The Price

Duracell Instant Charger: $US20
Duracell Powerhouse Charger: $US50

The Verdict

Duracell’s Instant Charger is a perfectly executed little gadget. And its older sibling, the Powerhouse Charger, isn’t so bad either.

There’s nothing complicated going on. These chargers are essentially a USB port loaded hooked to a lithium ion battery. But it just so happens, that’s all you need.
The Instant Charger is the smallest of the line and by far my favourite. It’s small and nearly weightless in your hand, ornamented with a more-polished-than-necessary design. But after charging (via mini USB), the Instant Charger stores just enough power to refill your iPhone about halfway—for 180 minutes of 3G talk time—or just snag a few more shots out of a digital camera.

With no unnecessary buttons or (you’ll only need to navigate an on/off switch) and a simple indicator light (red when charging, green when charged), Duracell’s Instant Charger is a wonderful unitasker.
I wish the Powerhouse Charger had all the polish you see in the Instant version. Not counting a legitimately neat Mini-USB arm, from the less thoughtful finish to indicator lights that aren’t readable in daylight, the Powerhouse just seems…cheap (which is ironic, given that the Powerhouse is supposed to be this line’s Cadillac). But it stores enough power to charge an iPhone 3G or Blackberry Curve 1.2 times, or an iPod nano four times.

Most iPhone charging solutions involve cases we don’t need or want, and they can easily reach $US100. Now, Duracell has a few products that can handle pretty much any USB device you can throw at them. And starting at $US20, we can live with the investment. [Duracell]

Small

Cheap

Functional

Good

Yes, Duracell has an energy drink—with a masterful coppertop can design—that’s actually been out in the Czech market since 2008. Sadly, the drink doesn’t zap its consumers with a jolt of electricity after plugging into some sort of oversized backpack, instead defaulting to energy drink mainstays like caffeine, taurine, B vitamins and good old sugar to get the job done. Then again, something tells me that NiCd doesn’t taste so great anyway. [Duracell and Master in Imagineering via Le Journal du Geek]

Taste Test is our week-long tribute to the leaps that occur when technology meets cuisine, spanning everything from the historic breakthroughs that made food tastier and safer to the Earl Grey-friendly replicators we impatiently await in the future.

We have seen conductive chargers like this before, but it appears to be one of the first from a big brand like Duracell. Apparently, Power Sleeve and/or Power Clip adapters that are needed for myGrid compatibility will be available for several popular phone brands like Apple, Blackberry, Nokia and Motorola. Unfortunately, if your phone requires a Power Sleeve to work with the myGrid, that means you are going to have to deal with a case—which isn’t for everyone (including me).

Along with myGrid, Duracell has unveiled several new compact gadget chargers as well as a portable battery charger that can power up rechargeable AA or AAA NiMH batteries in an hour. Expect the myGrid charger to be available for $US80 starting in October. The rest of the Smart Power lineup is available now. Check out the press release for full details.

NEW DURACELL SMART POWER INITIATIVE TAKES THE BRAND BEYOND THE BATTERY

Initiative Brings to Market Innovative, New Products Designed to Meet the Consumer’s Changing Needs for Efficient and Reliable Personal Power

BETHEL, Conn., Aug. 20, 2009 – Duracell today launched its new Duracell Smart Power initiative, which expands the brand’s product portfolio beyond the traditional battery to address the ever-growing and ever-changing power needs of the modern consumer. The company’s latest offerings, such as the new drop-and-go myGrid™ charging pad, fall under an emerging category of personal power solutions and signify Duracell’s commitment to keeping today’s consumers connected to the devices they need the most at all times.

Duracell Smart Power and its range of personal power solutions continue the company’s focus on reliability, performance and technological innovation but now deliver added power efficiency allowing consumers the freedom to live beyond the grid. More than 10 new products mark the start of Duracell Smart Power ranging from myGrid™ to on-the-go compact power chargers, new rechargeable battery chargers and patented LED technology for flashlights.

“Duracell Smart Power is an evolution of Duracell’s heritage that builds upon the reliability and performance that our batteries have and will always deliver. This initiative will serve as an important lens for future product innovation as we expand the breadth of our offerings to address the evolution of personal power,” said Rick June, Duracell Vice President and General Manager, North America. “Our new personal power solutions allow consumers the freedom to live their lives without the limits of staying tethered to today’s power grid. It is charging made simple.”

