PDAs don’t make it into military applications because of glass on the display. PDAs don’t make it into military applications because battery life is too short. This is no longer true.
InHand Electronics introduces a rugged low-power flex PDA (SFPDA) to withstand military environments and extended missions. This rugged PDA includes Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, and keypad interface connections.
The non-glass flexible display not only reduces possibility of injury but reduces power consumption to display information. In conjunction with InHands power management software these PDAs will run for 6 continuous hours.
6 hours may not seem like a long time, but this spec is continuous hours, so it doesn’t include stand-by time or sleep mode. The new iPod touch barely gets 5 hours of video – and we know that claim doesn’t stand up to government specifications – so cut that in half. 6 hours is impressive.
Some quick bullet points on the BatterySmart technology include:
Startup CPU Speed Adjustment – Automatically and dynamically adjust CPU clock speed based on the operating bandwidth requirements of your handheld device.
Advanced Idle Mode – Understand the differences in power consumption at 100MHz versus 400MHz.
Dynamic CPU Speed Adjustment – Determine the required computational bandwidth of your application software at different CPU clock speeds.
Performance-Tuned Core Software Drivers – Understand how battery life is affected by plugging in a PCMCIA peripheral?
Optimized Peripheral Software Drivers – Reduce both computational bandwidth and power consumption while connecting to multiple peripheral devices.
InHand didn’t publish a price tag for the Military PDA – who cares – get our guys what they need when they need it.
Source: InHand via EngadgetContinue Reading
Brando yet again steps up with another useful product. The two port USB solar charger from Brando has all the features a road warrior, power hungry gadget guy (or gal) would need. Slick design with durable enclosure and plenty-o-connectors to power up any USB gadget you throw at it.
Some notable specs include output voltage to 4.5v, 5.4v, 6.4v and 9v devices. The battery is lithium with 2000mAH of power.
What GetUSB likes about this solar USB charger is the ability to charge up via three different sources. Solar – of course – as well as wall AC adapter (universal with 90-240v) and car power adapter as well. Put this all together with 7 different connector heads and you are covered. Just make sure the solar charger isn’t.
As a closing note, the USB solar charger can power up two individual devices via the double on-board USB port design.
Source: USB Solar Charger product page.
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Proporta is sporting an impressive portable laptop battery with 6000mAh of power. Once more, the extra juice box includes USB ports for charging those invaluable office gadgets like phone, iPod and digital camera.
The portable laptop battery comes with a selection of connectors which cater to most laptop power inputs. Once you get the low battery notification simply connect the portable battery to your laptop and you are worry free again.
The battery pack is, of course, rechargeable and is extremely slim in size at just 8.7in x 5.1in x .6in) and weighs about 21oz.
Proporta reports the portable battery is good for charging 16v and 19v laptops along with 5v USB devices. Retail is $195USD.
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USBCell is best known for the AA USB rechargeable battery, but their product line doesn’t stop there (actually it does, but read more).
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Update:Â USB Car Adapter Charger Review
We recently did a write up about the Brando 3-in-1 USB car adapter, but they had it all wrong. Three cigarette plugs and only one USB port. Today we found a USB adapter better suited for our needs.
The car adapter is small, light and provides two useful USB ports. Not much to report on specs – you get what you see. LEDs for port activity and power output is DC5.0V / 1000mA +/- 5%.
Roger of USB Fever put together a special deal for GetUSB.info readers, free shipping any where in the world (about 7 day transit time). At just $13.95 and free shipping, it’s an excellent deal.
Roger also has a universal charger that is a cut above the rest. Typically chargers only support three markets, the UK, US and EU. However, Roger’s charger includes support for Australia and China. ($16.99)
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If I where to design this product the ratio would be reversed. I’d create a 3 USB port adaptor with one cigarette plug. After all, I only need one car frig to keep my beer cold at the baseball games. But I do have an MP3 player, phone and camera I’d like to charge up while on the drive over.
The Brando 3-in-1 car adapter with USB port is definitely a good idea. There have been several occasions where I’ve wanted one.
UberGizmo brings up a good point – it might not be the best idea to daisy chain some USB hubs off the single port to power everything you’ve got. Might strain the car battery too much over a long period of time, none-the-less, an excellent item to have for those long hauls.
Brando has them for $20 and ships to the US (and globally) very quickly and inexpensive.
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There are times when digging around for a charge cable becomes extremely frustrating. The tangled mess of cables, the inconvenient location of the power strip on the floor – what a pain in the a$$.
The Chargepod from Callpod is a welcomed charger which solves all this. The Chargepod is a slick design for charging 6 devices at once. The Chargepod comes with extra short cables to decrease the clutter of wired cables.
There is some engineering that went into this as well. Callpod made sure to put in Current Control (IC) logic so each devices gets the exact amount of energy needed for a charge. This is smart because it wont fry your USB gadgets and it reduces heat of the Chargepod itself.
So – an ideal product for the messy office or traveling professional the Chargepod is well worth the extra few bucks from your typical charger. $49 for the unit and accessory cables for just a little more.
Forget about garage design Altoid Tin battery chargers, Sanyo has a slick USB charger pack that will replenish your thirsty gadgets, called eneloop.
Eneloop is the first USB recharger pack Sanyo – self proclaimed world battery supply leader – has introduced. The Eneloop name is a concept of recycling, or looping, energy. The USB recharger is compact in design and houses the USB connector when not in use.
What I like, and albeit common, are the batteries being ready for use immediately after purchase; there is no charge-up time needed.
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USB is branching out into another standard, we first heard about China implementing USB the standard for cell phone chargers, now USB gets a new charging specification from the USB-Implementers Forum.
Power via USB is nothing new, but what the USB-IF did was increase the amount of energy which can flow to a USB device. To get our geek on, an example is current spec is only 100mA of electricity to a device, the new specification increases that to 500mA. In addition, USB-IF addressed the low-end too. The organization decreeds that devices which have completely dead batteries can charge at 100 mA. This allows dead devices to charge up even though they don’t have enough power to turn on.
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So here is a simple project to groom your child into the geek parent you are. Over at Hacked Gadgets Alan pointed out a “how-to” on creating your own USB charger from Lego’s.
The charger uses a Lego motor to generate current which passes through a voltage regulator and off to the USB port. If you don’t already have the Lego motor you can pick them up at target and the voltage regulator at Radio Shack.
When all done, rather then sending your kid to time-out, have them hand-crank and recharge your favorite MP3 player.
Here is a picture of the hand crank with electronics already installed.
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There is definitely an Altoids DIY underground. I bumped into an article on how to make an iPod charger from an Altoids Tin yesterday at Chris DiClerico’s website. After doing a little research I see there is a big following for Altoids Tin do-it-yourself projects. So, to service my reader group, herezzz the how to:
It’s a very easy project and a great one for beginners looking to tweak something. The goal is to make a charger from two 9V batteries and two AA batteries which should juice your iPod for another 10 hours. Then house that charger in a clean looking Altoids Tin. Couple things you’ll need:
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China might be setting the standard for cell phone charger connections to become USB. The Chinese government will impliment a single national standard on mobile phone chargers sold in the country to avoid waste and to lower manufacturing costs. Under the new standard, all mobile phones, regardless of the brand, will be able to share one charger via USB access, allowing users to charge handsets through any USB port.The unified standard will cut the cost of a new handset and reduce electronic waste and consumption of resources, a Ministry of Information Industry (MII)official said. China has almost 450 million cell phone subscribers, with up to 100 million replacing their phones
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