Category: chargers

I travel frequently. One thing I can never quite seem to get right is having the right mix of USB cables for my gadgets. This is because the gadgets I carry vary from time to time. Surely, I can carry cables for each device, but I rarely need to use them all simultaneously. It’s a lot of wasted space.

This is why I was pleased as punch to find out about the OneCable, which my friends at MobileFun sent me for review. It is one of my favorite iPhone accessories because it works with in two ways: with the regular 30-pin connector and a MicroUSB, which fits the battery case I have. For the rare MiniUSB device, the cable also supports that as well.

All three connectors are built into a retractable cable that replaces three separate cables in my bag. Choosing the right connector is simple. The ends are attached to the cable, are easy to connect and won’t get lost. I even like them outside my travel bag as I can leave one cable on my desk plugged into my computer that will connect to anything I might want to plug in via USB.

All in all, having one (or more) of these cables is highly recommended. While MobileFun in the UK sells them, a number of other vendors worldwide sell similar cables. They are well worth the investment.

The folks from MobileFun sent me a rather novel iPhone stand for review: the Desk Genie Non-Slip Charging Desk Stand. It charges a number of different phones, including iPhones. It also includes a two-port USB hub and an 8-in-1 memory card reader.

The non-stick surface is a kind of rubbery pad that your mobile device can rest on. It seems to support my iPhone with case quite nicely as well as a number of Nokia phones I tried. The pad does occasionally lose it’s “stickiness” but it can easily be restored with a towel dampened with water to clean off any dirt or debris.

The most confusing this about the device is the instructions, which were clearly written by someone whose first language was not English. The device plugs into your computer with a USB cable. There is also a port on the back of the device where you plug in a different cable that has an end where you can plug in a number of different ends (which are included). The upshot of this is that you can charge a number of different devices.

For phones like the iPhone where you might also want to sync your phone to your machine while charging, you should use your regular USB cable instead of the supplied charging cable. The upshot of this arrangement is that I can also use this device to charge my Nokia E71. Unfortunately, the Nokia 2mm tip included in my set did not reliably charge my Nokia E71. Unfortunately, this is a rather common issue I have ran into with chargers not made by Nokia. Fortunately for me, I had a similar tip provided with a different charger that seemed to work ok.

All in all, a worthwhile item to purchase as it combines a number of different items in a small space. With the current USD to GBP exchange rates, it’s not a bad deal, though it might take a while to arrive.

While I was in San Diego for the past few days, perhaps the biggest challenge–aside from never having more than 10 minutes to myself at a stretch–was keeping my iPhone’s battery charged. The Sales Kick Off meeting we had for Check Point had us anywhere but near an easily accessible AC port. I attempted to plan for this, and I normally have an external iPhone battery for this purpose.

Unfortunately, on my recent trip to Israel, the connector on my latest battery acquisition from eBay broke. That’s what happens when you get the cheap ones made in China. Either way, I did not have time to acquire something better before I left for this trip to San Diego.

I searched through my gadget stash and found an old Solio charger. While I wasn’t counting on it’s ability to get juice from the sun, it was able to receive a charge from USB. When fully charged, it was able to provide some extra juice to my iPhone. It certainly didn’t give the battery more than an extra 25-30% or so, but it was enough. It also fit in my pocket (albeit not comfortably) along with the iPhone.

I also took some other measures to conserve battery power as well: I dropped WiFi and Bluetooth. While there was plenty of WiFi around, I could not always use it nor did I necessarily want to. I only enabled it when I know I wanted to use it. That alone cut my battery drain to a fairly managable level.

The other thing: I forgot my iPhone’s AC adapter. This meant I need to plug into a Mac/PC to charge. It also meant that I was not able to easily charge my iPhone the night before I left San Diego. I had a very early morning flight and made the mistake of not leaving my MacBook turned on but not logged in. This meant my iPhone barely got a charge overnight.

The Solio came to my rescue again. I had wisely charged it the day before, so I was able to use it to provide a boost on the flight back to Seattle. The Solio did require some significant fiddling to get it to charge the iPhone without receiving the dreaded “charging with this accessory is not supported” message on my iPhone.

Meanwhile, I’m in the market for a mobile charging solution for my iPhone. Preferably something that will fit comfortably in my pocket with my iPhone 3GS, is durable, easily rechargable, but not insanely expensive. I realize that’s a bit much to ask, but any suggestions from the peanut gallery on this?