Duracell Smart Power Products

Duracell Smart Power products represent state-of-the-art charging performance. Making charging simpler, creating new ways to take extra power with you, and providing new ways to maximize power efficiency, Duracell’s latest developments showcase innovation beyond the battery. Products include:

· Duracell myGrid™ charging pad – Consumers can enjoy a better daily charging experience with this device that eliminates the mess of multiple cords by simultaneously charging multiple devices, such as cell phones, MP3 music players or other mobile devices. Once the charging pad is plugged in, your devices can go cordless. By simply fitting a device with a Power Sleeve™ or Power Clip™, you can drop your device on myGrid™ and go.

· Duracell Instant Charger – This compact Lithium Ion Rechargeable charger provides reserve power for popular mobile devices, such as BlackBerrys, iPods and mobile phones that come with USB power cords. A USB-to-mini-USB cord is included. Mobile users can now enjoy up to 35 hours of additional power that is efficiently managed with an on/off switch.

· Duracell Powerhouse Charger – Provides reserve power for consumers’ most critical devices, including any cell phone, PDA or MP3 player that comes with a USB power cord or can connect to the Powerhouse’s mini-USB arm. Powerhouse also comes with a USB-to-mini-USB cord and features an on/off switch for power conservation, making it a must for today’s frequent travelers.

· Duracell Pocket Charger – A pocket-sized, supplemental Lithium Ion Rechargeable power source works with all USB-powered cell phones. Pocket Charger provides convenient power when a cell phone battery dies and the owner is away from the traditional outlet for recharging. The Pocket Charger offers cell phone users up to 60 percent more talk time and includes a mini-USB charging arm as well as a USB-to-mini-USB cord.

· Duracell GoMobile – The Energy Star-certified GoMobile delivers a charge to AA or AAA NiMH batteries in just one hour. Designed to fit in a car’s cup holder, it also is designed to fit with home décor and comes with four Duracell Pre-Charged Rechargeable batteries that can be recharged hundreds of times while holding their charge for up to one year when not in use.

· Duracell GoEasy – The Energy Star-certified GoEasy is compact enough to go where you go and charges up to two AA or AAA NiMH batteries. It comes with two rechargeable batteries that can be recharged hundreds of times.

· Duracell Daylite LED Flashlight – Captures up to 100 percent of light to focus a brighter, whiter beam, while providing 5 times the battery life of everyday “incandescent bulb” flashlights. The Daylite series, initially introduced in fall 2008, now includes five new models with Daylite Tough flashlights, spotlights and headlamps.

These innovations complement the company’s existing portfolio of time-tested CopperTop and rechargeable battery solutions. For more information, visit www.duracell.com/smartpower.

Pricing and Availability

The new Duracell myGrid™ will be available in the U.S. in fall 2009 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $US79.99. Packages will include a myGrid™ charging pad, Power Clip adaptor and Power Clip tips for BlackBerry, Motorola and Nokia phones. Power Sleeves are also available for purchase separately for the BlackBerry Curve 8300 series and the Blackberry Pearl 8100 series. Additional Power Sleeves, Power Clips and Power Clip adapters have a suggested retail price of $US34.99.

The three Duracell Lithium-Ion Rechargeables (Instant, Powerhouse and Pocket Charger) are available now at mass merchandisers, drug and hardware stores nationwide. Suggested retail prices are $US19.99 for the Duracell Pocket Charger, $US29.99 for the Duracell Instant Charger, and $US49.99 for the Duracell Powerhouse Charger.

The Duracell GoEasy and GoMobile chargers can be purchased currently at major retailers, including drug, grocery and hardware stores nationwide and have a suggested retail price of $US12.99 and $US29.99 respectively.

The complete Duracell Daylite LED flashlight series is currently available at major retailers, including drug, grocery and hardware stores nationwide. Flashlights range from $US14.99 to $US34.99 SRP.

[Duracell]

The Price:$US120-150

The Verdict: As a portable power source, the Powerpack 450 is outstanding. It cranks out 340W continuous (450W peak) of AC juice, which is enough to power laptops, lamps, radios, mobile phones and other small appliances. It would be an ideal supplement to a generator in the event of a power outage.

