TAEC 150W Slimline Power Inverter review

6 August 2007 12:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Gadgets are wonderful things, trouble is they always need more power, and normally lots of it. So what's a boy to do? Hunt for a power socket of course.

It's might be alright to find a plug socket around the house, but what about when you are away in the car, perhaps on that camping trip or the such like.

In steps the TAEC 150W slimline Power Inverter from The Alternative Energy Company.

Say again? Well put simply, the power inverter allows you to take power directly from your car's cigarette or power socket and turn it into a 230V AC mains power socket in your car.

Why? Well because if you've got a regular 3-pin socket in your car you can now charge anything you like without having to buy cigarette lighter adapters for everything, be it your mobile phone, laptop, digital camera or DVD player.

Brilliant? Of course it is. Simple to use, small and compact, it comes with an on/off switch meaning you can get juiced up on the go, just remember to keep your engine running else you'll run your battery flat.

Does it work? Yep. We managed to go one step further and plug a four-gang extension cable in and then charge a laptop, mobile phone, digital camera, and best of all a kettle for that all important cup of tea.

Verdict

It might not do much, but what it does do is great for the gadget-loving fan who is constantly on the look out for a power source when they are out and about in the car.

The small size (it's basically slightly bigger than a paperback book) and the cost (it's just £25) make this one boring product that is actually very handy indeed.

We love it!