gadgets. It’s been over a year since that review, let’s see if thinner cases make the Powermat induction charging system a must have accessory.

Powermat offers wireless charging solutions for a wide variety of gadgets, but for this review, we’re focusing on the Motorola Droid X and the Apple iPhone 4.

Powermat Wireless Charging System for the Motorola Droid X

Package Contents

Powermat wireless charging mat
Powermat receiver door
AC Adapter
Owner’s Manual

To give the Droid X the capability of wireless charging with the Powermat, you just have to swap the original battery cover door with the one included in the Powermat package. As you can see, the Powermat battery cover (AKA receiver) looks relatively similar to the stock cover. At least in shape and color.

The secret to this special cover is the built in microUSB connector.

Take off the stock cover, snap on the Powermat cover and then plug the microUSB connector into the slot in the phone and in the cover. The picture above make the cover look a lot thicker than it really seems in real life. I can’t really feel the difference while the phone is in my hand.

So for the most part, the Droid X still looks like a Droid X sans the Motorola logo and the addition of the USB connector ‘bump’ on the side. I was worried that the bump would feel awkward when holding the phone. I notice that it’s there, but it’s not a big deal.

One obvious problem with using this charging system with the Droid X (and other devices) is that you won’t be able to use your favorite form fitting case. However, that was not a problem for me since I don’t use a case with my Droid X.

To use the wireless charging system, you just install the battery cover, plug in the Powermat with the included AC adapter and then set the Droid X on the mat.

When you set the device on the mat, you can feel a magnetic attraction, which is kind of cool. What’s even better is that the mat will emit a funky little sci-fi like tone to let you know that handshaking between the mat and receiver were successful and charging is taking place. You might be wondering if you have to be precise in the way you place the phone on the mat. Nope, that’s not necessary. As long as you pretty much center it, it seems to work just fine.

There’s also a visual indicator. The mat has a White LED on the front two corners that light up while the phone is charging. When the battery is at 100%, the LEDs turn off.

Let’s look at a similar solution for the iPhone 4.

Powermat Wireless Charging System for the Apple iPhone 4

Package Contents

Powermat wireless charging mat
iPhone 4 case
AC Adapter
Owner’s Manual

As you can see, the receiver case for the iPhone 4 is a bit more noticeable than the one for the Droid X. It’s made of Black plastic, so it blends in very well with the iPhone, but does give the phone several negative sexy points.

The back of the case is plain except for the Powermat logo and cutout for the camera lens. By the way, the logo on this case and the Droid X battery cover is not the charging point for the Powermat. I tested this by putting a piece of tape over it and charging still took place.

The top of the case can flip open so you can easily slide the phone in and out of the case.

Cutouts for the mute and volume buttons. The only annoying thing I noticed is that the edges of seam in the flip top feel sharp on your thumb tip when you’re trying to activate one of the buttons.

Top view.

The bottom of the case has cutouts for the speakers and it also has a microUSB connector. What’s that for? Well, you won’t have to remove the case in order to sync with your computer. Just plug in the included USB cable and you’re good to go. One added benefit is that you can also charge via that USB connection.

Just like the Droid X charging system, when you place the iPhone 4 on the Powermat, it will make a cute little spacey noise, a White LED will light up on the base and your phone will start charging. Unlike the Droid X system, the Powermat for the iPhone 4 is not magnetic.

Both charging systems worked great and seemed to charge as fast as using a normal AC adapter.

Of the two systems, I like the one for the Droid X best because it doesn’t change the look of the phone as much. I wish something could be done to get rid of the little USB bump though…

A lot of people will complain and say that the Powermat Wireless Charging System isn’t wireless at all due to the fact that you still have to plug in an AC adapter into a wall outlet and into the Powermat. This is true… And it could be considered really lazy to pay $60 just for the privilege of not having to fit a small connector into your phone every time you want to charge it. Of course one person’s ‘lazy’ is another person’s ‘nifty’. At this point, I’m still on the fence about the Powermat system. The bump on the side of my Droid X doesn’t really bother me, but having to leave an AC adapter in the wall does. I would rather it pull power from a USB port on my desktop computer. Not sure if that really makes a difference in my carbon footprint, but that’s just me. Regardless, the Powermat Wireless Charging System works as advertised and is a nice improvement over their first generation offerings. I’ve enjoyed using it and can definitely see a future for these types of chargers.