As usual, a lot of crap gets backed up into my email. Here’s a few of the more interesting bits. I have a few more that I’ll post later.

Callpod Fueltank Uno: As my portable iPhone charger I bought off eBay bit the dust the other day, this particular gadget comes along at a good time. Unfortunately, the website doesn’t say how big the battery is, but it claims to be “more than 4 times the capacity of a standard mobile phone.” It comes with an iPhone/iPod and a mini-USB charging tip. If you don’t have a phone that charges with one of those, a coupon is in the box that lets you get a free charging tip. Extras are $10 each.

Prepaid Phones a Stocking Stuffer?: One of the emails I had from a PR firm suggested that in today’s economy, a prepaid mobile phone might be just the perfect gift to stuff in someone’s stocking. They are certainly inexpensive and can be had for under $30 and do not require either a long-term commitment or a contract. I wouldn’t necessarily pick phones from TracFone, as was suggested by the PR firm, but maybe you can get a prepaid phone one from one of the major carriers, which can also be had for about the same price.

Walgreens Launches an iPhone App: Aside from the usual “store finder” type functions, the new Walgreens app on the iPhone lets you order prescription refills and upload photos for printing at a Walgreens store. It would be nice if I went to Walgreens, which I almost never do.

Social Networking Wars: From the folks who bring you SuperNews, a hilarious animated take on current events, comes Social Networking Wars. You are a nobody working in an office trying to fend off the distractions of social networking. Armed with a stapler, you must fight them off while not hitting your co-workers–or your boss. It’s a silly game, but like social networking, it’s a nice time killer.

More on the Yamaha USB Speakerphone Gadget I reviewed: Jim Courtney sent me a followup letter about the Yamaha USB Speakerphone that I reviewed a few weeks ago. One of the things he points out is that a lot of people are put off by the price, as I mentioned as a concern in the review. If you can make that jump, however, the “on site” experience of using the gadget is quite good and can prove to be valuable. To that end, In Store Solutions wants to encourage user trial and will extend its return policy such that anyone purchasing during this promotion can return it, shipping prepaid but “no questions asked”, for a full credit until January 31, 2010. This gives purchasers a chance to make their own “on site” decision about its value in the end. Nice promo, guys!

Sony Selling AT&T Service at Sony Style stores: Not that I’m a huge fan of Sony Ericsson phones, but if you buy a Sony Ericsson C905a or W518a–presumably at full retail price–and agree to a new two year contract, you get three free accessories. It’s only in stores, not online. And, if you ask me, it’s not that great of a deal. Sony gets points for trying, but I doubt the promotion will be very successful.

Since I’ve joined Check Point Software, I’ve done a fair bit of traveling–moreso than I’ve done in quite some time. Since I am ending up more random places, and have had the joy of going through airport security in Tel Aviv on two occasions so far (which makes the TSA experience seem relatively painless by comparison), it has forced me to refine my travel toolbox–things that come with me on every trip I make. Lighter traveling makes for easier traveling, and the following items have earned a more or less permanent place in my travel bag.

The Apple iPhone: As much as I have liked the Nokia phones over the years, thanks to the breadth of applications on the iPhone, not to mention the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities, the iPhone has been a welcome travel companion. TripIt and iXpenseIt have become absolutely indispensable applications while traveling.

Portable iPhone Battery Charger: Written about this in the past, of course, but it bares mentioning again, especially when using the iPhone in airplane mode on a plane where they don’t provide a USB or power jack. It keeps my phone charged so that when I land, my iPhone and I are ready to go.

The Nokia E71: This comes in handy, particularly on those trips to Israel where I can’t use my iPhone as anything more than an iPod Touch thanks to AT&T’s roaming rates being so expensive. Prior to my purchasing an iPhone, the Nokia E71 was my primary phone and it is still quite capable in a pinch. It is also a failsafe in case I completely drain the battery in the iPhone

MaxRoam: One thing I have to admit missing from my days at Nokia was not having to worry about my mobile phone charges when traveling abroad. 500 – 1000 EUR phone bills were not all that uncommon for travelers abroad. Even though I was a responsible chap and asked how one might reduce that cost while abroad, I was often told “not to worry” by managers. Meanwhile, Check Point has a different opinion about these things, so I carry a MaxRoam SIM in that Nokia E71 to keep the roaming costs a bit more reasonable. That and I get a local SIM card if I’m going to be someplace more than a few days.

