Belkin's Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger

[Chris Gohlke]

<img border="0" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1213048850.usr10.jpg" /><br />If you're like me, a major part of travel packing involves making sure you have all your power requirements met to charge your devices on the road. Our typical travel pack usually includes two phones, two MP3 players, two digital cameras, a video camera, two GPS units (one for geocaching and one for use in the car), and a laptop. Some of these items have their own rechargeable batteries which charge either via USB or AC adapter and others use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries. If you are like me, you often find yourself crawling around on the floor of a hotel room looking for extra outlets to charge your gear. Even if you find enough, you usually end up with devices all over the room and perhaps even one or two in the bathroom. This is a less than ideal situation, and until hotels figure out that they really need to provide more than one outlet on the desk, Belkin has stepped up with a solution to this common travellers dilemma with the <a href="http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738#">Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger</a>. So how did they solve the problem? <MORE /> <br /><br />In recent years, I&rsquo;d taken to adding a strip outlet to my travel gear. I really like to keep all my electronics on the desk when staying in a hotel. This makes it less likely that I will accidentally leave something in the hotel. The strip outlet worked, but even though I was using one of the smaller ones I could find, it was still on the bulky side and didn&rsquo;t offer any type of surge protection. Belkin felt my pain and they developed a compact surge protector designed specifically for your travel needs. <br /><br />The Belkin features a plug that rotates 360 degrees so that it will work with even the most awkwardly placed outlet. Unfortunately the plug does not fold flat into the unit, but they have included a protective cover to keep the prongs from getting bent or scratching up your other gear. The front of the unit features three grounded outlets. As an added bonus, the side of the unit features two USB plugs for charging your USB enabled devices. The outlets are spaced to allow power bricks, but I'd really like to see some more space between the plugs to handle larger bricks since there is plenty of room on either end. I was not able to use the third outlet due to the size and orientation of the two plugs I did use. But, as you can see, I was able to charge my Asus Eee, phone, MP3 player, and GPS all at once. <br /><br /><img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1213048325.usr10.jpg" /><br /><br />In addition to being more compact that the strip outlet I was using, this item also features 918 Joules of Surge Protection and a $75,000 connected equipment warranty. Upon my first use of this product in a hotel, I quickly realized the value of this. Apparently there was a problem with the outlet I was using and the surge protector kept cutting off my power. Since this was my first time using this product, I thought maybe I had a faulty one, but I tried another outlet and it worked fine. Who knows how many times I may have been plugging my devices into less than safe outlets in the past.<br /><br />So, in conclusion, this is a great little product for the road warrior as it offers both convenience and protection for charging all your toys. You can pick one up for $19.99 at <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/digitalhomethoughts-20/detail/B0016IXEWG/105-7945683-3861258">Amazon.com</a>. [Affiliate]<br /><em><br />Chris Gohlke is a Contributing Editor for Digital Media Thoughts. He loves Sci-Fi and loves to get his hands on real-life tech gadgets. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, USA with his wife and three cats.</em>

[murph]

i got one of these too. a little bulk-ier than i expected, but the convenience is great.

[cmchavez]

I just picked up one of these a couple of days ago. We're traveling to China next week and I'll be using it in conjunction with a power converter for my personal electronics; I figure the surge protection will be VERY handy with the variable power quality overseas.

[RugbyHoe]

Nice.

Personally, I am packing one of these...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3042/2570084605_39901c3e9c_o.jpg
Belkin F9H220-TVL Travel Surge Protector with Hidden Swivel Plug (http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F9H220-TVL-Travel-Protector-Hidden/dp/B0006OCFFS/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1213200715&sr=8-4)

...and one of these.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3080/2570911162_d390f62f44_o.jpg
Monster MP OTG400 BK Outlets To Go Power Strip, 4 AC Outlets (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b)


This combination gives me 4 surge protected AC outlets and also provides a protected data port for those hotels that still don't provide wireless access points. I do have to pack two devices, but they are pretty small, the sockets are generously spaced, and the prongs/cord fold up neatly for packing. All I am missing are the USB power plugs, but fortunately my laptop has enough ports for me to get by.

Very cool idea though.

[Chris Gohlke]

I was debating ordering the Monster one just because of the spacing of the outlets. Does the actual outlet part on it rotate? I ask because since the cord goes out the left side, it would block the lamp switch on most hotel lamps.