What do you think? Would you use a charging system like this one?

Filed in categories: Android related, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: charging, droid x, iPhone 4

Powermat Wireless Charging System for Motorola Droid X and iPhone 4 Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 27, 2011 at 4:27 pm.

I think inductive style charging technology is going to become more popular as time goes by. I can’t wait until I can just place my phone anywhere on my desk (any desk) and it will charge it. But until that day arrives, we have solutions like the Powermat Wireless Charging System. The folks at Powermat have been busy adding compatiblity for more phones and one of their latest additions is for the Droid X. For $59.99, you get a small charging mat, a replacement battery door and an AC adapter. Except for a small bump on the side, the replacement battery cover doesn’t look like it adds much if any bulk to the phone. This is a major improvement from Powermat’s first series of phone cases. The Droid X Wireless Charging System is available now.

Filed in categories: Android related, News

Tagged: charging, droid x, Spotlight Gadgets

Powermat Wireless Charging System Expands Compatibility to Include the Droid X originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 22, 2010 at 9:30 am.

You might remember Andy’s review of the IDAPT a few months ago. They have just updated this multi-charger with an extra USB port, a glossier and finish, and a few new features including compatibility with the iPhone 4 & iPad. The IDAPT i4 is available now in black, white or silver for $59.99 MSRP. The packaging includes 6 of the most popular tips – miniUSB, microUSB, iPod/iPhone, Samsung 4, Nokia 2, and Sony Ericsson 2.  Additional tips can be purchased through www.idaptweb.com.

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous

Tagged: charging, Power

IDAPT i4 Multi-Charger Compatible with iPad and iPhone 4 Now Available originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 6, 2010 at 1:30 pm.

When it came to my gadget list, the one thing I was missing was something to place my Blackberry on when I’m at work.  I have used desk stands for devices in the past, but they generally start getting in the way and eventually end up in my desk drawers!

Now, normally I would just arrive at the office and stick my Blackberry on charge, or simply leave it in its pouch and check it every now and then for any recent messages, e-mails or calls.  Well, that’s just no good I hear you say!  So, I was very pleased when I was sent the Desk Genie from Mobile Fun to review.

In short, it’s a mobile device desk stand, however it’s not just a gadget for your device to sit and look pretty on, oh no!  It also doubles up as a device charger, a memory card reader, (with slots available for a host of memory cards) and it’s also a USB hub!

And, as Julie mentioned in her spotlight gadget post of the Desk Genie back in December, what makes this little gadget rather unique is the way that it holds your device in place, but we’ll take a look at that in more detail soon.

Specifications

• Front plate is designed with a ‘non-slip’ rubber material
• Holds your handset or accessories very firmly
• Sleek and Stylish design
• Integrated ’8 in 1′ memory card reader
• Integrate USB Hub with 2 x USB ports
• Fully compliant with USB 2.0 (480Mbps)
• Backwards compatible with USB 1.1 (1.5 or 12Mbps)
• Plug and Play
• Supports:  Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / Mac OSX and Linux
• Dimensions: 59 x 102 x 106mm
• Weight: 95g

What’s in the box?

The device arrived in plain packaging, so I wasn’t sure what it was until I actually opened it.  However, everything inside the box was packaged well.

• 1 x Desk Genie
• 1 x 90cm Mini USB cable
• 1 x Charger Output Cable
• 8 x Handset Connectors
• 1 x Easy to read User Manual

The Desk Genie, USB cables, connectors and instructions

The collection of connectors that you get the box will fit a massive range of devices, including iPhone/iPod, Blackberry, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Panasonic, Palm, Sagem, Ericsson, Toshiba and so on.

In Use

So, I prepared a space on my desk (not that the Desk Genie needs a lot of space however as it’s nice and compact), then plugged in the cables to the laptop and my Blackberry.  The first thing I noticed was a blue LED power indicator on the front of the unit, which means it’s drawing power from the laptop.  Nice touch!

The front of the unit showing the LED Power Indicator

And the rear, showing the mini USB and power ports

The obvious feature to any Gadgeteer is the Desk Genie’s ability to hold any device in position (landscape or portrait), very securely and at a great viewing angle, so you can easily read e-mails, watch videos or play a game.  It does this with tremendous ease by using a special rubber material on the front plate.  Although the material feels tacky to the touch, it leaves no residue whatsoever on the device.  Although, I must admit I was just a little apprehensive about putting my brand new 8300 onto it at first!