Skype: Assuming I have a good Internet connection, Skype is a lifesaver, especially for making reasonable calls to the US while I am abroad. Actually, the calls are included in the ~$30/year Skype North America plan, making it an excellent value.

Monster Outlets To Go: Given the relative lack of plugs I have found in hotel rooms, having a power strip with me has proven to be a wise investment. Abroad, it is even better because I can make more efficient use of the relatively scarce plug adapters. The Outlets To Go by Monster has been fantastic. It’s compact, the plug lights up when connected to power, and it’s relatively inexpensive. Can’t ask for much more than that.

iPass: As much as I’ve used (and loved) Boingo in the past, I have had numerous issues with their software on the iPhone and on the Mac. Also, I frequently find their “mobile” software doesn’t allow me to log into hotspots I use frequently. Enter iPass, who has been at this remote access game longer. They still provide dialup Internet access on the road, but also provide Internet access through a number of other mechanisms, including many of the same WiFi hotspots Boingo does. Their iPhone app works pretty well.  More options is good, and when providing reliable remote access solutions, experience counts.

A Travel Router: Because one never knows exactly what kind of broadband connectivity one will find at a hotel, and I have multiple devices that might need to use that Internet access, a travel router has a place in my bag. I can plug it into the hotel Ethernet and make it WiFi so my laptop and my mobile phones can connect to it. I currently use a first-generation WTR54GS from Linksys, which I have flashed with the flexible DD-WRT firmware.

The EVERYMAN Headset: Yes, with Skype, one needs a quality headset for an optimal experience. The EVERYMAN delivers in terms of cost and compactness in my travel bag. Yes, they gave me a review unit a few months ago, but at $23 shipped to my door, I’d happily buy another one!

An Extra Change of Clothes: One thing I learned from a professional services guy I worked with early in my career is that you never know when you will get stuck someplace on the road. Flights get canceled or severely delayed. Any number of accidents can happen involving your clothing, as well. As a result, I always–even on short trips–bring an extra change of clothes with me. I have never had to use them, thankfully, but it’s nice to know they’re there if I need them.

An Extra Bag: Yes, I actually pack an extra bag in my carryon. It’s one of those nylon “recyclable” bags you might get at a grocery store. This particular one folds up nicely with a velcro flap to keep it a nice, tidy bundle. However, if I end up picking up a few extra things on my travels, having a way to carry that stuff home is important.

Over the years, I’ve collected gobs of Nokia chargers. I have a box full of them, not to mention the half dozen or so I keep plugged in. Unfortunately, none of them do any good on the iPhone. This means trolling eBay looking for various iPhone chargers.

One of the chargers I found was this little portable charger. It takes the standard iPhone charging cable and plugs into the bottom of your iPhone, charging both simultaneously. The battery on this charger is 1900 mAh, which is more than enough to completely recharge your iPhone battery. It has lights that come on both when it is being charged and when it is charging the iPhone.

This unit cost roughly $13 on eBay from a US-based seller. It is clearly made in China and not approved by Apple. It does, however, get the job done. Just be aware that the charger doesn’t click-in like the standard iPhone cable does, so you want to be careful while this charger is plugged into your iPhone. However, having a charger small enough to carry in your pocket is a great thing–especially considering any serious iPhone usage drains the battey pretty quick.

A while ago, when I was writing for Gadgets Weblog, I reviewed the Solio H1000 Universal Hybrid Charger. At $79.95, it seemed a bit pricey. Especially since I could never get the solar part of the charging to work very well.

Meanwhile, Mark Guim over at The Nokia Blog got a Solar Cell Charger by Daylight Savings. Unlike the Solio H1000, which required special cables, this appears to use standard USB cables both for charging–in case you live someplace where the sun never shines–and for the compatible charging tips for phones.

The battery in this bad boy is 1200mAh, which is enough to fully charge the Nokia N95 8GB that I typically carry. However, I will likely have to heed Mark’s warning about the included charging cables being too short and use the Nokia CA-100 cables I already keep handy.

I ordered one of these guys because the price was fantastic–$24.99 including shipping. We’ll see how the solar panels fare up here in the Pacific Northwest.