If you plan to bring your technology abroad this summer, be sure to check these 5 quick tips:
1) The voltage
Before you even think of plugging your electronic device into a foreign outlet, you need to check the voltage in that country, and the voltage compatibility on your device. I’ve posted about this in the past so I suggest reading that and checking your power supplies.
2) Mobile phone roaming enabled and possible at your destination?
Most mobile operators do not turn international roaming on by default. If I had a nickel for every time someone emailed me complaining that their mobile phone "could not get a signal" at their destination, I’d have a couple of bucks.
There are 2 things to check before taking your phone with you:
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My deal of the day today is the Chargepod universal device charger. If (like me), you travel with more gadgets than you should, then the Chargepod is just what you need. It’ll charge 6 devices at the same time, off one outlet or car adapter.
The bundle comes with the Chargepod unit, an AC charger, DC charger, 6 tips and a carrying pouch.
Amazon has some other vendors selling it for less, but they charge about $8 shipping, making the "direct from Amazon" deal the best option. Callpod still sell the Chargepod on their site for $80, so this really is a "hot" deal.
Product page: Amazon.com
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12 Jun
Posted by scottc as Belkin, Power It, Product Reviews
It’s been a few days since I last posted a product review, so I’ll try and catch up in the coming week.
My product review today is of the Belkin Mini Surge Protector / USB Charger. The concept is brilliant; make a 3-outlet portable surge protector, and add a 2-outlet USB device charger. It combines 2 things almost everyone needs when they are on the road; protection from harmful electrical surges, and a way to charge your phone, PDA and media player.
The Belkin weighs 6.7oz/189 grams and is about 5 inches/12 centimeters long. The prongs are protected by a plastic cap which should ensure you don’t stab yourself, or bend them when you pop it in your laptop bag.
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26 May
Posted by scottc as Kensington, Power It, Product Reviews
If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, then you’ll know that I love power. Being able to charge my gadgets anywhere in the world, far away from an outlet has become an obsession, and it’s been years since I found myself stranded anywhere without the juice to power my stuff.
So, today I’ll show you another gadget that can help you do the same; it’s the Kensington Portable Power Pack for Mobile Devices (I’ll just refer to it as the Power Pack).
The Power Pack is a small (85g/3oz) Lithium-Polymer battery pack with a USB output port. It has a capacity of 1800mAh, which on average should be enough for the following:
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14 May
Posted by scottc as Kensington, Power It, Product Reviews
The Kensington "Travel Plug Adapter with USB Charger" is a foreign plug adapter with a USB device charger.
The device is packaged in a plastic blister container, but thankfully Kensington understand that most travelers won’t have a saw with them, so the rear of the package is perforated and I was able to open it in under 10 seconds (and without losing a thumb in the process).
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UPDATE: Today is the last day to try and win this kit!
It’s amazing what you find when you do some Spring cleaning…
Amongst the piles of stuff I call my gadget collection, I found a brand new iGo Everywhere power 100 kit, and an iGo Wallpower charger.
I could put them up for sale on Ebay, but they are probably far more valuable to you! So I’m going to give them away for free.
All you need to do is leave a comment anywhere on the site, for any article between now and the next 6 days (by the end of May 14th).
For those that don’t know what this prize is; it’s a universal notebook charger that can be powered off AC, DC (car) and air (empower). It comes with several notebook tips, but owners of more recent machines may require a matching tip for your laptop from the iGo website (around $10).
Included in the Everywhere power 100 charger is also a “Dualpower” adapter which lets you charge your portable devices and laptop at the same time. Dualpower tips are available for almost every mobile phone, PDA, GPS unit, gaming console and digital camera.
The added bonus is an iGo Wallpower charger, which takes those same Dualpower tips, and plugs directly into a wall socket.
Fine(ish) print: Anyone is welcome to play, including my readers abroad (yes, I’ll even ship it to you). To make things fair, I’ll use Random.org to generate a time and day number to pick the winner. If the winner does not want the prize or doesn’t respond within a week, I’ll pick another winner till we find someone that wants it! Comments flagged as “spam” are not eligible.
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29 Apr
Posted by scottc as Power It, Product Reviews, Proporta
When you are on the road, power can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Even the best gadget in the world becomes useless when it runs out of juice.
There is nothing more annoying than trying to make a phone call and not being able to turn your phone on because you forgot to turn it off and the battery died on you in the middle of a trip.
I have used some battery backup solutions in the past, including the APC USB battery pack I mentioned several months ago in my "Power it anywhere" kit, but the product I’ll show you today is the best I’ve ever come across.
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29 Apr
Posted by scottc as Power It
As summer approaches, more and more of you will be replacing the notebook bag for a backpack, and your suit for shorts. Which can only mean that it’s vacation time!
But one question I see pop up a lot is; will my electronics work abroad?
The only way to tell, is to check the back, bottom or side of your power adapter/charger. It’ll clearly state what input voltages it is rated for. The voltage you need, depends on the country you are traveling to. North America uses 120 Volts, Mexico 127 Volts and most of Europe is on 230 Volts. I’ve taken photos of some adapters I found here to show you what to look for:
This Canon battery charger is fine with anything from 100-240 Volts, which means it’ll work anywhere.
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One of the comments in my "Proporta Gadget Bag" article asked how much all that stuff weighs…
Remember; that includes the gadget bag, 3 phones, a VOIP adapter, 2 headsets, sim cards, an iPod, all the chargers I could ever need, battery backup power, a camera, flashlight, a laser pointer, 2 mice, memory cards, a WiFi adapter and loads of cords.
Back when every one of my gadgets required its own charger I was probably carrying close to twice that much. Under 2 kilos for everything I need on a trip (not including whichever laptop I use that week) is really not that bad.
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Several months ago I mentioned how Apple is doing everything it can to keep Magsafe technology to itself.
Up till now the only way to charge your Macbook/Pro/Air was to purchase the Apple Magsafe Air cable, or to drag along your AC adapter with a DC/AC inverter.
Thankfully aptly named developer "Mikegyver" has designed a line of Magsafe adapter cables that fit 2 of the most popular airline/car chargers on the market.
He has Magsafe tips available for the Kensington 120Watt charger, and the iGo Everywhere 130.
They are not cheap, but if you need more flexibility in charging your device, it’s pretty much your only option. You can thank Apple for that…
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