Desk Genie showing the stylish desgin, angle and USB ports

However, once I saw how well it held the device in place, I was seriously impressed!  It sticks like glue, but as I mentioned, it leaves no residue at all on the device.  It even managed to hold the phone in place when it was vibrating!

My Blackberry 8300 securely in place

Once the adhesive properties of the rubber begin to wear off, or begins to collect dust and doesn’t appear to be as sticky as it was, you simply dab clean water over the rubber, then wipe with a clean cloth and the pad becomes tacky again, just like new!   However, I’ve been using it for almost two weeks now and it’s still as sticky as it was when I got it out of the box, so you’ll not have to clean it that often.

Sitting nicely on my desk at work!

And of course, the Desk Genie is flexible enough to be used anywhere, not just on your desk in the office.  If you want to use it stand alone, maybe next to your bed or even in the kitchen, you can purchase a USB Mains adaptor (5V DC – not supplied) and charge your device wherever you like!

Plus, it’s small enough to fit into my gear bag, so I can take it to another office if I’m traveling around.  Bonus!

I think the the only downside was the length of the output cable which connects from the desk stand to your device.  With it being only 20cm in length, you’ll probably have to detatch your device from the desk stand first if you want to use it for any reason.

Extra Features

As I mentioned earlier, the Desk Genie incorporates a card reader on one side of it’s base, with 2 x USB ports on the opposite side.  There are 4 slots for memory cards (M2 / Micro SD / MS & MS Pro Duo / SD, Mini SD, MMC & RS MMC).

It’s quite straight forward for anyone to use, as long as you’re connected to your PC/Laptop, just pop in a flash card into the appropriate slot and and it’s ready to use.   And, unlike a lot of card readers on the market, this reader allows you to insert MicroSD and M2 memory cards without using adapters.

The built in card reader slots - very handy!

The USB ports are useful too, especially if your laptop lacks available ports.  I found it rather handy to have my iPod Shuffle dock plugged into the side, as the nearest available port was on the left side of my monitor and not exactly the best place to plug my iPod dock into.  At least using the Desk Genie, the cables are kept tidy and I can keep the iPod close to my other gadgets.

And the other side, showing the two USB ports

So, in conclusion, the Desk Genie isn’t just your average device desk stand, it’s much more!

And, as it retails at a price of just £14.99 it’s outstanding value, especially for what you get.  It’s well made, incorporates a host of features and it’s one of those gadgets that actually looks stylish, without trying hard.

Filed in categories: Gear, Reviews

Tagged: charging

Desk Genie ‘Non-Slip’ Charging Desk Stand Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 18, 2010 at 10:51 am.

Do you have your eye on a multi-device charging system, but don’t want to fork over the $’s to buy one? Have you ever considered making one? That’s exactly what Gadgeteer reader Robert Grenader decided to do. Check out his handy work.

Robert:

Reading Eliminate Cable Clutter with the IDAPT Charging System, I was moved to send you a photo of my home grown charging station that only cost me about $25. Here’s how I did it…
I was surrounded by numerous devices all requiring constant charging. Multiple Bluetooth headsets, cell phones, smart phones, cameras, etc. The list goes on and on. Then I saw ads for those nifty charging stations that allow you to “charge all your mobile devices in one location.” Hammacher Schlemmer had one in ebony wood for $150, Brookstone has a nifty one for like $75, with an integral plug strip and the ability to hide the power bricks, but it would only hold something like 4 devices. Gee, this had to be better than headsets, phones, Kindles, iPODs etc loose on the edge of the bookcase.

Then I walked into an OfficeDepotStaplesMax (I can never tell them apart any more) and paid $20 for a wire desk storage thingy, $5 for a box of colored plastic butterfly clips and !presto chango! I can now charge all my stuff in one place.

What you don’t see is the surge protector around the corner behind the bookcase. This gives me the added ability to turn off the power when everything is nice and charged and eliminate at least one source of vampire power consumption.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the investment. Now, if I can only keep the Orange Cat from sitting on it….

Julie:

What do you guys think? Have you created something similar, better? Tell us about it.

Filed in categories: Articles, Do-It-Yourself

Tagged: charging, Power

DIY – Multi-Device Charging Station originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 31, 2010 at 10:41 am.

