Portable Power to the People

Our ever increasing reliance on gadgets, while arguably improving our lives, does have the rather unfortunate drawback of chaining us to our electrical outlets. 

The USB Universal Portable Charger from USB Fever attempts to break the shackles by allowing us to extend the battery life of our gadgets, increasing their range and usefulness. 

In the Box

Along with a 4000mAh battery pack, a small manual and a connector instruction card, the charger comes equipped with a veritable cornucopia of attachments.  When combined, these connectors allow one to charge an even greater number of gadgets, including:

• Apple iPods/iPhones
  
• Motorola mobile phones
• Nokia Mobile phones
• Sony Ericsson Mobile phones
  Samsung mobile phones
  Various PDAs
  Various Digital Cameras
  

Also available at a minimal cost are optional connectors for Siemens and LG mobile phones as well as a connector for the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP).

The battery pack is about the size of a recent generation iPod and generally maintains a similar minimalistic but functional design, with few exterior markings.  It is not as pretty as an iPod, but it feels fairly solid in the hand and for the price, the finish is quite acceptable.

On the bottom of the unit is a standard USB port as well as a small circular DC in port.  The USB port is protected from the elements by a rubber dust cover whilst the DC in receives no such protection.  Four LEDs located on the front of the device light up green when the silver TEST button (located on the device’s side) is pressed, indicating how much charge the battery has left.

The supplied connectors and cables are similarly well made, though I have some reservations as to the durability of the retractable style cables.  While there was nothing wrong with the cables included in the box, I’m of the opinion that retractable cables are less likely to survive the daily grind.

Operation

The battery pack is fairly robust and was able to withstand daily knocks in my travels to and from work.  While the product usually comes in silver, the white finish of the battery pack tested held up well.

I was not able to charge the battery via the mains due to the plug supplied being incompatible with Australian mains.  Thankfully, I was able to charge the battery by using my Laptop’s USB port.  While charging via USB is a great feature, the omission of a compatible mains plug really needs to be addressed as it reduces the products overall appeal and usefulness.While charging via USB, the battery showed no sign of stress and didn’t noticeably rise in temperature.  Similarly, the battery effortlessly charged my Samsung D900 mobile phone as well as a spare Nokia I had lying around.  My iPod also charged flawlessly when connected to the battery.  It is worth noting however, that charging the iPod requires the use of your original iPod USB cable, as an additional connector is not supplied.

The only real issue I encountered using this device was with regards to the sheer number of connectors and cables supplied.  To avoid confusion, clear labelling of the connectors would have been helpful as well as perhaps colour coding the cables used for charging the unit itself.  Having said this, after charging a few gadgets I quickly recognised the connectors and cables I needed so this is really a minor quibble.

Specifications

Battery type:  Lithium ION Battery
Capacity:  14.8 watt hours
Size:  107mm x 57mm x 16mm
Weight:  130g
Rated Input:  DC 5V 1A (Maximum)
Rated Output:  USB 5V 0.7A
Working Temperature:  - 10° Celsius to 50° Celsius

Conclusion

The USB Universal Portable Charger performs as advertised and at a reasonable price.  Before rushing off to purchase this item, however, it is important to note that the newly ratified universal mobile phone adapter (Micro USB) is currently not part of this package.  The addition of this connector and inclusion of a region specific mains plug will make this product definitely worth looking at for your portable power needs.

More than a revolution, the USB Universal Portable Charger from USB Fever provides exactly what you would expect it to:  Portable power to the people.

The USB Universal Power Adapter is available from USB FEVER for $54.99US