The Powerocks Stone 3 portable power pack for iPad and Galaxy Tab solves a problem. It’s all very well having a common interface for charging but when people break the specs it becomes less useful. The iPad and Galaxy Tab charge using very high currents through a USB port that excedes the capability of the USB port you’ll find on nearly all laptops and PCs which means you generally have to carry the mains charger around with you. I found a portable power pack at IFA that supplies the correct current to allow full-speed charing on the go and it works. At least with the Galaxy Tab I tested with it.
There’s no European distributor for the Stone 3 yet so you’ll have to keep your eyes open for availability. Alternatively, wait a while because I’ve got a unit coming from Znex. The Power-Pack IP is said to do the same so i’m looking forward to testing one that’s available right now.
Here’s a video and you’ll find some images below that.
This item is available in US from Monoprice – not sure if direct URLs are allowed, but you can search for “7800mAh External Backup Battery” on their site. I bought it for $31 last week, but it seems that price went up since then.
I found a software solution to the problem. ASUS has a free program for Windows that sits in the system tray and somehow boosts the output of the USB ports to the right voltage, and apparently it’s near-universally supported. Don’t ask me how it works, but it works on my Acer desktop with my iPad 1. :) The URL is:
http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/ai_charger/
I have owned a “Portable Power Station” from Batterygeek http://www.thebatterygeeks.com/default.asp for a number of years now. (Note: their current “Portable Power Station” is not the same product, mine is like their current “Super Mobile Power Station”.)
At any rate this battery works perfectly with my Galaxy Tab 7″. The PPS is about the size and weight of an original Asus 7 inch eee, so it’s not as small and portable as the Stone 3 but with it’s multiple tips it has powered every piece of portable electronics I have owned in the last 4 years…and it kept my Galaxy Tab running for 13 hours straight during a recent power outage, with juice to spare.
It is an expensive accessory but very flexible and portable.