If you love your gadgets, but hate the cable clutter that goes along with them, the IDAPT charging system looks like an interesting solution to that problem. It’s a table top dock that is available in two configurations. One can charge two devices at once and the other can charge three. The dock can be customized by plugging in small charger tip modules that are compatible with your devices. The 3 slot model is priced around $72 and the 2 slot model is priced at $50. Both docks either come with 6 pre-packaged common tips, or 4 tips of your own choosing.

Filed in categories: Gear, News

Tagged: charging, Power, Spotlight Gadgets

Eliminate Cable Clutter with the IDAPT Charging System originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 19, 2010 at 8:38 pm.

The Desk Genie from MobileFun combines a flash card reader, a desk stand and a charging base for your favorite device. What makes this desktop accessory unique is the special grippy surface that holds the device (iPhone, Zune, etc.) at just the right angle so that you can easily view the display. It’s £14.99 directly from MobileFun.co.uk.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, News

Tagged: charging, Spotlight Gadgets

Desk Genie Non-Slip Charging Desk Stand originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 23, 2009 at 5:37 pm.

Like many gadget lovers, I personally own many gadgets, mp3 players, cell phones, etc.  One thing that all gadget lovers can agree on is that it is a nuisance to constantly charge all of these gadgets.  What’s worse is that all of these gadgets use different cables to charge.  Don’t you just wish you had one power cable that could charge everything and anything?  Powermat brings us a step closer to that reality.

I was sent both the home&office mat and portable mat.  For the receivers I was sent the Nintendo DSi, iPhone 3G, and the iPod & iPhone dock.

All of the Powermat’s products are nicely packaged and I would buy them just for the nice presentation of their product.

For this review I will talk about the home & office mat since the portable mat is very similar to it.  Inside the box you’ll find the charging mat, owner’s manual, power adapter, and the Powercube.

Behind the Powermat are 2 buttons to control the status sound and status light. There is also a power jack, and an auxiliary USB port if you so wish to plug in a USB charging cord.  The power adapter for the Powermat seems overly large for something that feels very light.  The power cord came nicely wrapped around the power adapter.

The Powercube comes with 7 tips that work with the Powercube’s built-in mini-USB cord.  The tips that come with the Powermat are micro-USB , DS lite, DSi, Sony, Samsung, LG, and Apple.

The Powercube also comes with a storage box for the tips.  The funny thing is that the storage box doesn’t hold all 7 tips!!  And assuming you’re using a tip, the storage box still doesn’t hold 6 tips.

The storage box sits nicely on top of the Powercube and is held in place by a magnet.

The iPhone 3G receiver is a nice 2 piece slip-on sleeve.  It has a soft touch feel and you have easy access to all the buttons.  A nice addition to the sleeve is that it converts the dock connector into a micro-USB port.  Powermat was nice enough to provide a micro-USB cable along with this receiver.

The iPod & iPhone dock receiver charges your iPod and iPhone by sliding it in the dock and just placing the dock onto the Powermat.  The dock has a movable wedge at the back to accommodate the different thickness of the many variations of the iPod and iPhone.  Personally I have an iPod Touch with a clear plastic case to protect it.  It’s a tight fit even with the movable wedge set all the way back.  This dock was clearly made for iPod and iPhone without any protection cases.

The Nintendo DSi sleeve receiver works just the same way as the other receivers.  The design of this receiver gives the DSi a better grip when you hold it.

Here’s a picture of the 3 products that’s charging on the Powermat.  As you can see there’s 3 status lights at the bottom of the Powermat showing that it’s charging.  They will turn off when your device gets a full charge.  The Powermat also emits a status sound when you place and remove a device.

The portable Powermat works just the same as the home version.  The difference is that this one can be folded up and it comes with a nice carrying case.  It’s pretty useful for when you’re on the go.  But in my experience, I would rather just carry a micro-USB and iPod sync cable with me instead of carrying the that portable Powermat around.  I just set that portable Powermat up at the office while I use the home Powermat at home.

Both variations of the Powermat cost $99.99.  And the receivers range from $29.99 to $39.99.  Personally I like this type of “wireless charging” induction technology but it would be better if it was standardized and the induction receivers were actually built in to the devices.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: charging, iPhone power

Powermat Wireless Charging Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 22, 2009 at 11:54 am.

