New York — New, reusable portable power packs, designed to charge the growing spectrum of portable digital devices, have reached the market from a number of suppliers.
An all-in-one solution is shipping now from Mobility Electronics. The iGo everywhere universal power adapter is designed to power and charge most portable devices from any standard AC or DC power source, such as a wall or car outlet. It works with a wide range of devices including cellphones, Bluetooth wireless headsets, smartphones, PDAs, MP3 players and iPods, and portable gaming devices.
The iGo everywhere leverages Mobility’s patented “intelligent tip” technology. This allows one adapter to charge multiple devices through the use of interchangeable power tips. Users are able to charge hundreds of brands and thousands of models of mobile electronic devices, according to the company.
It also features a retractable cord and travel organizer. The cord is shared between the AC and DC chargers and retracts into a small, lightweight housing at the touch of a button. All three pieces slide into the included travel organizer, which also has a pouch for carrying multiple tips.
Mobility’s iGo everywhere is available online at www.igo.com and has just expanded into approximately 200 Best Buy locations and on www.bestbuy.com through a trial program with partner, Motorola. It retails for $39.99. The tips run about $10 each. The company will continue to produce new tips compatible with the latest brands and models.
Mobility, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., offers a full line of iGo universal power adapters for notebook PCs and portable digital devices as well as accessories for handheld devices.
American Power Conversion (APC), based in West Kingston, R.I., began shipping last month its Mobile Power Pack. About the size of a deck of cards and weighing just over 3 ounces, the pack utilizes lithium-polymer battery cells, an advanced battery technology with a higher power density than traditional lithium-ion cells, which can generate up to 55 hours of additional music time for an MP3 device such as the iPod nano, and eight to 10 hours of additional e-mail and talk time for smartphones, such as a BlackBerry or Palm Treo, according to APC.
The product includes an AC-to-USB power adapter and a USB-to-Mini-B power cable. The Mobile Power Pack charges most portables using the manufacturer cables; however, APC recommends the use of APC’s USB charging cables (sold separately) to ensure compatibility. The Mobile Power Pack retails for $69.99.
Coming in September, St. Louis-based Energizer will ship a line of reusable portable battery-driven chargers for wireless phones, portable gaming devices and the Apple iPod.
The Energi To Go line includes a two-battery model for cellphones and four-battery versions for iPods and portable gaming devices.
The cellphone chargers include phone-tip connectors that are compatible with about 100 phone models from manufacturers including Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sprint, and mini USB devices including Razr, Slvr and the BlackBerry.
A call can be placed within 30 seconds of activating the Energi To Go on some cellphones with a completely discharged battery, according to the company. Wireless phone models with robust multimedia applications may require several minutes to activate.
The suggested retail for the Energi To Go cellphone charger is $19.99, and includes the reusable charger, the phone-tip connector and two Energizer e2 lithium AA batteries.
The four-battery Energi To Go power pack for iPods provides immediate power to the Apple iPod, nano and Mini. The four-battery gaming version powers portable gaming devices including Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance and Game Boy DS.
The four-battery power packs will retail for $29.99 each, and will include the reusable charger, a smart tip and four Energizer e2 lithium AA batteries.
Energizer will launch a national marketing campaign behind the line that will debut Labor Day weekend and include major media television, print and online advertising, in-store merchandising, product sampling, event marketing and consumer bounce-back coupons for Energizer e2 lithium batteries.