As far as a vehicles are concerned, the 150 psi air compressor works, but don’t expect to be back up an running in a short amount of time. I actually have a slow leak on my front passenger side, and it can take over 10 minutes to pump up a flat (depending on the situation). I never ran into a situation where a jump start was necessary, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Duracell even supplies the cables with the battery. The 5W flashlight is fairly standard, but given the fact that the entire battery weighs around 20 pounds, its no substitute for even a cheap handheld version. However, if you are stuck on the side of the road in the dark, it could come in handy.

On the downside, the Powerpack 450 takes nearly 40 hours to charge completely and the voice feature can be extremely annoying at times. I can tell you that my laptop maintained a full charge for nearly 8 hours while plugged into the device, but I couldn’t tell you precisely how long it would have lasted because the constant battery status updates towards the end proved too much to bear. Still, voice directions that notify you of battery status and guide you through a jump start / tire inflation can still be useful—although not particularly necessary.

In the end, if you live in an area prone to power outages, you have a beater car, you enjoy camping or you work in remote areas, spending $US120 or so on the Powerpack 450 is worth the money. If you need more juice, you can always step up to the 600 model. [Duracell]

The Energizer AA batteries are rated at 2200 mAh and the Duracells at 2000 mAh (that’s milliampere-hours, a measurement of energy charge). But the Duracells last a lot longer.

I tested using an ICON LED flashlight, this solid aluminium model with high and low settings—the high setting killing a standard battery in about 3 hours. Through several trials using different cells, the Energizer lasted 2 to 3.5 hours, while the Duracells took anywhere from 5 to 6.5 hours to drain. Not an insignificant discrepancy, and contrary to the respective charge ratings on each.

The Duracell family of rechargeable batteries also come precharged out of the package, so that’s very convenient. They’ve also got USB ports for charging USB gadgets. Both companies offer car and 15 minute chargers. The Duracell Mobile charger is my favourite simply because it has a car adaptor and a wall adaptor, and can charge 4 AA batteries or any USB device from those sources. (It does not do 15 minute charges, however, but I’d rather buy extras and have them ready to go.) The only real drawback is that it can’t charge D cells and 9V batteries like the giant sized Energizer family charger can. Both kinds of batteries are NiMH. Duracell claims their batteries will hold their charge for a year in storage, while Energizer claims only 6 months.

Frills aside, the bottom line here is battery life, and Duracell has a lot more of it than Energizer.

AU: I’m not 100% certain on this of course, but it sounds to me like the Duracell batteries Blam reviewed here are the same design as Sanyo’s eneloop ones, which are designed differently to traditional NiMH batteries. Not only do they hold their charge, they’re also 100% recyclable. It’s worth keeping in mind if you’re planning on buying some rechargeable batteries…

UPDATE: We’ve been contacted by Energizer in Australia who have let us know that this particular version of Energizer battery is not available in Australia so, obviously, this is not an accurate comparison of available rechargeable batteries in the Australian market.

[Duracell via Ecoustics via Crunchgear via DVICE]

The Price: AA/AAA (US$25) and CR123 (US$35)

The Verdict: For this review I am using the most powerful of the three new Duracell Daylite flashlights–the 160 lumens CR123 version. The bottom line is that this thing is blindingly bright and it gives off a clean white beam. Plus, it is small enough to fit in a pocket and it seems sturdy enough to take a beating.

Unfortunately, I did not have a comparable LED flashlight to compare against the Daylite, so I was forced to use an old school 2 D-Cell Maglite. Still, the images above should give you an idea of how powerful this little flashlight really is. To be honest, the only thing that I could find to complain about is the fact that the Daylite would be useless as a weapon. So, if you like a bulky flashlight that can double as a club, you should look elsewhere. Otherwise, the Daylite would be a good choice in its class.

Duracell will be offering the Daylite in three varieties: the 80 lumens AAA / AA versions (both US$25) and the powerful 160 lumens CR123 version (US$35) beginning this month at drug and hardware stores. Duracell seems to be aiming at the MagLite market with the Daylites, but it remains to be seen whether the performance justifies the price tag. [Duracell]