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May 17, 2008
Duracell Powersource Mobile 100 For power when others fail
Living in the Keys is a dream until hurricane season or during the other times when the power goes out. I don’t know about you but there are many times when I forget to charge my Cell phone, Laptop, or MP3 player. This portable unit helps me when there are no alternatives. At about 1.4 pounds, including the unit, adaptor, and associated connecting cables, the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 is not a lightweight addition to your traveling computer case. However it is great for tossing into your suitcase or car trunk.
Duracell suggests runtimes as follows: Laptop - 2 hours Cell phone - 18 hours of talk time BlackBerry - 9 days of operating time Portable gaming console - 8 hours of play time MP3 Player – 96 hours of play time
My ThinkPad was unable to achieve the 2 hours. It was more like 1.3 hours. The Cell phone, a Samsung Sync from AT&T and my MP3 player (a Sansa Clip) were able to attain the times advertised. I don’t have a gaming console or, at this time, a Blackberry so could not test those. I also chaged up an old Motorola cell phone
Remember anything you charge will need to have a USB or AC connector in order to benefit from the Duracell Mobile 100 features. The Mobile 100 has 2 USB ports and one AC charge port.
Since the back of the box stated it could power up to 80 watts of household power I decided to make my first test (I did not read the included directions) was to plug in a table lamp with a 60 watt bulb. Not a great idea. It did test the overload protection feature as that shut the Mobile 100 down without harm after about 3 minutes.
Included in the box are an airline power connector and a list of airlines that make those plugs available as well as a vehicle power adaptor that plugs into what we used to call the cigarette lighter plug. It is now called the vehicle 12 volt DC outlet. If you are using the vehicle outlet I suggest you do so sparingly as you may find you need road service to jump start your vehicle. Of course you can run the car while charging but gas prices make that rather expensive these days. The Duracell Mobile 100 detects that your vehicle battery is getting low and will shut itself down. It is best when using the vehicle plug to charge this unit for about an hour or two with the engine off and then run the car for a few minutes to insure the car battery will start when you need it.
My conclusion is the Duracell Powersource Mobile 100 is a great unit when you need it to add run time on the road. It can also help you when power is out. It is not meant to be a total replacement for a generator or stocking up on batteries. There are two other Duracell products that might provide power for more of your electronic needs. These are the PowerPack 300 or 600. See all three and other Duracell products on the Duracell website.
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