One of the burdens that every gadgeteer must bear is the burden of gadget charging. You know what I mean, almost every gadget that we  own runs on battery power. Mobile phones, audio players, video players, etc. Even though many of our devices can be charged via USB, which is a convenience, that can have its own challenges, such as running out of ports. Fortunately, the age of wireless charging is dawning and I’m going to tell you about one such solution today. It’s the Duracell myGrid Charging Pad. Let’s take a look.

Wireless charging really isn’t a new idea. I remember having that feature 5 years ago with the SPOT watches back in 2004. Some of them had a special cradle that you placed the watch on for charging. I thought that feature was the coolest thing ever and thought it would usher in a trend that would show up in new devices from that point further. Unfortunately, it didn’t. We had to wait almost half a decade before the next wireless charging feature was sighted. This time it was with the Palm Pre’s Touchstone charge. And now we have the Duracell myGrid.

Hardware Specifications

Max Number of Devices: 5 (15W max)
Dimensions: 6.75 in. W x 8.5 in. L x 0.75 in. H
Power input: 100 – 240 VAC, 0.4 Amps, 50 – 60 Hz
Power output: 15 Watts max
Weight: 4.0 oz.
Certifications: UL, FCC, ETL

Package Contents

myGrid Charging Pad
AC Adapter
Power Clip Adapter
Power Clip tips compatible with: BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series, Curve 8300 series, 8800 Series, Bold Series, Motorola RAZR series, RAZR V3 Series, MOTOQ Series, W385, W370, Nokia E71 Series, #2610, #6085,  #6061

(The three cases shown in the image above are sold separately for $34.99 each)

The charging pad has a hard plastic base with flat chrome metal slats on top. I think it looks attractive and doesn’t look out of place on a desk.

The starter kit comes with a Power Clip Adapter and three Power Clip tips.

The tips are adjustable. The connector part can slide up and down to accommodate the thickness of the device that you need to charge.

The adapter is made to stick to the back of the device you want to charge. It has an adhesive sticker on the back.

The smaller end of the adapter is magnetic and is designed to connect to the bottom of the Power clip.

To use a Power Clip, you insert the appropriate tip into the charging port of a compatible device. Here is the mini USB tip inserted into the charging port of my Slacker G2 Radio.

Then the Power adapter attaches magnetically to the bottom of the tip. You’ll notice 4 contacts poking out of the back of the adapter. These contacts touch the metal slats on the myGrid to charge the device.

At this point, the Slacker G2 should be charging. You can see that there is a small Blue LED on the myGrid. When that LED is lit, it means that there is contact with an adapter. Unfortunately, I had almost no luck using the adapter tips with the devices I tested them with. The Slacker G2 would show that it was charging only every so often like there might have been a bad connection. I also tried one of the mini USB tips with the Sandisk Sansa Clip. I had 0 luck with this device as well and didn’t get it to charge at all. I also tried the USB tips (both of them) with a couple different Motorola phones that I have laying around. No luck with them either. I don’t know if I can really complain about tips not working because the devices that I tested them with are not listed as being compatible with the myGrid. That said, they all are using mini USB connectors to charge and they charge fine with my computer. So go figure…

So the tips didn’t work. But the sleeve did! I was sent two BlackBerry sleeves and an iPhone sleeve (which isn’t available yet). I don’t have a Blackberry phone, so the iPhone sleeve is the only one that I was able to test. These are flexible Black rubber type sleeves with a built in connection to the charging pins on the phone. You can see the iPhone sleeve above on the Right. It has a stand dock connector built into it.

The back of the sleeves have the same spring-loaded contacts as the Power adapter that stick out and touch the myGrid charging pad surface.

The iPhone sleeve fit my iPhone 3GS just fine. The only down side is the somewhat ugly lump on the bottom that houses the built-in dock connector. Another down side that you’ll want to consider is that you’ll need to remove the iPhone from the sleeve in order to sync with iTunes on your computer.

I like that you don’t have to even think about how you place the device on the myGrid. The orientation doesn’t matter. As soon as I dropped my iPhone on the base, it began charging. Simple! Charging seemed just as fast as when using a USB docking cable with my computer.

An advantage of the myGrid is that you can charge up to 5 devices at one time. You might have a hard time fitting them all on the base though.

