Xantrex Technologies 852-0251 XPower Mobile Mini Power Source

Product Description

The PowerSource Mobile Mini is desgined to ensure that your cell phone, BlackBerry , iPod or PSP has power when you re on the go. For maximum convenience, the PowerSource Mobile Mini offers a mini USB pivot arm that directly connects to any BlackBerry , and new Moto phones like Razr, Rokr and more. The PowerSource Mobile Mini provides power through a 0.5 amp USB charge port to keep the music playing for hours. Sleek, lightweight and powerful, the PowerSource Mobile Mini s internal lithium-ion battery can be recharged at home through a lightweight AC charger, on the go through your vehicle s DC socket, or at your desk from a USB port.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21091 in Home Improvement
• Brand: Xantrex
• Model: 852-0251
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x 1.00" w x 4.00" l, 3.00 pounds

Features

• USB connector with pivoting arm for direct connection to mobile devices
• 3-amp hour lithium-ion battery pack
• Recharges from a standard wall outlet, a vehicle, or a computer
• Features 1 additional USB charge port
• Includes LED battery status/charge status indicator

Customer Reviews

A must for any traveler!!!!!
I've been a flight attendant for Delta airlines for 18 years, if I get a dollar for each passenger with a dead cell phone, I would have been retired by now. With this little Powersource battery, you can buy yourself an adapter for your cell phone and use it during your call to extend your battery life, or simply charge your dead battery during flight. I have bought two of these, one for myself and one for my girlfriend who makes her weekly commute to JFK airport. Both of us use it regularly to recharge our phone, and for our Zune players!!! It takes a few hours to recharge its built in battery, and with a full charge, it stays full charge for days. It can recharge your cell phone battery, from dead to full without any problem.

Almost perfect, backup power on the go.
Okay, right into the details...

-- The Pros: --
- 3Ah Battery(3000mah) capacity. I believe the average Blackberry has a 1000mAh battery, iPods range from 400mAh up to around 800mAh and cellphones are in the 1100mAh to 1600mAh range. These are all "rough" numbers, you could look up your item to find more specific numbers. What this all means is that the stock battery capacity of this Xantrex will last about 3 charges for Blackberries and Cellphones, and perhaps even more times for smaller iPod/MP3 Players...Before you have to recharge the charger.
- That 3000mah battery is Lithium-Ion (Li-On). Unlike your average rechargeable AA or AAA batteries that self-discharge within a few weeks (some even only days!), Li-on batteries hold their charge for a lonnnnng time...So you don't have to worry if you haven't used the charger for a while, it should still have a good amount of capacity when you do use it.
- It has a built-in, swivel mini-usb connector. Perfect for gear that uses that kind of port for power (such as the Blackberry) and since it's built-in there's no worries about losing it
- Also has a standard USB port. Especially nice as both ports are active...Meaning you can charge 2 items at once. Your iPod and Blackberry running low on juice? No problem, plug them BOTH in and they'll both charge at the same time.
- Comes with AC Power adapter, DC Power adapter (Car lighter connector) and can recharge from standard USB connector as well.
- It's right at the edge of almost being a bit big for easy carrying, but the little bit of extra heft is well worth having that 3000mAh capacity.

-- The Cons: --
- The Power on/off button is hard to press, sometimes I have to use the corner of my thumb or nails to get it. It feels like it might break from the amount of pressure required.
- Though the charge status indicator (the lightning bolt) will change from green->yellow->red depending on the leftover capacity of the battery...I'd have preferred some kind of powerbar with a 'check' button for a clearer idea of status.
- Uses a non-standard plug for the charge cable. Lose that cable and you're out of luck. The biggest attraction for this charger is it's versatility in supplying the common USB type ports for charging things...So why couldn't Xantrax have done the same thing and used a mini-usb charge port to charge the charger? I've got tons of those, all over the place.

I bought this Charger as an accessory to go in my manbag/manpurse/techbag for backup power to my iPod Mini and Blackberry. In my Condo complex Cellular reception is horrible, which means the Blackberry is constantly "hunting" for signal and therefore the batteries drain very fast. Having the battery backup gives me piece of mind that I won't be without email/cellphone if the Blackberry is drained.

Another, unexpected benefit, was that I recently added a portable 320gb hard drive to my bag as well. It's supposed to be able to power itself on just 1 USB port on your computer, but has 2 USB heads in case it can't get enough juice to power the drive...And in my case, 1 port wasn't enough. Instead of having to use a 2nd USB port (and not have it available for something else), I plugged it into the Xantrex and it works beautifully.

No buyer remorse here, this is a solid product that gives you a bit of reassurance and piece of mind.

If you're looking for higher capacity, portability and the ability to plug your Notebook into it for extra runtime, take a look at the Xantrex 852-0281 XPower PowerSource 100 Watt Inverter. Or if you'd rather have something really small (about the size of 2 little tic-tac containers next to each other), check out IOGEAR GearJuice Mobile Pocket Power Pack

Very useful for TMobile G1
Got this as the battery life on the TMobile G1 Android phone is very short. I don't know how many charges this battery provides for the G1, but from my experience it does seem greater than one full charge.
It did a good job keeping the G1 running for music and game playing on a 12 hour international flight. The flip out miniusb plug is very convenient for charging the G1 without needing a cable. Also tried charging a usb device from the USB port and that works well too.

Only complaint is that the power button can end up pushed by accident, like in a bag, without intending to turn it on.