Ecovell USB DC Car Power Adaptor

[Jason Dunn]

E-Preview Corp. sent me an interesting little device that, while quite simple, makes for a very useful travel accessory. One of the trends I've noticed lately is the increasing focus on providing power for mobile devices in a car. Last year I bought a power brick that plugs into my vehicle cigarette lighter (I think that needs a new name - "Firestarter") and gives me a standard AC outlet to plug into. On long car trips, having my laptop with me for work is a beautiful thing. The adaptor is clunky though, and the solution isn't very elegant<!><br /><br />Some newer cars, like the Pontiac Vibe, now have an AC outlet built into the car. Nice! That still requires you to bring your clunky AC adaptor. I've found a better way around that - the Ecovell USB DC Car Power Adaptor (they need a shorter name!) accepts USB cable input and provides power for that device. Now, most USB cables are for synchronizing purposes only, not for charging (ie: you wouldn't want to plug your camera USB sync cable into this device). However, if you have a <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?gomadic-new+jQKYD5+tose3powsync.html+ppcthoughts">USB sync/charge cable</a> for your Pocket PC, you have the perfect travelling equipment.<br /><br />I tested the USB Car Adaptor with a <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?gomadic-new+jQKYD5+tose3powsync.html+ppcthoughts">sync/charge cable from Gomadic</a>, and it worked nicely. The combination of these two items make for a very light-weight and small solution to getting power on the road.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/dunn2002/ecovell.jpg" /><br /><br />Some further specs on the Ecovell USB DC Car Power Adaptor:<br /><br />• Up to 2000 mA max output. About 4 X the power compared to regular USB power output.<br />• USB receptacle matches all ECOVELL USB Power Cable or Power/Sync Cable for most PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras, camcorders, 2 way radio and other devices.<br />• Smart micro controller provides 2 layers of surge protection with instant current and stable voltage output.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.e-preview.com/">E-Preview Corp.</a> doesn't sell these items themselves - they are a supplier to the following companies that do:<br /><br /><a href="www.gooddealpc.com">www.gooddealpc.com</a><br /><a href="www.kricomputer.com">www.kricomputer.com</a><br /><a href="www.usaving.com">www.usaving.com</a><br /><a href="www.talkall.com">www.talkall.com</a>

[Master O'Mayhem]

I Use a similar product for charging my Ipaq - Tmobile PPCPE and erriccsson phones It is from a company called www.nd-dimension.com they have different ends to charge differnt devices. Its cool because i can take a small charger for multiple rather than all my differnt chargers. Also I use Xtend power air/auto adapter. http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=382885

Cdw has it with multiple adapters fo fit different laptops. I bought this one for my thinkpads and sony vaio. Works great on a plane. Now if only exveryplane would have power in every seat. THe newer airbus planes do.

HTH[/url]

[dazz]

Ha!! Had to laugh at the Firestarter product name.

They definitely need to change that name. :lol:

dazz

[Paul Martin]

These kinds of products are great! I use the one from Belkin for my Jornada (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=122814) and it's been great. Most of the time, I use it as my sync cable at work, but if I'm going on a trip, I snag it to charge on the go.

http://images.belkin.com/F8H1000/STD1_F8H1000.jpg

I tried to locate the old packaging to find the power rating but it's no where to be found.

Paul

[RKosin]

Curiousity got the best :confused totally: and the Belkin package contains no tech details.

[PP MAryl]

I use it for few weeks already and it is good one.

[peterawest]

These kinds of products are great! I use the one from Belkin for my Jornada
I use Belkin too. I just leave the lighter part in my car and keep the cable with me. Belkin makes them for several Pocket PC's (http://catalog.belkin.com/keywordsearch.process?query=pocket+pc+usb&var=stemming&stemming=true&var2=num_rows&num_rows=10&var2=query.message&error_query=Go+back+and+enter+some+words+to+search+for.&RowsPerPage=10&RestartFlow=t&prod_attrib=5).

With more on the way:

Toshiba (http://catalog.belkin.com/KeywordSearch.process?query=+USB+Sync+toshiba&var=stemming&stemming=true&var=num_rows&num_rows=10&RowsPerPage=10&RestartFlow=t&prod_attrib=5)

And I find that the prices are better over at Buy.com:

iPAQ
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10324116&amp;loc=101

Toshiba
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10333164&amp;loc=101

[Paul Martin]

I e-mailed Belkin for the power figures. They responded that the tech support department didn't have them because it was mostly pass-through, but the standard max power from a USB port was 500mA's.

Also, they confirmed there is a replaceable fuse in the 12V adapter. Just thought I'd pass along their response.

Paul