I see the Duracell myGrid as a definite step in the right direction as far as wireless charging is concerned. I hope that we’ll soon see devices that have been designed so that special sleeves and adapter tips aren’t required in order to charge wirelessly. But until that happens, the myGrid is a cool alternative (if the adapter tips work).

Filed in categories: Gear

Tagged: charging, Power

Duracell myGrid Charging Pad Cell Phone Starter Kit Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 5, 2009 at 10:27 am.

How many of you use your iPhone as a replacement for a bedside clock? With all the clock applications in the app store, or even the built in clock app, it’s an easy transition to make. The only issue would be leaving the app running all through the night so that you can easily check the time if you wake up. Can you say dead battery? Kensington has come to the rescue with a product that is part software and part hardware. It’s the Nightstand iPhone charging dock and clock / weather application. Interesting concept, but do you even really need it? Let’s see…

I’m kind of a clock fanatic and am always on the hunt for the ultimate clock. One with a bazillion alarms, buzzers, etc, so that I can completely customize my morning routine. When I saw the $40 price tag for the Nightstand, I hoped the features would impress me.

Package Contents

USB charging dock
USB AC wall adapter
Quick start guide

The charging dock is a one piece wedge shaped module that is weighted and has non-slip rubber covering on the bottom and sides.

When connected to the dock, your iPhone or Touch can be oriented either in portrait (shown above) or landscape orientations (shown below).

In either orientation, the rubber covering on the dock keeps your device from sliding around on your night stand or desk. As you can see from the image above, the dock keeps your device at the optimal viewing angle when in the landscape orientation.

The USB cable attached to the dock is 4 feet long, which may be too short for some people.

The other half of this product is the clock application which is called Rise&Shine. It’s a quick and free download from the app store.

The application is very simple. Your only options are clock type, brightness level, color, 24hr mode toggle, flash colon toggle and auto-lock toggle.

There are three clock styles: Reflection, Flip and Digital. All three can be used in either landscape or portrait orientations. Reflection and Digital can be customized with color. Flip is stuck at black and white.

As far as clock features, I was hoping for a bunch of alarm options. Unfortunately the Rise&Shine app doesn’t even have one alarm feature. If you want an alarm, you have to be set in the stock clock app. Bummer.

The Rise&Shine app does incorporate one additional feature though… a 5-day weather forecast that is based on your location. Again, it’s pretty simple…

I tried using the Nightstand on the nightstand in my bedroom for a few nights and didn’t have much luck. Although it worked fine as far as keeping the iPhone charged and powered on, I wasn’t able to tolerate the amount of light that the display projected. Even with the brightness turned completely off, to where you couldn’t easily read the time on the clock, it still lit up the room. I like my bedroom to be pretty dark, so it just didn’t work out for me.

But even if the light wouldn’t have been an issue, I’d have to say that this product is pretty much a waste of money. Why would you spend $40 on an iPhone charger cable and a USB AC adapter, when your iPhone comes with both? Granted, the cable doesn’t have a nifty built in stand like this one does, but you can easily hack something together with some LEGO bricks or even a piece of cardboard.

I usually like Kensington’s products, but this time they’ve disappointed me. My advice is to skip this one and go the DIY route. And if you do go DIY, tell how you’re using your iPhone as a bedside clock.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Watches and Clocks

Tagged: charging, iPhone, Watches and Clocks

Kensington Nightstand iPhone Charging Dock Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 25, 2009 at 7:30 am.

Wireless may be all the rage these days, but despite the portability afforded by many different types of devices, they still need to be plugged in or cradled to charge them.  WildCharge offers an interesting solution to this dilemma.  Consisting of an adapter that attaches to the device and a charge pad that is plugged into an outlet, WildCharge can eliminate the need to plug in or lug around multiple power adapters for your various devices.  With the device adapter attached, as long as its contact points touch the charging pad, the device will charge normally.  The pad can also charge multiple adapter-equipped devices simultaneously.  WildCharge adapters are currently available for several popular devices including the iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry Pearl and Curve.  Most adapters are $34.99, with adapter/pad bundles for $79.99.  See their site for the full lineup of items and prices.

Filed in categories: Gear, Wireless

Tagged: charging, Wireless

Cordfree, cradlefree charging for your devices originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 18, 2009 at 7:25 am.

iLuv has just announced the iAD 117 Triple USB Port Power Adapter and iAD116 Mini USB Power Adapter. This new series of small easy to carry power adapters aimed at travelers wanting to lighten their gadget load. The iAD117 features 3-USB ports for charging up to 3-devices at once and is available in international versions. The iAD117 will be available for the MSRP of $19.99 and the iAD116 for the MSRP of $14.99 starting in September 2009.

