A pocket-sized charger for all of your mobile devices
(MoneyWatch) Our modern reliance on smartphones and tablets has created a whole new kind of anxiety: Will the battery last until you get back to a charger? Some people have a charging cable in their car; I sometimes carry a backpack with an integrated battery. For convenience and peace of mind, though, nothing really beats carrying a portable charger with you.
Recently, I had the opportunity to try Fatcat's PowerBar 4200, and it has won me over. The PowerBar is about the size of a deck of cards and weighs just 4 ounces -- it's smaller (but a little thicker) than my iPhone 4, and tucks discreetly in a pocket. It's a 4200mAh battery, good for about two complete smartphone charges.
- On the road? Pack this essential tech gear
- How to quick-charge an iPhone or iPad
- Snag the best iPhone travel app
The PowerBar comes ready to charge right out of the box, pre-charged to about 50 percent capacity, and it can be recharged from any USB port. To fully recharge the PowerBar takes about 4 to 6 hours.
There's a single control on the PowerBar: a button that when pressed, indicates the remaining capacity with a ring of lights. There's no need to "turn on" the charger -- it starts working as soon as you plug it into a gadget.
The PowerBar beats a bag with an integrated battery because it's inherently more portable and versatile. I'm traveling in Italy right now, in fact, and I left my PowerBag at home and brought the PowerBar instead.
The charger costs $80, and there are other capacities available as well: the impossibly thin, 2000 mAh ChargeCard, for $50, and the beefy 9600 mAh PowerBar 9600, for $130, which is also capable of charging an iPad.
Dave Johnson
View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch »
Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
