Whether you own a smartphone, tablet or laptop, the power intensive applications used today drain battery power faster than ever. And no matter how advanced these devices get, you never seem to have enough power when away from a power strip or receptacle. A new ultra-high capacity battery pack from PLUG is looking to solve this particular problem with a unit that not only lets you charge your smartphone and tablet but also has two AC wall outlets in a device that is surprisingly portable.
Currently PLUG is part of an ongoing successful Indiegogo campaign having surpassed its initial goal of $30,000 to more than $170,000, and it still has a month left on the funding run.
So why are more than 600 backers so excited about PLUG?
This is the second crowd funding campaign for the makers of PLUG, ChargeTech. In 2014, the company introduced the world’s smallest portable power outlet and has since partnered with Google, NASA, Hilton and Toyota. This time around, ChargeTech says, the PLUG battery pack is three times more powerful.
What’s in the PLUG Portable External Battery Charger?
The PLUG has 16 3,000mAh Tesla battery cells manufactured by Panasonic to deliver 48,000 mAh capacity with 250 Watts. The battery and integrated circuitry are housed in a form factor that is a mere 8.6″ x 5.6″ x 1.6″ weighing in at 2lb 3oz, which makes it slightly bigger than a hard cover book.
It has two AC outlets, two fast charge USB ports, one Type C USB output, and a dedicated charging port.
The PLUG also comes with an optional compact, weather-resistant, solar panel that can recharge the device entirely with solar power.
The pass-through charging lets you power your devices while the PLUG is still charging, so you can continue to use it just like a USB hub or surge protector.
It takes approximately seven hours to charge the PLUG with the charging cable that comes with the unit and with solar power recharging can take up to eight hours.
What Can You Charge with the PLUG?
The simpler answer would be what can’t you charge with the PLUG? The ultra-high capacity and power of the device should allow you to charge and use laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, medical devices, flat screen TVs, game consoles, mini fridges, cameras, drones, hoverboards, printers, and much more.
The company says you will also be able to charge laptops up to three times, charge tablets up to seven times, charge phones up to 28 times, run a flat screen TV for four hours or run a mini-fridge for eight hours with the power from a single recharging of the PLUG.
Business Applications
A charger with this much capability provides many options for small businesses. Small operators that provide out door trips can use the PLUG to charge the phones, tablets, cameras and other electronics of their customers.
Business travelers attending conferences and retreats will be able to use and charge their electronic devices with the PLUG without having to go in search of an outlet. And if there is a power outage, the PLUG can supply enough power to keep your devices going until electrical service is restored.
Additional use cases include charging drone batteries for aerial video companies, charging equipment for photo shoots in remote locations and, of course, getting away from the office at the beach or elsewhere while still being able to keep your devices charged.
The devices are still available for a pledge of support on the company’s Indiegogo campaign site. You can get a single PLUG for a $199 pledge and two units for $349. If you want the solar panel, you can get one PLUG and the panel for $349 and two PLUGS and two panels for $599.
As for availability, the company said it is in the tooling phase for PLUG, and it will provide regular updates on the progress to announcing any shipping dates.
Conclusion
PLUG can be an invaluable tool for anyone that greatly relies on their computing and electronics devices when they are on the road, a remote location or even at home during a power outage. The price is quite reasonable and the fact that companies such as Google, NASA, Hilton, and Toyota have partnered with the maker of the charger highlights the reliability of the product.
[“source-ndtv”]
