Phone recharge units can relieve that disquieting feeling
around with flat batteries, says Tim Stackpool. TECHNOFILE
Do you feel vulnerable when out of mobile phone range, or when the battery is nearly dead and you don’t have a charger with you? Sociologists call it “nomophobia”, which is really an abbre- viation of “no-mobile-phone phobia”. When it is a battery problem, “wireless” phone chargers are available, some of which can also recharge tablets or other small devices. A pretty solution is the Pebble Smart-
stick, a small cylindrical device that can give at least one full recharge for your phone while on the move. Compact, it comes with a range of connectors for var- ious phones. However, its own battery must be charged (via a USB connection to a computer or via a USB wall charger), which can take some time. More common is the Energizer
XP1000. This square device, about the size of a small USB hard-drive, connects to most smart phones and MP3 players. Once charged, it will stay that way for up to a year until used, and like similar units
TEST DRIVE All it takes is a click... Louis Allen test drives a camera card that uploads images on the fly.
If you need to take photos of products or company events, it can be a quick and easy process with a new memory card with built-in WiFi. Eye-Fi X2 cards can be used in cameras, smart
phones, tablets or laptop computers, saving the hassle of photo and video uploads, sharing, organisation and back-up – and anywhere in the world.
It is like a regular SDHC card, but comes with a special USB unit that plugs into a computer – or images can be transferred to a mobile device the instant they are taken. The card also stores images, useful as a back-up or for when transmission is not possible.
For a test run, the software was easily installed on my MacBook via the card and its USB reader. With the Eye-Fi card in my Nikon D5000, images were quickly uploaded to the computer as I wandered around the room. It really was a snap. Eye-Fi cards offer automatic image organisation,
and encourage people to stop using their SD cards as a backup or filing system. Images are placed in date-based folders. There is also a geotagging service as a feature
of the 8GB Pro X2 card, or can be bought as an upgrade. This embeds locations in the image information. INFO
www.eyefi.com
ISSUE THREE 2012 |
WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.ASIA 23 Nomophobia is no big deal when you’re charging
offers up to one complete charge for your phone. It includes internal “smarts:” to maintain voltage, current and temperature. It is rechargeable itself up to 500 times. For a more fashionable approach, the
Stone Charger, designed in France, is pocket-sized and automatically switches off when the device is fully charged, indicated by an LED light. Once the unit has been charged for three hours, it holds its charge for a year. It is compat- ible with all devices that can be charged through a USB connection. While these units come in at less than
US$50, the robust Samsonite Torus Solar backpack will set you back a few hundred. The solar panels enable you to charge devices while on the move. The panel is in a detachable pouch and must be exposed to the sun while recharging the unit’s battery over three or four hours. EnergizerXP1000,
www.energizerpowerpacks.com Pebble Smartstick,
www.veho-uk.com Samsonite Torus Solar,
www.samsonite.com INFO Stone Charger,
www.stonecharger.com
E
INFO INFO INFO
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