Nokia Helps Charge You Up!
One of the thing that recent Nokia handsets have taken a bad rap on is battery life. They know it, as is obvious by the beefed up battery in both the US 3G N95 and N95 8GB versions. But what about those of us with older handsets? Not to worry.
At the Evening with S60 event back in Chicago, one little toy that Allan showed off was an Energizer charger which Darla Mack talked about here. This little thing allows you to recharge your phone using a few AA batteries (which, if you get rechargable AA batteries, is a GREAT little package).
Obviously Nokia was listening, cause they have since introduced 2 similar charging options, the Nokia Extra Power DC-8 and the Nokia Power Pack DC-1.
The first is pictured on the left and is pretty
much identical to the Energizer device, only "Nokianized". Pricing and
availability, as is usual for Nokia accessories, is unknown. It’s
incredibly small though, and would be easy to toss into a backpack or
purse. I saw it in London, and based on the size would assume that it
*maybe* holds 2 AA batteries.
The DC-1 Power Pack (right) was only announced right before London, but I
actually had the chance to use it on my N95, and while it’s a bit pricey (~$144
!!) it’ll recharge through a regular power cord, so you’re not
replacing AA batteries endlessly. It’s got enough power to fully
recharge 3 950mAh batteries, which is quite a bit, considering the size
of the thing. It also has 2 output ports, so you can charge 2 devices
at the same time. Pretty handy, really, if you’ve got a Bluetooth
headset or speakers with you. Should be out in the 4th Quarter
sometime.
So rest assured, if you’re cruising with an older device and craving
juice, or if you’re on the road alot and need that extra oomph (I can
see that DC-1 being REALLY useful on a long flight, for instance) then
Nokia’s got you covered.
Just an FYI - I was in Manila in the Philippines last week and picked up a DC-1 for a family member who travels a lot. So I’m not sure what the availability of that is supposed to be here in the US, but it’s certainly out in APAC.
boring…
I think I prefer my Proporta mobile charge device. It’s USB so can be charged by any PC or USB mains-charger, and you get a free USB-to-Nokia cable when you order (specifying which model you have) which can also be used directly from a PC.
Costs less as well