Mobile Power Options from Pocket PC Techs
November 22nd, 2006 Jason Dunn
If there’s one thing that every Windows Mobile device owner wishes they could forget about its battery life. It doesn’t matter if you use your device for productivity, gaming, music, video, or email – everything takes power. Who wants to think about recharging their devices? There’s nothing exciting about that – the fun comes in using them! Sadly, battery life still isn’t at the point where a single charge will last weeks, so until that happens we need to have strategies in place for getting as much use out of our Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs as possible. If you’re the kind of user who recharges daily from home or work, you may not have to think about battery life much – even a heavily used Pocket PC or Smartphone should last a full day. If you do any traveling though, or don’t recharge your device every day, there are some power accessories that will make your battery life last a lot longer. There are many companies making accessories like the ones I mention in this article, but I’ve selected Pocket PC Techs accessories to look at for two reasons: they’re very high quality, and they just happen to have sent a few of them my way.
An important note: the Pocket PC Techs Web site requires the selection of a device before you can access their products, so all the links in this article go to products for an I-Mate Jasjar. If you wish to purchase any of these products for yourself, go to the Pocket PC Techs Web site and select the “Pick/Change Your Unit” link at the top. From that point onward, you’ll only see accessories that are compatible with your Pocket PC or Smartphone. They’re always adding new devices and accessories, so if your device isn’t listed, check back in a few weeks and it just might be.
The heart of the Pocket PC Techs system is the Lil’ Sync Pro retractable cable. This cable serves as the power and synchronization bridge into your device. In my case, I have an I-Mate Jasjar, so I requested the miniUSB version, which is the most common type of connector for Windows Mobile devices, but there are different types of cables offered for various Pocket PCs and Smartphones. One end of the cable connects to your device, and the other end terminates in a standard USB cable. USB ports are everywhere, on every modern PC around, so this cable will be able to draw power from almost any PC. The cable serves a dual purpose: it will allow you to synchronize with a PC, but if your Windows Mobile device supports charging over USB (nearly all do) you’ll also be able to recharge it. Charging over USB is slower than direct AC power, but the convenience it offers overrules any concerns about how long it takes to charge. The cable is retractable and weighs only two ounces, making it highly portable – it extends to 50 inches in total, allowing you to reach almost any USB port and still work with your device at the same time. The cables sell for $19.99 USD.
Next we have the Lil’ Sync Penguin. It has a curious name, and looks a little “cute” to be a technology accessory, but just like the Millennium Falcon, it has it where it counts. The sturdy plastic exterior has a removable top, underneath which houses an auto adapter. Plug this into any automobile cigarette lighter, and you’ve got power – it handles all the electrical conversion and regulation. The back side has flip-up prongs that allow you to connect it to a wall socket for AC power, while the front bottom has a female USB port – this is where you connect the Lil’ Sync Pro cable. If you’re into specs, the Penguin supports AC input of 100 to 240 V; DC output of 5.1 ~ 5.6 V, auto input of 12 to 24 V; DC output of 5.1 to 5.6 v, and a current output of 1,000 mA ± 10%. The Lil’ Sync Penguin sells for $24.99 USD. If you live in Europe, or find yourself there often, there’s also an EU version that functions exactly the same.
The Lil’ Sync Airline Power Adaptor does one thing: it allows you to take your Lil’ Sync Pengiun and draw power from the EmPower Airline Power plus that many airplanes have. One end of the cable plugs into the 12 volt EmPower plug, and the other end accepts the connection from the Lil’ Sync Penguin. So in order to recharge your device on an air plane, you’d need three things: the Lil’ Sync cable, the Lil’ Sync Penguin, and this cable. I haven’t had a chance to test this on an airplane yet, but it would sure come in handy for those long flights. It can be purchased for $14.99.
Once you have all these accessories, how do you carry them? Why in the Lil’ Sync Power Accessories Carrying Case of course. This simple zippered Nylon carrying case has the Pocket PC Techs logo on the front, and a short carrying handle on the side. On the inside, one half is a single-zipper mesh pouch, measuring 8 inches by 5 inches. This area is good for storing assorted cables or even your Windows Mobile device. The other half of the case has three segmented mesh compartments, open at the top. I was able to fit all of my Pocket PC techs power accessories in this carrying case, along with several other cables and even a small portable battery. The case is sold for $19.99 USD, and makes a good all-around gadget bag.
Pocket PC Techs has a few other power-related accessories, including the AA Battery Adaptor (which allows you to use AA batteries to recharge your device), and several DUO adaptors which allow you to recharge your device more quickly, and from a completely dead battery.
Entry Filed under: Accessories