RSS Feeds
Peripherals
Brando's Mini Universal Battery Charger is Jawsome, USB-Powered
Posted by Kit Eaton at 7:13 PM on August 19, 2008
Brando has a new universal battery charger available, working on the same jaw-grip/adjustable electric contacts principle as Thanko's version before. This time though, the gizmo is designed to be portable and draw its power from a USB source and it's got "high capability switch power supply with efficient transforming." It's even keyring mountable. So if you're constantly charging up a variety of batteries for all your gear, and don't fancy hauling all the power bricks around this might be an elegant solution. Can be yours now, for US$12. [Brando]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
giyad
Posted 7:50 PM 19/8/08
$12... i wonder if this thing is actually any good. My only problem is that somethings (only ipod comes to mind) can't be charged with this because the battery is built in
giyad
Sam_Zebian
Posted 8:24 PM 19/8/08
I was kind of hoping that this wasn't bus powered because of the restrains on electricity usage put into usb 2.0, but if this were 3.0 I wouldn't mind, seeing as you get 900 MaH. Anyways, In think I might check out the thanko version out, as long as it works fine with a regular US power socket, not the weird universal ones too, because those are too big and I don't travel outside of the country for usually more than 1-2 months without my power cables anyways.
Sam_Zebian
Sam_Zebian
Posted 8:29 PM 19/8/08
@Sam_Zebian: oh nm about the universla power adaptor, that's just the usb-power adapter, and I got confused for a second, I need to get some coffee and some sleep...
Sam_Zebian
yogibimbi
Posted 8:54 PM 19/8/08
so, doesn't it charge AA or AAA?
yogibimbi
Navin R Johnson
Posted 1:09 AM 20/8/08
Will it charge camera batteries too?
Navin R Johnson
yogibimbi
Posted 3:06 AM 20/8/08
@Navin R Johnson: I would say. This seems more of a voltage issue here. I can't imagine that this thingy is up-/down-converting the 5V from the USB, so I would guess that my above question is doomed. Or because the jaws can only grab flat batteries, like a shark can only bite pieces out of a surfboard (or a human) and not swallow it whole.
Anyhoo, I already sent a mail to Brando asking the question, my last questions were answered quickly and concisely, let's hope they keep up their record.
yogibimbi
Fluidity
Posted 6:56 AM 20/8/08
Wow. That looks a lot like a fire waiting to happen.
Fluidity
J.T.
Posted 10:49 AM 20/8/08
Did... did you seriously just make a reference to Street Sharks? I think I can call it a day now. That tops anything else I'll be able to do today.
J.T.