Portable iPad/iPhone/iPod battery charger, £18.99, www.transair.co.uk
The portable charger from Transair looks somewhat like a miniature relay baton. Its small size and cylindrical shape mean that it can be easily slipped into the side of a bag ready for that moment of horror when you realise one of your precious pieces of technology is about to run out of juice. The button on the front also transforms the whole thing into a handy torch.
Upon receiving the charger at about 10.30am I excitedly plugged the USB into my desktop PC and waited for it to charge. The green light didn’t appear until 5pm. Fortunately, it works much faster when plugged into, say, a mobile phone (it can be used on non-Apple products — I tried it out on an Android smartphone). You won’t have to wait any longer for your device to be topped up with power than if you were charging from a mains supply.
What’s more, the charger is very simple to use — you literally just plug it in and go. There aren’t any adaptors, so you’ll need to make sure that you have the USB lead for your phone, iPod etc handy. If you’re leaving it in your bag I’d also recommend keeping it covered with something so as to avoid dust and dirt getting into the unprotected ports.
If you live in fear of ending up on an airfield with a dead mobile, this charger is a very useful piece of kit to keep around. JR
