APC USB Phone Charger review

11 February 2004 18:03 GMT / By Stuart Miles

When you travel, making sure you’ve got all the relevant chargers can be a pain. We all carry so much technology that half the time the bag is weighed down with power packs rather than the technology that we want to use. While that’s good exercise it soon becomes tiring. APC however has tried to simplify this by creating a charger that plugs into a spare USB socket and then drains the power to charge your mobile phone.

In short it works. Getting excited about a cable is hard, after all, it’s just a cable, however this one allowed us to charge our phone while we were doing something else mundane, and saved on valuable space in the bag.

One end plugs into a spare USB socket the other into the phone. We tested ours with a Nokia 3310 although you can get versions to fit most leading brands including Ericsson, Alcatel, Motorola, Siemens and Panasonic. No drivers were needed and we experienced no real problems apart from the cable falling out a couple of times from the phone (it was hard to tell whether this was a phone issue or the cable - personally we think it was the phone).

Verdict

If you're short of space in the bag or looking to get another charger and always have your laptop with you then this is a cheap and space saving alternative.

Score

Review Recap

Made by: APC
Price as reviewed: £10
The good: Sensible idea
The bad: May need to be checked to avoid falling out
Quick verdict: It’s simple and it works, you just have to make sure your laptop battery can spare the juice and you’re sorted. Check compatiblility, then buy.
Score
Winner