A Mobile Recharging Solution: The iGo Juice70 Universal Wall/Auto/Air Notebook Power Adapter

[Jason Dunn]

<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/Juice.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Power accessory<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.igo.com">iGo</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/search_deals.php?ofb.set%28keywords%29%26=iGo+Juice">iGo</a><br /><b>Price:</b> <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/search_deals.php?ofb.set%28keywords%29%26=iGo+Juice">Varies ($88 to $119)</a><br /><b>Specifications:</b> Unit dimensions: 5.49"L x 2.21"W x 1.00"H. Unit weight: 6.79 oz. AC input: 100 - 230V. DC input: 11.75 -16V. Continuous power output: Up to 70 Watts.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Excellent design aesthetics;<br /><li>Highly flexible and modular;<br /><li>Covers wall, car, and airplane charging scenarios;<b>Cons:</b><li>A bit bulky when packed in the carrying case;<br /><li>If you forget one piece, it's useless;<b>Summary:</b><br />If you have a laptop and a PDA or mobile phone, and you travel frequently, the iGo Juice is a handy power solution that allows you to simultaneously charge two devices at once. It also allows you to recharge from a wall plug, a car with a cigarette lighter, or even an airplane. The iGo Juice is a highly functional and useful tool for the mobile professional.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><br /><span><b>A Confusing Start...</b></span><br />A reader from Pocket PC Thoughts first told me about the iGo Juice, and I immediately began lusting after one – it looked fantastic! Unfortunately, I misunderstood what the iGo Juice actually did. I mustn't have read the product description very carefully, because I thought it was a portable battery that you could use to charge multiple devices. I had visions of being able to run my laptop for an extra 10 hours, and top up my Pocket PC at the same time. I requested one for review, along with an adaptor for my iPAQ, and iGo's PR people sent me the products. I plugged it into the wall, and the blue LED began to pulse. "Aha," I thought, "it's charging!". <br /><br />More than 24 hours later, the damn thing was still pulsing. I emailed the PR company, thinking that I had a defective unit. They sent me another one, and it did the same thing. After several email exchanges, we discovered two things: it's an AC adaptor charging kit, not a battery, and I'm an idiot. :lol: In my defence though, having it pulse blue while plugged in makes it seem like it's <i> doing something</i>, when it's actually not. The blue pulsing sure looks cool though! :-D<br /><br /><span><b>Enlightenment – And Satisfaction!</b></span><br />Once I clued in to what the iGo actually was, I wasn't quite as enthused (hey, a mobile battery would have been cool!), but after using it more than half a dozen times while travelling, I've come to appreciate what a great tool it is. The iGo Juice is an innovative power solution designed for mobile professionals, and it does what it does very well indeed. It's an AC power block capable of charging one or two devices at a time, and can connect to a wall socket, a lighter adaptor in a car, or an airplane socket (which I have yet to see).<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/igocharger-1.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: The iGo connected to the wall, then to my Fujitsu laptop, and bridged off to my iPAQ 2215.</i><br /><br />The main unit and all the cables are a stylish white, making it look more at home charging an iBook, but I appreciate the effort they put into making this a good-looking accessory. With the main kit, you get the AC brick with a connection socket on each end, a power cable that connects it to the wall, one that connects to the car adaptor, and one that connects to an airplane power socket. These cables connect to one end of the AC brick, and on the other end there's a cable for your laptop. This device cable is quite long (another nice touch) and has a small connection point about halfway down the cable. In order to power your second device, you need to purchase the cable separately, and plug it into this connector. iGo offers cables for a variety of PDAs, mobile phones, and other devices. These cables are sold individually for about $19.99 USD.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/igocharger-2.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The iGo connected to my car lighter adaptor.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK> <br /><span><b>Modular - Good and Bad</b></span><br />At the end of the main cable there's a modular end where you attach the adaptor for your specific brand of laptop. The laptop adaptor kit covers an assortment of brands including Apple, Fujitsu, IBM, HP, Compaq, Dell, and others. This modular approach allows the base iGo Juice kit to be sold generically, instead of requiring a whole kit for each type of laptop. This has the side effect of being consumer-friendly because you can keep using the iGo Juice if you change brands of laptops.<br /><br />The down side to the modular nature of this product is that if you happen to forget one of the three main pieces at home when you're travelling, the iGo Juice is useless. I was travelling down to Las Vegas for a conference, and somehow managed to forget the cable that connected the iGo Juice to the wall outlet. Luckily I was able to find a new AC charging kit at Fry's, made by Fujitsu no less, but it was an expensive mistake.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/igocharger-3.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: My Fujitsu laptop set up on a <a href="http://www.coolpad.com">Coolpad</a>, connected to the iGo, which is connected to the lighter adaptor in the car. This is my typical setup for long-distance car travel – my wife drives, and I work. :-)</i><br /><br />The iGo Juice comes with a plastic carry case, big enough to hold the AC brick, the AC power cable, the laptop adaptor, the car cable, and a cable for your second device (in my case, an HP iPAQ cable). You might be able to fit the airplane adaptor cable in there as well, but it would be a tight fit. The carrying case when packed is quick thick, making it difficult to pack in a standard laptop bag. I would have preferred to see a longer, narrower carrying case – something that would be thinner when packed full.<br /><br /><span><b>Compared to Other Solutions…</b></span><br />Being the efficiency freak that I am, I've pondered whether it would be easier to use the power adaptor that came with my laptop – it's smaller than the iGo Juice brick – and a <a href="http://www.pocketpctechs.com">USB sync 'n charge cable for my Pocket PC</a>. That solution is smaller, but ultimately not as effective because USB charging is slower than a pure AC power feed. The deciding factor though is the car powered scenario – I have a power accessory that plugs into a car lighter adaptor and gives me a standard AC plug, but it's large and heavy. The iGo juice is a thin cable ending in a small adaptor, making it a much smaller and lighter solution. Plus, the iGo Juice just looks cool. :-)<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />If this sounds like the perfect accessory, that's because it more or less is – it does what it does extremely well, is thoughtfully designed, and looks great. Being highly modular, this is an accessory that you can keep using for years, simply buying cables for your specific devices. I highly recommend the iGo Juice for anyone who has power-hungry devices that they need to recharge in a variety of scenarios.

