debcook

Mobile electronic gadgets need mobile sources of power. When making an over night trip I sometimes grab every power cord for every gadget I own. It is really a hassle. Then when I get home it is another hassle to dig them out and plug them back into their positions on the surge protector.

At home I have my power cords lined up and positioned on the front edge of my desk but when visiting fiends and family it is difficult to find an appropriate area to re-charge all of my batteries. Like most people they seldom have vacant wall plugs in convenient places. I fear spreading my gadgets in too large of an area because what if I forgot one?

I have a portable power station but it is too heavy and bulky to carry around easily. I can also charge my gadgets in the car with my power inverter that I plug into the cigarette lighter. Car chargers are usually an extra expense and more to schlep around so I do not own them. As a last resort I can plug most gadgets into the USB port on my laptop. That is not my first choice because I want to reserve that battery power for computing.

Today I read about the Duracell PowerSource Mini. It is pretty small (2.6” x 0.95” x 3.25”) and has a mini USB fold out arm and a USB port that can recharge electronic gadgets. What I can determine is that it works really well for cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs and such. I do not think that it is designed to charge larger devices like a laptop.

Price wise it compares to a small power inverter like I keep in my car – about $50. I would like to have both however because I can charge my laptop with the power inverter. The Duracell Mini is warranted for a year so I am reassured that I won’t loose my money. I am not sure how long this little power charger has been n the market but this is the first time I’ve seen it.

Even though I seldom totally discharge the batteries on every gadget I carry with me it would be nice to have the peace of mind. I do not want to loose functionality for the need to conserve battery power.