Filed in categories: Gear

Tagged: charging, Spotlight Gadgets, USB

Charge 3 devices at a time – iLuv iAD117 Adapter originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 13, 2009 at 5:32 pm.

The Bluelounge Refresh is a personal or shared charging station for up to four devices at one time. It is compact in size and available in 3 colors (White, Black and Pink). It comes with two iPod connectors, a USB micro, USB mini and also has two USB sockets that you can use to add your own device cables. You can purchase special device cables at $5.95 each. The Refresh is available now for $89.95. Although it looks nice and tidy, it seems really expensive to me. I think I could make something similar for a lot less moola. Anyone else out there come up with a homebrew version of this product?

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: charging, Spotlight Gadgets

Would you spend $90 on a multi-device charger? – Bluelounge Refresh originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 13, 2009 at 1:59 pm.

Here’s another one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” products. The EZ Mount is a replacement outlet plate for your wall, that provides handy shelf for your phone and hook for keys. The key hook doubles as a clever post to wrap and hide the extra AC adapter cord.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, News

Tagged: charging, Organize, Spotlight Gadgets, Wall Outlet

EZ Mount – Wall mounted charging station originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 19, 2009 at 6:00 pm.

Sleek. That is the word that seems to describe the Tekkeon MP3700 “myPower ALL Plus with Auto Detect” portable power unit the best. Boasting a smooth, nicely curved, shiny form with a simple button and LEDs on the top, this is one sharp-looking peripheral. Just looking at it, I knew this was going to be an exciting review.

The Portable Power Unit is a rechargeable battery for laptops and other portable electronics. The site claims about a 3.5 hour life for your laptop from the 50 watt-hour rechargeable lithium polymer battery for laptops, etc. This version is a ‘smart device’, so it will automatically provide the right output voltage to the devices being charged. The ‘plus’ is that it can charge two devices at once- a laptop and an MP3 player, for example. It claims about a 42 hour life for MP3 players or 60 hours of talk for mobile phones.

Most of the features and functions of the MP3700 are pretty typical. The top features a smooth black surface interrupted by a nicely designed grey button that, when pressed, shows the charging level on a row of blue LEDs underneath it. Three of the sides and the back have no special features. The ‘bottom’ edge is where the real work is done. There is a proprietary three-pin power port that we will discuss later, the power on/off switch and a red LED, the main output jack, a USB port, and the charging port with indicator LED.

The working end, with the USB adapter

Sleek form factor

The MP3700 comes with a lot of parts: a leatherette slipcover with a cut out for the button and LEDs, eight ‘output tips” (similar to those in a Radio Shack adapter), a retractable USB cord with a tip holder on the other end, a coiled cord for the main power jack with a tip holder on the other end, five “input tips”, a mini-USB tip, a velvet-like drawstring pouch for the tips and parts, and instructions.

Input and output tips

Unpacking the myPower is nothing special, except that the tips tended to jump all over the place. My unit arrived mostly, but not completely charged, which is typical for Lithium batteries- always charge this sort of thing fully before use. A quick Gadgeteer Creak Test showed that the unit is solidly built.

Charging the myPower is the first interesting element. You can charge it via a solar panel shown in the instructions (but I could not locate it on the website), or, the interesting option- using your laptops power cord! By adding the right “output tip” to your laptop’s charging tip, it fits the myPower charging port perfectly and lets you charge up without any other cords. Cool idea! It takes about four hours to fully charge the unit.

The “output cord” is a coiled wire about a foot long stretched out. The “input tips” fit on it easily, a D-shaped connection making it easy to line things up correctly and ensure the right polarity… which needs to be ‘tip positive’. (If your device is not tip positive, contact Tekkeon for help.) The unit came with the right tips for my Fujitsu Lifebook T4010 and my wife’s laptop- but not for my new HP Mini 1000. All of the parts seem to fit nicely and appear well made.