[brianchris]

Although I've knew about (and understood :wink: ) the Juice 70 for some time, I've only recently purchased one. So for so good! Although I haven't traveled too much since I got it, the potential the device holds justifies its cost.

My only wishes are even better tip selections. Its true there's an amazing selection, but there isn't a tip for the Motorola MPx200's mini-usb jack, and there aren't any tips for camcorders or portable DVD players.....both items often found in my electronics bag. That said, I own tips for a couple other cell phones of mine, two laptops, my iPaq, and my GameBoy advance (not that I carry all of those devices on every trip :D ). Flexibility is what's key with the Juice 70, and I understand there's a Juice 90 coming out soon.

[Yorch]

have you looked at this (http://www.kensington.com/html/5406.html)?

I have the regular version, not this one, but looks just like the IGO juice, and yeah, the benefits of this one is that you can retract the cable, very portable, I was looking to buy this one, but they didn't have it, so I had to buy the regular one.

[brianchris]

have you looked at this (http://www.kensington.com/html/5406.html)?

I have the regular version, not this one, but looks just like the IGO juice, and yeah, the benefits of this one is that you can retract the cable, very portable, I was looking to buy this one, but they didn't have it, so I had to buy the regular one.

Interesting. Retractable cord would be nice. The Juice70 powers devices besides just laptops (i.e. cell phones, pDA's, GameBoys, etc.)....does the Kensington? It may because it says it has "Juice technology."

What's the difference between the two Kensington versions?

[JLittle2]

I agree the universal power supply idea is a great one. I've been using a Targus for years and just switched to an iGo. Targus has had a lock on the market for a while, they actually required two devices one for AC and one for DC, in response to iGo Targus does have a single AC/DC device now.

iGo changed the market by offering a single device. Kensington also has a similar solution.

These universal devices are addictive, the nice thing is they are competively priced with a replacement laptop supply, so if you want a second power supply for home/work it makes sense to buy a universal power supply.

As far a airplain power there are not a lot of airlines that offer in seat power, however Delta offers in seat power on all their business class international flights.

One thing I just learned about universal power supplies is when it breaks and your overseas it is very frustraiting. Targus in Europe could not help me because my model was American and they did not know anything about it. Computer supply stores are not as common in Europe so I had to search quite a bit to find a replacement. So far I've very pleased with iGo, I'm glad you are too.

FYI, eBay can be a good source if cheap tips.

[Jason Dunn]

You know what I just realized would be a GREAT tip for them to make? A female USB tip! That way we could use our sync n' charge cables with it. :-) Although if you're already charging a laptop with USB ports... :roll:

[genoist_gps]

What's really cool is that some mobile phone manufacturers are planning to start packaging the correct iGo iTip in the boxes of their new phones. I think RadioShack, being the owner of iGo, has a good thing going here.

