A portable charger for your digital lifestyle
Over the years, I’ve done product reviews for companies like Nokia, small camcorder companies and gadget startups in my role as a columnist for Engadget, all the while offering this disclosure statement that spelled out my affiliations.
Well, let’s toss another one into the mix, because the good folks at Powerocks recently sent me the Powerocks Extended Battery Pak Super Magicstick (2800mAh) to test out, and within a week I began adding it to my road warrior arsenal.
Powerocks is a lightweight portable charger that takes the worry out of heading out of the house with a less than fully charged array of mobile gadgets, including the iPad, iPhone, Android phones, digital cameras, handheld game devices, GPS gizmos, MP3 players and more.
How Powerocks works
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: You charge up the Powerocks’ internal battery by plugging the accompanying USB-to-micro-USB cord into your computer’s USB port. In a half hour or so, you’ll notice its mood changing, from red to green to blue (I would have gone with the more familiar red-yellow-green stoplight metaphor) as it becomes fully charged.
Step 2: You attach a different cord from your Powerocks (see below) to your mobile device. The cord isn’t included, and it’s easy to see why: The input into all these devices keeps changing, ranging from a USB to 30-pin Dock connector for the original iPads to the new Lightning connector for the latest iPhones and iPads.
That’s it. Use it for some extra juice at the end of a long day of texting, GPS and running apps (never Candy Crush, of course). The 2800mAh battery capacity should basically double the uptime of your smartphone — from, say, 8 hours to twice that. So Powerrocks is a great solution for busy, on-the-go professionals who need to keep their smartphone going at the end of the work day. Just don’t plan to head into the woods expecting it to keep your phone juiced for a week.
I actually already have a similar portable power charger, the SoundLogic XT, which comes with the same USB-to-micro-USB cord — but lacks the color-coded lights and seems to peter out a tad faster.
If you’re shopping for a last-minute present for the geek in your household, Powerocks is an affordable option at about $40 to $50. Go get charged!
