Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Got Juice? It's a must-have for road warriors (Enterprise ENTE)

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2002 16:38:29 -0500

http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=print_page&articleID=NEc1121001.4zf&doc_id=
-

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

<<< Back | Print

www.wirelessweek.com

Got Juice? It's a must-have for road warriors (Enterprise ENTE)

November 22, 2002 12:00am

ZDNet

ZDWire Plus via NewsEdge Corporation : LAS VEGAS --- How many power supplies do you or your favorite road warrior have to carry around? One for the laptop? One for the PDA? One for the cell phone? Throw them all away.

Of all the cool gear I found this week at Comdex Fall 2002, the one device I most wanted on the spot is Mobility Electronics iGo Juice.

Mobility Electronics has come up with a single power supply that can charge virtually any notebook, PDA, or cell phone. Even better, it can charge any two of the three simultaneously. Plus, it works with any power source-- the plug in your wall, the lighter in your car, and the outlet offered by some airlines. Best of all, Mobility Electronics has managed to squeeze the entire package into a power supply no bigger than the dedicated power supply that comes with most notebook computers.

Both the input side and the output side have their own universal interface. This way, it's easy to switch the input cable based on what your power source is (wall outlet, car, plane, or even boat). It's just as simple to switch the power plug on the output side, depending on the device that it plugs into.

The outbound power for the notebook computer supports 14 snap-on tips, which cover the majority of notebook computers. In addition to matching the various notebooks' power ports, the tips are responsible for correctly throttling the power to a level required by the particular notebook.

To simultaneously power a cell phone or PDA, Juice's outbound cable forks into two cables; one accepts the notebook-specific tip, and another that takes a PDA or cell phone-specific wire. Mobility Electronics calls this the Peripheral Powering System (PPS), which supports a variety of popular PDAs and phones. The list of supported handhelds includes all Palm devices, HP's iPaq, Handsprings PDAs, and Sony's Clie. Supported phones include those from Motorola, Nokia, Nextel and Sony/Ericsson. Support for Kyocera's SmartPhone 7135 is in the works.

As Mobility Electronics executive vice president Jeff Doss convinced me of Juice's versatility, my pupils began to swell at the prospect of lightening my own load. Then I started to worry that Juice was going to cost me an arm and a leg. I was mistaken.

Doss says the street price is e around $100-- an incredible value. Mobility Electronics packages two versions of iGo Juice. Each has a different set of seven out of the 14 tips. If you suddenly find that you don't have the tip you need for your notebook, the company will send it to you free of charge. The PPS cable is sold separately and cost approximately $20 per device.

As I spoke with Doss, I suggested to Doss that it would be really cool if Juice could retain some power and act as an uninterruptible power supply for my notebook when I have to change batteries on the airplane. This way, I wouldn't have to power down or put the notebook into hibernation mode. Smiling, Doss said," Stay tuned."

Mobility Electronics will be sending me a device so I can try it out for myself. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Juice won't be available until the first week in December, which is perfect timing if you know someone who needs one.

Mobility Electronics can be reached at 480-596-0061.

TalkBack below or e-mail me at [email-masked].

http://www.sony.com http://www.mot.com

<<ZDWire Plus -- 11/21/02>>

<< Copyright ©2002 ZDNet >>

<<< Back | Print