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December 29, 2009 / Filed under: iPhone, Hardware, Design, Devices, #fb

Have you ever plugged your battery-drained mobile device into your laptop while out and about? Maybe you are not near a power source, so you weigh the importance of having power in one of your two devices - either your laptop, or your phone.

Charging your laptop is out of the question, but at least your phone can extract whatever power remains in the laptop.

This is the idea behind the Richard Solo iPhone battery charger, except the "laptop" in this equation is actually a device smaller than most mobile phones:

When your phone is almost drained, you can plug in the Richard Solo battery charger, and transfer a full charge from one device to the other.

This is like having a phone with a battery life of 200%, or double it's normal lifespan.

The device currently supports iPhones, iPods, Blackberrys, and other smartphones with the correct connector port.

Design

The size of the device is small enough to still fit in your pocket while connected and transferring power to your phone.

By itself, it's marginally smaller than most smartphones, in both length and thickness:

It is lightweight, and even includes a smart design feature, which prevents bending the connector while attached to your phone. It's a simple bridge that helps keep both devices level to each other:

There's also a laser pointer and flashlight, for those interested.

Practical uses

When would this come in handy, you wonder? Heck, you're at your office desk, or in your car, or at home most of the time, where there is ample power supply, so when would you ever need to use this battery charger?

I can tell you, for a person who uses public transportation five days a week - it's a pure gem. I can more heavily stream music, watch videos, use the GPS, or do any other power-hungry task without worrying so much about draining the battery. Even traditional uses like talking on the phone drains the battery quite a bit, too.

Today's multi-purpose phones are battery savages. It never hurts to have longer battery life.

In a nutshell, my phone is an extension of me. I use it for so many different things, and it's capable of so much. Plain and simple, even though I'm near a power source quite a bit - it can still benefit from a longer battery lifespan than it has.

Other examples

Here are some other situations where having "200%" could be helpful:

A concert or sporting event, which can often stretch out for a half-day or longer of being "out and about," away from a power source.

This includes usage such as:

• Texting or calling friends when meeting up prior to the event.
• Map directions and GPS to get to the event.
• Social networking and general web searching prior to the event.
• Photos, video, and social networking during the event.
• Map directions and GPS to get home from the event.

All of this takes a toll on the battery, and fast.

Often I go to Cubs games, or music concerts, using multiple methods of transportation, including rail, buses, etc. A lot of time is killed using my phone. Normally when I'm heading home from a game, my phone is close to dying, so I have to watch my usage.

How about traveling? Being on an airplane or train that does not have a power source can really limit the "entertainment" you can provide yourself, such as music, videos, etc. Why watch the airplane movie, when you can comfortably watch one of dozens that could be on your phone?

Beyond 200%

It really doesn't end at "200%." You could essentially buy a few of these chargers and truly have an enormous amount of extra power in your pocket, capable of handling endless hours of usage away from a traditional power source.

The beauty is that they are so small and lightweight, they are not a burden to transport.