BoxWave Battery Adapter for MiniSync

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

September 01, 2005

While on my recent UK vacation, I got a nasty surprise. Ordinarily when traveling I use the BoxWave MiniSync with the BoxWave VersaCharger, and my iPAQ will recharge with no problem. Knowing that the UK uses a different voltage system, I brought along a voltage adapter and assumed (always dangerous) that with its help I would be able to utilize my typical travel combo. Well, I was wrong. For whatever reason, the adapter's red light came on every time I tried to get a charge, and I quickly realized that it would not work and that I should have brought along the iPAQ's regular AC charger cord. Grrrr!

I was beginning to stress until I realized that I had packed a possible solution - I had brought along the BoxWave USB Battery Adapter for MiniSync. Although it had originally been packed with the intent of using it to charge the MPIO MP3 player, it should be able to work just as well on the iPAQ.

Before I talk about how well this device did or did not perform, let's take a look at the USB Battery Adapter itself. This unit measures approximately 5" long x 1.5" wide x 0.75" thick. A 5.2" USB female connector is attached to its end, which when coupled to a USB charging cable will recharge attached electronic devices.

The USB Battery Adapter is powered by four AA batteries, which fit into a compartment in its back.

An ON / OFF power switch on the cabled end activates the flow of battery power. A green LED labeled POWER will glow when the adapter is powered on - whether or not an electronic device is attached.

That's really all there is to the device itself, now let's move on to its operation...which means we have to revisit the afternoon after we had arrived at our Edinburgh flat. With frustration mounting and with nothing to lose, I plugged the iPAQ's MiniSync to the USB Battery Adapter and switched the power on. The device's green LED began to glow, and the orange LED on my iPAQ answered...and the charging commenced. I was back in business. :0)

In order to conserve power and hopefully get a better recharge, I switched my iPAQ off while running the adapter. However, in a pinch the adapter can be used while the electronic device is running to provide power on a weak battery. I was charging my iPAQ with the extended battery installed, which is probably why I was never able to get more than an 84% charge, up from the 40% range. However, 84% is way better than the useless paperweight that the iPAQ would have quickly become otherwise.

With the combination of a 16-pack of batteries from a local drug store and the BoxWave USB Battery Adapter for MiniSync, I was able to keep my iPAQ in the 75 - 80% charge range for the duration of our trip. Storing the portable adapter in the Waterfield Vertigo Bag's pocket, directly behind the one in which I was storing my iPAQ, I was able to recharge the PDA at anytime. The combination of the Battery Adapter and a MiniSync turned out to be one of the most efficient travel solutions I could have hoped for.

You know how sometimes a product can seem like a "good idea", but its not until you put it to use that you realize it is actually a "must have" addition to your daily gear? Well that is the situation I find myself in with the USB Battery Adapter for MiniSync. I won't ever travel without it again.

Price: $19.50

Pros:
Provides recharging power to devices that have a USB adapter
Compact and very portable for powering on the go
Convenient

Cons:
May or may not power your device to 100% - but whatever it does will be better than nothing!

Product Requirements:
Four AA batteries & a USB charging cable for the intended device