[Jason Dunn]

Looks cool, but I can't seem to find anywhere in Canada to buy them from. Sigh. :rolleyes:

[Paul Martin]

Nice.

Personally, I am packing one of these...

Belkin F9H220-TVL Travel Surge Protector with Hidden Swivel Plug (http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F9H220-TVL-Travel-Protector-Hidden/dp/B0006OCFFS/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1213200715&sr=8-4)

...and one of these.

Monster MP OTG400 BK Outlets To Go Power Strip, 4 AC Outlets (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-MP-OTG400-BK-Outlets/dp/B000F9YN2M/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b)


Funny, I have this exact same combo. :D Just wish it had the USB outlets. That's a nice feature of the other.

[WyattEarp]

Picked one up last week. Comes in handy when doing house calls and there's only one available outlet next to where your working and you need two. I also think it's a little on the large side when compared to the Monster power strip which IMO is designed a bit better. Wish Monster would add USB to theirs. Guess you can't have everything.

[Paul Martin]

I was debating ordering the Monster one just because of the spacing of the outlets. Does the actual outlet part on it rotate? I ask because since the cord goes out the left side, it would block the lamp switch on most hotel lamps.

Chris, I think it does but I'll check tonight when I get home.

Paul

[BevHoward]

Spotted this at the local walmart

http://bevhoward.com/stuff/images/12vUSB.jpg (I'm not allowed to post images here ;-)

I did replace the cord so it could reach the tankbag on the bemer plus the plug shown is one of those convertibles which work in both cigarette lighter sockets and bmw power taps.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

[ctmagnus]

Chris, I think it does but I'll check tonight when I get home.

Paul

The Monster plug does *not* rotate.

[Paul Martin]

Chris, I think it does but I'll check tonight when I get home.
Paul

OK. It does NOT rotate. Looking at it laid out, labels facing up and readable, the cord extends to the right and the grounded spade is on the bottom of the outlet plug as it faces away from you. The combo with the belkin box RugbyHoe mentioned does make it more flexible.

If that's not clear enough, ask for more info.

Paul

Edit: OK. While I was slowly pecking out my answer with my stylus, CTMagnus comes in for the score. :) Thanks.

[BevHoward]

>> We're traveling to China next week <<

Would be interesting to know if the 5vdc output is retained when connected to different mains voltage using just a plug converter... that and if the surge protection can deal with that as well.

[cmchavez]

>> We're traveling to China next week <<

Would be interesting to know if the 5vdc output is retained when connected to different mains voltage using just a plug converter... that and if the surge protection can deal with that as well.

I'm not brave enough to sacrifice any tech hardware to that kind of experiment; I'll be using a voltage convertor\step-down transformer in addition to the plug adapter. :)

[Jason Dunn]

I'm not allowed to post images here ;-)

This is off topic, but the reason why we don't allow image uploads is that it would create a massive added load on our system in terms of database size. I still have vivid memories of Dale Coffing's Pocket PC Passion site and the problems he had with his database...it reached 40 GB in size because he allowed image uploads. It's hard to work with a 40 GB database. :(

[Paul Martin]

...vivid memories of Dale Coffing's Pocket PC Passion site and the problems he had with his database

40GB??? :eek: I'd forgotten all about that. I followed Dale's site a lot before I found PPCT and I wanted a heavier news feed. I do remember those massive site failures at the end of it's run. Is Dale still involved in the community? His last Typepad site post was in 2005. If it were up, I'd bet he'd recommend the Belkin...just not for servers. ;)

[Jason Dunn]

Is Dale still involved in the community? His last Typepad site post was in 2005.

He's still involved with Windows Mobile, but not community stuff - you'll see him at trade shows doing presentations for Windows Mobile.

[cmchavez]

I've been using this for the past week while here in China, paired up with a plug adapter for Chinese wall sockets. Its worked fabulously with devices that step down or accept the higher 220V current on their own, such as my laptop and digital camera chargers!

[Jays_Fan]

Looks cool, but I can't seem to find anywhere in Canada to buy them from. Sigh. :rolleyes:

Canada Computers has this item for sale online and in their stores.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=018619&cid=PS.405

[Jason Dunn]

Canada Computers has this item for sale online and in their stores...

I've since found a local store that ordered them in for me - I got two. :D