Mobile Mac Tips: USB Power

Mac portable-toting travelers know that one of the best things you can do to save limited packing space is eliminate the wall wart chargers that come with so many gadgets and replace them with USB charging cables (particularly Ziplinq style retractable cables). That way you can charge your devices from your MacBook (Pro) or other Mac Portable. However, you can take this to the next level with two very convenient devices. The first is a combination USB AC Wall charger + cigarette lighter adapter, like this VersaCharger Pro from Boxwave (I actually have the similar Emerge ReTrak from CompUSA I got for $20 and which came with a retractable cable for my Treo). Throw one of these in your bag with USB charge cables and you can always charge your iPod, phone, or PSP in your hotel room or rental car.

The second is an external battery pack. While there are several external iPod battery packs out there like the TunePower from Belkin, they have always seemed to me to be both too expensive ($80) and not versatile enough (limited to the iPod). Therefore, I've been interested in external USB battery packs like the Porta USB Mobile Device Charger. The downside of those, however, is that they too are somewhat expensive ($76) and you're limited to the built-in battery.

So I was quite excited the other day when I discovered the Tekkeon Go. It is a relatively cheap device (<$20) which holds 4 AA batteries and offer a USB charging port. In addition, if you install NiMH rechargeable batteries in it, you can recharge those batteries by reversing the included USB cable (i.e. you can recharge the batteries from a powered USB port). This has a two fold advantage: 1) you can use the same USB charge cables you already have, and 2) if you should happen to run the charge all the way down you can just take out the rechargeables and install a set of regular alkalines to get your tunes or calls going again. A quick trip to the store yielded a set of NiHM batteries for about $7, so for ~$25 total you've got an excellent portable and rechargeable battery backup that works with phone, iPod, or any other small device. I was so excited about this product I ordered two, one for myself, and one for my better half. Highly recommended.