(all images link to higher resolution)

THE GOODS
Let's check out what is in the box.

Figure 1: Inside the box you will find the battery itself, a retractable cable with a USB plug on one end and a proprietary adapter on the other, 5 adapters for various mobile devices and a mini-USB to USB charging cable to recharge the battery itself.

Among the included device adapters you will find one for the iPOD, Sony Ericsson mobile phones, 2 for Nokia mobile phones and a mini-USB adapter. The inclusion of the mini-USB adapter seems a bit redundant, though as the package also includes a regular USB to mini-USB cable for recharging the internal battery of the Mobile Device Charger. Either that or the inclusion of the regular cable is redundant as I was able to charge the Proporta's internal battery using the retractable cable and the mini-USB tip.

Although there are only 5 device adapters bundled in the package, it is pretty easy to find a USB charging cable for most mobile devices. I have acquired a collection of them over the past year including ones for my iPOD, Treo 700w, Nintendo DS Lite and various Bluetooth headsets. I would like to see Proporta begin selling additional adapter tips on their website for other mobile devices. This would prevent the purchaser from having to carry around additional cables.

I feel compelled to mention that the box's contents are sort of just dumped into the package. When I received the unit I first thought that it was used or returned. Nothing was damaged, but a little bit more of a professional presentation of the contents would be good.

SO EASY EVEN A CAVEMAN CAN USE IT
This is one of the simplest devices I have ever used... and I mean that in a good way. There is only one button and 2 ports. That's it. You begin by charging the internal battery. This is accomplished by plugging the mini-USB end of the included cable into the port labeled "in" and the fill-size USB end of the cable into any powered USB port. Powered USB ports are available on computers and laptops as well as in other versions such as AC adapters and car adapters. Take note that many USB hubs are NOT powered and will not charge this device correctly. I plugged it into a powered USB port on my desktop computer.

Figure 2: Use the included cable to charge the internal battery.

Also note the on/off round button located towards the bottom.

Figure 3: The 2 ports include a mini-USB port labeled "in" and a full-size USB port labeled "out".

It needs to be said that USB charging takes longer than regular AC charging. As such, charging the internal battery took a little longer than I thought it would (around 3 hours). The reason I thought this was long was that Proporta says the internal battery ships with between a 50-75% charge. I would anticipate that a full charge would take well over 4 hours. This is not unreasonable considering the size of the internal battery (more on that later).

Speaking of charging, in Figure 2 above you can see the small round on/off button. In the middle of the button is an LED which can be either red or green. It is solid red while charging and flashing red when the battery is low. To use the device, simply press the power button and it will turn green. Then you can plug in whatever mobile device you want to charge using the full-size USB port labeled "out".

FIGHT THE POWER
In use, this is an awesome product. The internal battery is rated at 3400mAH. To put this in perspective, my Treo 700w came with an 1800mAH battery. Do the math and you will find that I could almost get 2 additional full charges of my Treo battery from the Proporta. Furthermore, the output is 5v 700mA which means it is enough for even very power-hungry devices such as a Sony PSP or an Apple 5G iPOD. In fact, your mobile device will treat being plugged into the Proporta as being plugged into a regular outlet. This means you can continue to use your mobile device while it is plugged into the Proporta instead of having to wait for the mobile device to recharge.

Figure 4: Here is a side-by-side of the Proporta with my 4G iPOD Photo 30GB.

It is pretty obvious that the iPOD influenced the design of the Proporta. Clad in all white with rounded edges, it looks like it belongs with an iPOD. It is even about the same size as an iPOD. What this adds up to is a good-looking device that is not too big. You could even stick it in a cargo pants pocket and it would not be unwieldy. Proporta also includes a lanyard loop at the very top of the device, although I am not sure why you would want to wear it around your neck.

PURCHASING

PROS

• Sharp-looking and reasonably compact
• Excellent 3400mAH capacity with high-power output
• Simple to use

CONS

• Extra adapters for the included retractable cable are not available on the Proporta website
• Packaging needs work

OVERALL IMPRESSION