Socket Creates a Portable Charging Power Source

Posted By: Ryan Tuesday, October 12, 2004 10:32:58 AM

Socket today announced the Mobile Power Pack, a small and light-weight mobile charging source for users of portable electronic devices such as PDAs, mobile phones, MP3 players and more. By eliminating the need for multiple battery packs, the product gives mobile users the freedom to use their electronic devices anywhere for extended periods without pluging in to a wall.

Socket's Mobile Power Pack is a rechargeable Lithium ion battery pack with a capacity of 7,200 mAh and can extend the run time of an average PDA up to 16 hours -- even while operating with accessories and full backlight. The Power Pack's dimensions are 4"x 3"x 1" and it weighs 11 ounces. It will charge or operate any compatible device that uses an input voltage of +5 volts DC.

The Power Pack has the ability to charge most products that draw power from a USB port. It powers devices by simply plugging in a compatible connector to the Mobile Power Pack. Included with the product are a black soft leather case, a travel pouch, DC output cord, and AC adapter with four input plugs for use in the U.S., Europe, United Kingdom, and Australia.

"The Mobile Power Pack provides users with a powerful productivity solution that is Mobility Friendly," said Vanessa Lindsay, Product Marketing Manager at Socket. "Similar to a universal remote control for TVs, the product eliminates the need for multiple charging sources, one for each electronic device a user carries, and it's extremely light and easy to carry."

Socket's Mobile Power Pack will be available during the first week of November 2004 through Socket's website and through Socket's worldwide distribution channels for an MSRP of U.S. $149 and expected street price of U.S. $119 - $129.

Article Comments

 (16 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

Not for Palm?

shrink @ 10/12/2004 2:04:14 PM #
Went to the site but the specs say it's for "socket devices" and Pocket PCs, not PalmOS.
If so, why the post on PIC?
Looks like a neat device!
alan

Alan B.
RE: Not for Palm?
Admin @ 10/12/2004 2:07:03 PM #
The press release specifically states compatibility with palmOne devices, Pocket PC's and most +5v devices that can be charged by a USB cable. I don't post stories unless they are palm os/handheld related.

I'm assuming this can charge anything that you can plug a usb cable into. I'll have to get a review unit to find out for sure.

-Ryan

RE: Not for Palm?
shrink @ 10/12/2004 2:44:07 PM #
Cool, thanks Ryan.
I looked on the site but didn't see a mention of anything other than PPCs. I probably just overlooked it in a frenzied senior moment.(sigh)
alan

Alan B.
RE: Not for Palm?
mikecane @ 10/12/2004 5:39:24 PM #
"The Socket Mobile Power Pack is a small, light weight mobile charging source for users of portable electronic devices such as Pocket PCs, palmOne devices, PDAs, mobile phones, Smartphones, BlackBerry’s, digital cameras,MP3 players as well as Socket products (Cordless GPS receiver, Cordless 56K Modem, Cordless Serial Adapter and Cordless Hand Scanner)."

-- you read too fast. But I don't see their Compatibility List. I'd like to know exactly which models can use this.

RE: Not for Palm?
mikecane @ 10/12/2004 5:43:07 PM #
Ah, I see. It's a footnote!

*Compatible chart currently under construction, will be available shortly.

I read too fast too

mikecane @ 10/12/2004 5:40:31 PM #
>>> 7,200 mAh <<<

HOLY COW!!! That'd give me enough juice to use the TE for a full day!!

Mmmm battery life.
dona83 @ 10/14/2004 9:20:39 PM #
My Treo 600 with 1700mAh battery already lasts a whole day... I can play mp3s for 14 hours before I have 10% battery left. Wow with that battery I can play mp3s for like 80 hours and still have one full charge left.

Nah might be more useful for my girlfriend and her Zire 72, with I believe a 900mAh battery? wow this'll give her 8 times more staying power... 5 hours + 40 hours of mp3 playing time. Pretty cool stuff. :) That was the only complaint about my former Tungsten T, the god awful battery life. Power-To-Go was useful, keyword was, now the UC is gone. So this battery pack pretty much works with absolutely everything.

$125 street?

PalmFanatic @ 10/12/2004 6:26:43 PM #
Very nice, and useful (for multiple products) but $125 for a spare battery? Sure hope the price drops quickly!
RE: $125 street?
tfftruoa @ 10/13/2004 1:03:27 AM #
I paid $50 for my Power-to-Go and it's been well worth it. Tripled the battery life of my T3. It might have even been worth the $100 it was originally selling for, though that is harder to justify. $129 is a decent price for what it does, taking the place of the bulky AC adapters for your Palm, cell phone, mp3 player, or whatever else you may have. I think it needs to drop to arounf $60 or so to be very succesful.

Out of curiousity, how does it compare to power-to-go in terms of capacity and size?



Sharp Wizard-->Handspring Visor "Deluxe"-->Sony Clie SJ30-->Palm Tungsten T3 w/ SE T68i

RE: PTG vs Socket?
mikecane @ 10/13/2004 10:14:53 AM #
What do you mean by triple?

And how exactly does this work? palmOne markets it as a recharger. If you leave it attached all the time, which drains first: the PTG sled or the T3 internal battery? And then how long does it take to recharge the PTG?

RE: PTG vs Socket?
tfftruoa @ 10/13/2004 10:34:25 PM #
I can normally scqueeze around 3 hours of use, moslty word processing, reading, viewing pictures, and PIM, but also with fairly frequent mp3 use and moderate bluetooth use before I get into the 20% range where it starts cutting functionality. With power to go, I got continuous use from Paris to San Fransisco and landed with around 15% battery left in my main battery. The flight was a little over 9 hours, so thats around triple what I normally get.

I know it was marketted as a recharger, but I mostly use it as an external battery. Whenever I know that I'm doing anything fairly battery intensive like using VeriChat while playing an mp3 and writing something, I just atttact the ptg sled and I dont need to worry about my battery. The ptg sled drains first. After an hour of heavy use, the ptg will go down to yellow, but the regular battery will be at 100% when attatched.

I've found it takes around an hour to fully charge the ptg sled, I havn't timed it, but that's my best estimate.

Sharp Wizard-->Handspring Visor "Deluxe"-->Sony Clie SJ30-->Palm Tungsten T3 w/ SE T68i

RE: PTG vs Socket
mikecane @ 10/15/2004 9:18:25 AM #
What do you mean by Yellow? Are there several lights on the PTG that indicate power strength? Or does the battery meter in the T3 also monitor the PTG power level?

RE: $125 street?
T. @ 10/15/2004 12:25:26 PM #
The PTG sled has a light that changes color based on percentage of charge left.

I also get about a factor of three with the PTG. Two of them gets me US to Tokyo with pretty much continuose use of my T3 with a keyboard attached and MP3s going.


mAh

Michel1601 @ 10/12/2004 8:28:59 PM #
Is 7,200 mAh means 7 AmpereH. Because my cell for astronomy os 7 AH look bigger than I can see on the image.

Michel1601

michel1601

RE: mAh
icebalm @ 10/13/2004 1:14:43 AM #
No, milliamp/hour, you forgot the m.

RE: mAh
Be_True @ 10/13/2004 1:35:22 AM #
"7,200 mAh means 7 AmpereH"

7,200 milli-amp/hour IS 7 amp/hour,

just like 1,000 mm = 1m (1,000 millimeters = 1 meter)

{easy grade-school stuff here}

-Chris

Tungsten C, Palm IIIxe, Wizard OZ-9520

"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati"

Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass:

Latest Comments

  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000