Battery tech has gotten better over the years but it still has a long way to go. When the Palm Pre launched, one of its “differentiators” was the fact that it had a removable battery, so you could carry an extra for the days you were burning through the juice. For a lot of gadgets, though, that’s not an option.
That’s where external battery packs come in. Technocel recently sent me a PowerPak, a little battery pack that doubles as a charger, and I have to say, I’m in love with the thing.
With the Technocel PowerPak, you get the charging base along with a bundle of charging tips for various devices. You can connect to pretty much anything – micro USB, mini USB, and proprietary connections like Samsung and Sony – while the pack delivers power from a USB socket. Yes, that means you can plug in your iPhone cord and go.
While the PowerPak charges your device, it also charges an internal 1000mAh battery that can be used later by simply plugging in your favorite device. The front features a simple four-LED indicator for the battery’s charge level. As a point of reference, the iPhone 3GS is just over a 1200mAh battery, so this thing can almost get you up to full charge. In my experience, I would get anywhere from 60-80 percent additional battery life from the Technocel PowerPak, depending on how much I used my phone as it charged.
Battery size would be my one gripe about this device. It’s extremely portable and I love that it’s universal in case I need to charge something else in a pinch, but if they could double the battery life, it would be just about perfect. That said, I liked the PowerPak enough to feature it in this year’s Father’s Day Gift Guide over at our parent site, Bullz-Eye.com. The Technocell PowerPak retails for $49.99.
If you haven’t plugged your iPhone into your computer recently, you might want to do so. iOS 4 is now available as a free download through iTunes.