[Jason Dunn]

What's really cool is that some mobile phone manufacturers are planning to start packaging the correct iGo iTip in the boxes of their new phones. I think RadioShack, being the owner of iGo, has a good thing going here.

Wow, that's VERY cool - now if only the PDA manufacturers would follow suit! :-)

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

As far a airplain power there are not a lot of airlines that offer in seat power, however Delta offers in seat power on all their business class international flights.
...as does United, Lufthansa, and *I think* American. Additionally, United does provide the in seat power in 1st class of certain domestic flights as well.

These airplane adaptors come in REAL handy on long flights!!

[Empyrean]

I called iGo and they informed me that their Juice 70 is not compatible with some of the latest Dell laptops like the Inspiron 8600 or the Lattitude M/D series. Something about Dell putting a chip in their power supplies.

He did tell me that Dell licensed their technology and you can pretty much get the same setup from Dell which is pretty nice. The downside is that the Dell's doesn't come with tips for multiple manufacturer's laptops.

I'll have to look into the Kensington one.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I called iGo and they informed me that their Juice 70 is not compatible with some of the latest Dell laptops like the Inspiron 8600 or the Lattitude M/D series. Something about Dell putting a chip in their power supplies.

He did tell me that Dell licensed their technology and you can pretty much get the same setup from Dell which is pretty nice. The downside is that the Dell's doesn't come with tips for multiple manufacturer's laptops.

I'll have to look into the Kensington one.
I would think that the Kensington adapter would be sujected to the same situation as the iGo if Dell is forcing proprietary power solutions.

[Empyrean]

I would think that the Kensington adapter would be sujected to the same situation as the iGo if Dell is forcing proprietary power solutions.

You would think so too but I think the Kensington lists the Dell Lattitude M60 is a supported notebook.

[ctmagnus]

I got an iGo system yesterday, but the tip that works with the SMT5600 (according to the iGo site) is not available at Radio Shack Canada (aka The Source by Circuit City). However, there are several mini-USB B tips available at my local Source. Can anyone comment on whether or not they'll work with a SMT5600?

[ctmagnus]

I called iGo customer support and the answer is electrical differences.

Tips A53, A32 and A29 are all physically compatible with the devices each connects to but they let different voltage, current, etc amounts through.

Btw, Angela in iGo cs (1 888 205-0093, opt 3) is excellent!

[Jason Dunn]

I called iGo customer support and the answer is electrical differences.

It might be even more complex than that - the SMT5600 has a chip in it that will not charge the phone unless it's connected to a certain type of charger, or if it's connected to a PC with ActiveSync. Boxwave sent me a wall charger that I connected their USB cable into, and it wouldn't charge - but the same USB cable would charge when connected to my PC. After some further investigation they discovered the SMT5600 has some sort of charging chip that was interfering. At least, that's what I was told. ;-)

[ctmagnus]

8) Good to know.

I found out something strange re: the VersaCharger and the SMT5600: When used together with BoxWave's charge-only retractable cable, the SMT5600 will report that it's fully charged after being connected for only a few minutes. If I unplug it for a few seconds, it reports a few percentages greater charge-wise than when I plugged it in but certainly not a whole charge. Then I plug it back in and the led is orange again. This is only with some electrical systems, however, such as the campground that's across 16th Avenue from Stoney Trail and a few others I've tried. In the house, there's no problem, as well as in vehicles I've used it in.

[martin_ayton]

I have a Dell Latitude D800 and a Targus all-in-one power supply. The issue is not a chip, but the high power draw of the Dell Latitude. Most all-in-one adaptors will supply 70W, but some of the newer, more hard-core laptops need 90W (don't even ask about the AlienWare 120W behemoths :roll: ). Now, my all-in-one will power my laptop, but it won't charge the battery. Even if the laptop is off. That suits my travelling style - most of the time I'm near to a power outlet of some flavour or other and the battery in the Dell, plus a spare is more than enough.

For the international traveller, it is worth knowing that American Airlines are the only carrier AFAIK which offer power supplies throughout coach class! The supplies are the in-car type and are only found every third row or so, so book your seat carefully or pray that your fellow passengers aren't using the outlet and won't mind your cables under their feet. That and 34" leg room throughout coach mean I fly American all the time, despite the fact that I loathe just about every other aspect of their service.