To charge a typical laptop, you just turn the myPower on, plug in the proper cords, and go! The results are pretty impressive. My Fuji has older batteries that do not hold a charge well. I ran them down to about 13 minutes remaining- low battery warnings going off and everything. I plugged in the myPower and I quickly had over an hour of time left. It did not register as being plugged into AC power, and the battery icon does not show that it is charging. The ‘remaining time’ seems to fluctuate based on what I am doing, which is what we would expect to see. The actual battery pack is small enough and the cord is long enough that it sits near the laptop nicely. I find myself thinking about adding Velcro dots to the laptop’s top and the myPower so it can just cling to the open lid. If I needed the battery more often, I think I would do it.

Screen shot of the Fuji's power meter with the myPower. Don't trust the 'time remaining' when idle.

The claim of 3.5 hours seems accurate for a laptop turned on and just sitting, but it drops to about 1.5-2 hours doing simple jobs like word processing, playing simple games, etc. and under an hour if it is spinning the CD drive much, like watching videos, etc. This is pretty predictable- the more things actually move (fan, drives, etc.), the more power is used. Overall, I was pleased with the battery performance. You can double the battery life by adding a ‘backpack’ battery pack- the MP3450-10. The extended battery pack includes a pair of ‘caps’ that hold the MP3700 and MP3450 securely together, and they connect via the proprietary 3-pin jack mentioned above. (Supposedly, a solar panel can fit the plug as well.)

The ‘Plus’ in the name refers to the USB port on this version of the myPower. This port allows you to plug smaller electronics directly in to charge, or you can use a retractable cord and adapter tips available for most devices. Other than the included mini-USB tip, few of the other tips seem to work for most small devices, but they have lots of them on-line.

The myPower ALL Plus MP3700 is a great tool for the road warrior. Nicely sized, attractively designed, easy to use, and offering a good battery life, I highly recommend this product. From a portability viewpoint, all you need to carry is the myPower, the right input tip, and the input cord (a little more if you are going to charge two things at once). Toss in a charging cord (your laptop’s or an AC or auto adaptor) for longer trips and you are good to go.

All is not perfect with it, however. The gorgeous housing looks like someone chopped off the real bottom and replaced it with a rather plain panel- not ugly, but not as sleek. The leatherette slip cover looks and feels cheap and the velveteen tip bag is just plain silly and too small. A nice zippered nylon case, like a fitted ‘camera’ case, would seem to have been a better choice for the $150 price tag. I just carry the needed tips in my gear bag.

Slip cover and small parts bag

The labeling of the tips bugs me. The tips work in pairs- input and output. It would be so simple to label them in similar ways, but the numbering process seems almost random. As an example, for my Mini I need to order input tip #PA-N01 and output tip #BM-AF? Not only that, but I cannot find the BM-AF tip in their catalog- searches refer me to tip #PA-L47F. It looks OK, but there are almost no specs listed with most tips to help me know if it is the right one or not. Oh, and to find the right adapter for this, I had to contact the company- it is not shown on the compatibility charts. They responded quickly and politely- although not being able to find the number they gave me in the catalog worries me. (It does show up in some versions as an alternate number.) Oh- and the S&H for a UPS Ground shipment of 2 tiny tips, total cost of $10.90, that could be mailed in a regular envelope? $10.94- yes, shipping is more than the cost of the tips.

The way the tips are listed is really annoying, they seem to be listed by part number, but the part number is only shown on a few tips on the screen, and many tips are described only by far too generic labels. Arrgh! Here is the page to see for yourself.

Looking for the tip for my Palm Centro, I find several tips called ‘Palm adapters’, all of which claim to ‘fit certain PALM devices’- not very helpful. One of them looks right (PA-A11), but the reference chart says I need one that only seems to come in a pack of 3 different Palm tips. 3 tips! What is the logic here? Most people buying a tip for the Centro or Palm TX also have 2 other older devices to charge as well??? Tip prices range from $2.95 to $4.95 for most tips. Why would I spend $6.95 for a set of three tips that I only need one of??? I have given up trying to find the right tip to charge my Apple iPod. For crying out loud, the site lists 23 hits when you search for ‘iPod’ on the site- but no tips that seem to work with the 3700. I’ll just use typical USB cords for these devices even though I was hoping to cut down on the number of cords in my bag.

Frustrations aside, this is a good device, slightly marred by a few minor touches and a website and numbering system that needs some rethinking.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Battery, charging, Laptop, Power

Tekkeon’s “myPower ALL Plus” MP3700 External Laptop Battery Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 11, 2009 at 5:01 am.