Taking charge
A review of the Duracell Instant Charger – a useful USB powered, rechargeable device for charging the iPhone and other handheld battery operated devices
don’t let the dainty looks deceive you, this thing packs a punch
At first glance you could mistake the Duracell Instant Charger for an iPod Nano, as its dimensions are fairly similar, but don’t let the dainty looks deceive you, this thing packs a punch.
I received the device on Friday and charged it immediately (whilst charging my iPhone at the same time)
With a USB Power Cable IN at one end and a USB OUT at the other, you can charge both the instant charger and another device at the same time.
There is a simple led charge indicator (red meaning still charging and green meaning charged), an on/off switch and a charge remaining light on the case next to the USB port.
Eager to test the chargers capabilities I happily used my iPhone for FourSquare check-in’s, sending tweets and general web surfing until the (formerly) dreaded Low Battery message flashed up on the screen. The iPhone instantly recognised the external battery source and started charging immediately.
Within several minutes the battery was back in the green. By the time we had relaxed and chatted over a lovely filter coffee and cakes there was a healthy level of charge, allowing me to resume social media activities and web surfing.
the iPhone is increasingly used for long periods of time and battery life is critical
There is, however, a tangible business benefit too. Having recently downloaded business related apps such as the award winning MoJoToGoTM app for calculating coffee extraction – an iPhone version of the PC based ExtractMojoTM software – the iPhone is increasingly used for long periods of time and battery life is critical. You only truly realise how important it is when you absolutely need it and cannot access vital statistics that have not yet been synced with a laptop or internet data storage device, or when an important call ends half way through.
I let my battery run right down yesterday before charging the iPhone using the charger only (not plugged in via the charger from the laptop) and easily got an extra 2 hours of usage from a single charge of approx 30-45 minutes. I am confident I could have used the phone for longer if I had left the charger plugged in (without using it) for a little longer.
I’ll be putting the charger through it’s paces at the WBC when I expect to be away from home for long periods each day and will be relying on my phone more than ever to coordinate my life and keep up with social media updates.
disclaimer: I responded to a tweet offering me the chance to receive one of the Duracell devices after following @DuracellUK on Twitter. I had been looking into external battery chargers to cope with the ever decreasing battery life on the iPhone and was actively researching options at the time. I would have bought this type of device had I known about it earlier and find it something I now could not live without. My gadget obsessed friends will be getting these for their birthdays!
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Comments
The best link to visit would be VST inc’s website, which has all the technical specs for their refractometer and software products.
In a nutshell, the products are used to measure the amount of total dissolved solids (% of the coffee bean that ends up in the cup)
Their blog also explains the application a little better too
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