It’s all about the juice. Not the sugary orange stuff or the arsenic-laced apple stuff (thanks for the heads up, Dr. Oz), but the juice our gadgets seem to drink so quickly. In the ten years I have been doing my High-Tech Texan shows and reviews, I have found the one thing that has not kept pace with the rest of tech advancements – batteries. We use smartphones that are as powerful as computers; laptops almost as thin as paper; but why can’t someone create a battery that lasts the entire flight from Houston to Hawaii??
I know, I know… I have all the extended battery packs for my individual phones, cameras and laptops but that just makes more things to schlep around. So instead of loading up my backpack with more gear I simply changed backpacks to the Powerbag. Powerbag has a line of backpacks, messenger bags, and slings that charge mobile devices right in the bag. Pretty much a charging system disguised in a cool-looking bag.
Each bag comes with a built-in, lightweight, rechargeable and removable battery (available with a 3000 mAh or 6000 mAh battery based on model). You can connect up to four mobile devices at a time using the included pre-routed connectors (1 micro, 1 mini, 1 Apple) and one USB port. The Powerbag charging system automatically detects the connected devices in the bag and sends the right amount of power to charge each one. The bag itself recharges by plugging into any standard wall outlet with the included AC Adapter.
The battery inside the bag is powerful enough to charge a smartphone up to six times and can even top off most eReaders and tablets.
Though geeky on the inside, each of the Powerbag models are stylish on the outside. Messenger bags are hot right now and this one is padded to hold up to a 15” laptop. The Messenger, Backpack, Tablet Backpack and Sling models are $139.99 each and a Wheeled Briefcase is $249.99. You can find the bags at Best Buy, Officemax and online at MyPowerbag.com.
I can now travel with knowing that my gadgets will have enough juice to get me to my next destination. And I’m the only one that knows about the geeky technology packed inside the bag (though the charging-level, flashing LED lights on the outside of the bag is a giveaway that something odd is happening).