Portable Power
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Who says living off-grid is hard?
Timbuk2 Power Commute and Power Q bags will juice your tech from here to...
Whether it's a tropical vision quest, or a summer jaunt in Europe, the well-traveled gadgeteer faces one eternal scourge -- power. Timbuk2 hears this, and has partnered with Joey Energy to bring you two new travel bags (the Power Commute and Power Q) with internal chargers. Okay, you don't need to have the crunch of sand underfoot to benefit from one of these, in fact, dashing across town will also be a much more liberated affair, knowing that you don't need benevolent weather, or have to pack a dedicated device. The power supply has been designed to deal with the rough and tumble of the outside world, and claims to power pretty much anything that charges over USB. The Joey T1 claims to be able to provide about two full mobile charges, and both of the new bags come laden with all the tech-hiding covey holes you'd expect, costing $199 when they launch in October.
Panasonic pimps portable power packs purportedly powering phones (and tablets)
Panasonic isn't letting any chocolate egg hangover delay its plans for global smartphone domination. It's releasing eight new external battery packs that'll power your smartphone and / or tablet. The biggest model in the series, the QE-QL301 packs a 10,260 mAh battery that claims to charge a handset four times over, or juice two at the same time (twice). The range also includes three wireless charging plates powered by Energizer's QI platform and, just to show that Panny's thought of everything: the dual-USB ports on some of the models come with a little LED light so you can even find them during night-time power-cuts.
Freeplay's ZipCharge spotted, priced and dated
Freeplay's ZipCharge has already made its debut, but it's showing itself once more at Mobile World Congress now that it has a definitive ship date and price. For those out of the loop, this here power stick can charge up in just ten minutes, and the supplied cable provides all sorts of tips to juice up whatever random gadget you have laying around (Palm's Foleo notwithstanding). The device is expected to splash down on store shelves this April for around £60 ($85), and you can peek a few more hands-on shots in the read link below.
HydroPak water-activated fuel-cell generator unveiled
While still quite a ways away from our ideal method of drawing power directly from tap water, the new HydroPak generator from Millennium Cell and Horizon Fuel Cell at least trumps those heavy, dirty, traditional models in both cleanliness and efficiency. As we first heard a few months back, this water-activated, fuel cell-based "portable power product" uses $20 disposable cartridges to provide "enough energy to recharge an average notebook computer 8 to 10 times" or "operate low power devices such as portable lights, notebook computers, portable televisions and ad hoc communications networks for more than 14 continuous hours," via AC outlet or dual USB jacks. Also on display at CES alongside the $400 unit will be a smaller version called the HydroPak Mini, a prototype device designed to juice up gadgets such as cellphones or gaming systems.[Via Gadget Lab]
Water-activated portable power generator on the horizon
We've seen our fair share of diminutive power generators, but rather than worrying with vibrations or hyperventilating, Millennium Cell and Horizon Fuel Cell have teamed up to deliver an iteration that's water-activated. The pair has been working together on this technology for some time now, and apparently, it's readying a beta that will be demonstrated at next year's CES. The portable power generator incorporates a "unique water-activated cartridge system," which is designed to quietly provide clean energy to consumer products in emergencies and when far, far away from an electrical outlet. Reportedly, the device will provide an AC socket alongside two USB connectors, an operating time of over 16-hours, infinite shelf-storage life and 400-watts of instant juice by just adding H2O. Regrettably, we still have no idea what this thing actually looks like, but considering that CES is less than two months away, we'll soon be seeing what this $400 gizmo can do up close and in person.
Energizer brings Energi To Go portable power to iPod
Although Energizer has been providing its Energi To Go for a plethora of cellphones and other portable peripherals, it's about time the dock-connecting iPods got one of their own. Finally arriving this fall, the Energi To Go Portable Power for iPod is powered by a pair of AA cells, sports a "unique flip design" that enables it to double as a stand, and features a "patented intelligent control chip that maximizes power transfer to the iPod." 'Course, what you're really interested in is how many all-nighters this thing can get you through, and we're happy to say that this here gizmo can supposedly provide "more than 46-hours" of juice to an iPod nano and "more than 32-hours" of music playback to the iPod with video. All yours for $29.99, which will include the charger and two Energizer e2 Lithium AA batteries.
Medis Technologies unveils portable fuel cell power pack
Yeah, we won't even need fuel cells as soon as EEStor's miracle-working ultracapacitor-based battery system starts powering the world at large, but until then, we're still fielding applications for alternative sources of juice. Medis Technologies has introduced a fuel cell for your pocket, which provides auxiliary power for cellphones, DAPs / PMPs, PDAs, digicams, and pretty much anything else that relies on an internal, rechargeable battery. Touted as being "years ahead of its time," this self-proclaimed must-have gadget works off a Direct Liquid Fuel Cell (DLFC), and can supposedly provide up to 30 hours of talk time to any mobile, and between 60 and 80 hours of playback time for your iPod. Of course, there are no hard details promising us when we'll see this portable power unit, nor any indication of how expensive it'll be when it finally lands, but if lofty life claims turn out to be true, it might not be too shabby.[Via PocketPCThoughts]
