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The Road Warrior Review - Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger

Your iPod gives you untethered music, but only as long as the battery charge lasts, at which point you’re obliged to plug into a computer USB pork or an AC power adapter for several hours recharging time.

A new solution for extending iPod portable runtime is Proporta’s USB Mobile Device Charger, which is basically a 3400 mAH lithium Ion (LiIon) rechargeable battery pack that charges from a USB port on any computer (or from an optional AC power adapter), and delivers 5.5 volts through its USB output port to recharge and/or run an iPod or other USB device.

Full-sized iPods have OEM battery capacities of around 850 mAH to1,200mAh capacity so 3400 mAH is a lot more juice than your ‘Pod’s internal battery supports, the mobile device charger could more than quadruple your runtime between charges if you start with both batteries fully charged.

With its white livery and a form factor and footprint roughly the same as a full-sized iPod, the Mobile Device Charger harmonizes nicely appearance-wise, and will fit in a soft iPod sleeve for carriage. It comes with high-quality in and output USB cables, also in white, and a selection of USB device adapters for iPods and other machines.

The Mobile Device Charger is simple to use. To charge, just connect it to a computer’s USB port. The charge indicator LED on top of the Unit will glow red while the battery is charging, then green when it is fully charged.

Then you just plug your iPod or other USB device into the output port for hours of power and/or a recharge of the music player’s internal battery.

I also tried the Mobile Device Charger with a rechargeable Bluetooth mouse, with which it worked just fine. However, my i-Rocks external USB hard drive enclosure proved more of a current draw than the Proporta device could deliver, but that’s not a criticism; that drive needs juice from two USB ports on my 17-inch PowerBook to spin up, although it does work through a single port on other machines. I digress.

For its primary intended purpose - extending the battery-power runtime of iPods and other portable music players, mobile telephones, PDAs, SmartPhones, GPS navigation devices, and digital cameras, the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger works just fine.

To charge and/or run your mobile device, connect it to the Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger using one of the supplied cables and the appropriate cable connector, press the button surrounding the charge indicator LED, and you’re away to the races. When the Mobile Device Charger’s internal battery is almost discharged, the LED indicator will begin to flash red, indicating that it needs to be recharged.

Features
Features

• Charge anywhere, recharge anything - standard USB input and output
• Comes with a retractable cable and the following inter-changeable connector heads: 2 x Nokia, 1 x Sony Ericsson, 1 x Mini USB, 1 x iPod
• Compact, slim and lightweight (measures just 100 x 62 x 15mm or 3.9 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches and weighs 120g or 4.2 oz)
• Impressive 3400 mAH storage (recharge your devices several times)
• Powerful 5v, 700mA output (enough for even the most power-hungry mobile devices)
• LED charge and discharge indicator
• Microswitch on/off selection

The Proporta USB Mobile Device Charger sells for $ 44.95

Shipping worldwide - $4.95

For more information, visit:
http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=2725&t_mode=des

*** cmoore@macopinion.com

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