Charging, in an instant

I just returned from a quick trip to L.A. and brought along a new Duracall-branded device designed to charge up your mobile gadgets. I let my iPhone run out of juice and used this portable power solution to see if it worked as promised.

If you’re the type to tote around a smartphone or MP3 player, you know how frustrating it could be when the battery runs low and you’re nowhere near an AC outlet or PC to power it up.

Sure, there are battery packs and other portable gadgets that contain rechargeable Lithiun-ion batteries, and now Duracell is getting into the game with a new line of Smart Power products.

Specifically, I tried out the Duracell Instant Charger, a small device — it’s about the size of a pack of gum and virtually weightless – that provides up to 35 hours of reserve power for devices that use USB cords.

On each end of the Instant Charger is a female USB port (one regular size, one mini) and in the box is a male-to-male cable (USB-to-micro-USB).

So after you’ve charged up the Instant Charger via a PC, you can then plug it into an iPhone, BlackBerry, media player or camera, flick the small On/Off switch on the Instant Charger and it begins charging the attached gadget immediately. iPods and iPhones, of course, require their own cable as they don’t use a standard USB connector, but works just as well. I noticed the Instant Charger juiced up my near-dead iPhone to nearly half capacity on my flight to Cali, which is pretty impressive (that “up to 35 hours” claim of course, depends on what it’s powering up). I also used this gadget to charge up my uCorder, a clip-on video recorder for hands-free use.

The Duracell Instant Charger, though, didn’t fare so well when trying to power up a dead PlayStation Portable (PSP).

While this travel companion worked well, the price is what stumps me. It costs $44.95 Canadian, yet you can find it on Amazon in the U.S. for $20? I asked the PR agency to comment. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Duracell responded to my comment about the price discrepancy. Here’s their official response:

“The Instant Charger listed on Amazon for $19.99 USD is an older model sold exclusively in the US. This line was discontinued last year in order to make way for the new and improved Duracell Instant Charger. In addition to the sleek new look and feel, the new Instant Charger also offers 15% more energy storage capacity. The older model will most likely continue to sell-through on Amazon until stock is completely gone but you can find the new one at local retailers today.”

Read more info on the Instant Charger here.

Filed Under: Digital Cameras > GPS > Handheld Devices > Laptops > Mobile Phones > Peripherals > Portable Electronics > Portable Media Players > Smartphones > iPod/iphone
Tags: battery, charger, duracell, instant, ion, juice, lithium, portable, power, recharge, Travel