Portable Cellphone Charger Puts Safety First

By Staff On Dec 5 2005 - 8:00am

A “safe” portable and reusable cellphone charger, said to eliminate user worry about being stranded with a dead cellphone battery, made its debut last month.

Called the Turbo Charge, the “fashionable” polished chrome unit, which measures 3 inches tall by 5/8 inches in diameter, contains a chip that regulates the flow of energy to a cellphone battery, protecting it from overload and damage. According to the maker, no other portable cellphone charger in today's market can make this safety claim.

The Turbo Charge was introduced at a pre-2006 International CES press function here. Suggested retail is $24.99 for the charger with four adapters, and $17.99 for the charger alone. It is expected to be available to major retailers by the end of the year or early in January 2006.

“Just like the chargers you use at home and in your car, the Turbo Charge will become part of your everyday life. You'll never leave home without it,” said Norman Docteroff, co-creator of the product, and chairman of Voxred International, the Fairfield, N.J.-based company that developed and manufactures the Turbo Charge.

The Turbo Charge, specially designed for ease of use and reliability, resembles a high-end lipstick case that is portable and lightweight enough to fit into a pocket, purse or laptop case.

The charger and charger/adapter packages are made to by placed at retail on a j-hook. Separate packages containing adapters only, made to fit a wide variety of popular phones, also are available at a suggested $2.99. Adapter packaging is color-keyed to designate the particular phone adapter inside. An assortment of adapters to “fit any and every cellphone in today's market,” including the Blackberry and PDAs, are being marketed, said the company.

The Turbo Charge requires one AA battery, and once the adapter is connected to the top of the charger and to the cellphone, a blue light illuminates indicating the cellphone is charging. Users get up to two hours of talk time or up to 40 hours of standby time. The charger is made to be used anywhere in the world, said the company.