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ACCESSORIES
HEAD
MOBILE EXTRAS
INTRO
Buying a mobile phone is only the beginning,
here’s another selection of essential accessories, gadgets, gimmicks and
add-ons
COPY
MEZZO LEATHER PHONE WALLETS, £23 & £40
Most cellphone cases tend to be rather dull
black leather bags, but every so often something a bit more interesting comes
along, like these two from the German company Mezzo. First up is the Mezzo Mino
from the outside it looks fairly ordinary but inside there’s what the
manufacturers call a miniature mobile office, and they’re not far off. On the
top flap there’s a tiny pad of Post-It notes. It has four credit-card sized
compartments on the front. It comes with a ball-pen, that slots into a pocket
on the side, and on the bottom, inside another small pocket, is a mini Swiss Army style pocket knife.
This has six attachments, including a pair of scissors, nail file, screwdriver,
4 centimetre blade and a couple of strange looking widgets, which we haven’t
figured out yet. A pair of small tweezers and a tooth-pick slide into little
slots on the side. There’s another pen-sized pocket on the other side of the
case, two more compartments on the back, and another under the note pad.
That’s eleven pockets in all, including one
in the middle for the phone, if there’s any room left... The case is made from
supple hand-stitched nappa leather, two sizes are available, for GSM phones,
both have belt-loops on the back. The asking price is £40, which all things
considered isn’t too bad.
The other case is the Mezzo VIP. It’s a
similar style to the Mino, and made from the same materials but it’s larger, so
it can accommodate a wider range of phones. It has the same number of pockets
and compartments, but no belt clip, and no accessories. This one sells for £23.
THE FACTS
Typical prices Mino Mezzo £40, Mezzo VIP £23
Features 11 pockets and compartments. Mino
Mezzo comes with pen, Post It notes and multi-function pen-knife
Dimensions Mini Mezzo 135 x 50 x 25mm,
Mezzo VIP 170 x 70 x 30mm
Telephone Mainline Promotions (01483) 271171
What Cellphone Verdict 80%
VITAL EQUIPMENT CASES, FROM £17.50 (inc.
P&P)
Inspired by a request from a professional
photographer, Vital Equipment have designed a range of phone cases made from
the same tough nylon webbing they use on their camera and accessory equipment
bags. This material is virtually indestructible and offers a high degree of
protection to it’s delicate cargo. The top flap has a quick-release buckle,
there’s a belt loop on the back and it has a pair of Velcro fixing strips, so
it can be attached to the shoulder strap of a carry-all bag. One size fits all,
though smaller phones may rattle around a bit inside, and it could do with a
cut-out on the top flap for the aerials. Vital Equipment can also produce
special cases to order, with extra straps or attachments, prices start at
£19.50 plus £1.50 post and packing. Well, it’s different...
THE FACTS
Typical price £16.00 plus £1.50 for basic model
Features Nylon webbing construction,
quick-release buckle, belt-loop, Velcro fastening
Dimensions 160 x 70 x 30 mm approx.
Telephone Vital Equipment (01492) 512740
What Cellphone Verdict 75%
ORA DESK-TOP FAST CHARGER £50
If you habitually switch off your mobile
phone to save the battery when you reach the office, or arrive home, here’s a gadget
that will keep you on the air, so you needn’t miss any calls. It’s a desk-top
charger from Ora, and it could mean never having to switch your mobile phone
off ever again! Just pop the phone into the cradle and it starts charging, the
phone can be safely left on in the standby mode, ready to make or take calls. A
full charge takes around an hour, an indicator lamp flashes to show when
charging has been completed. So far Ora have chargers for the Nokia 2110, Nokia’s
Orange phone and the Erricssons EH237 and GH337, others will doubtless follow. You’re
paying for air time, you might as well get the most out of it!
THE FACTS
Typical price £50
Features Fast charge in around 1 hour, over-charge
protection, charge on standby, AC adaptor supplied
Dimensions base unit 105 x 88 x 70mm
Telephone Ora (01296) 415445
What Cellphone Verdict 85%
ALLGON REPLACEMENT BATTERIES
There has been a lot of interest in the
findings of our battery test feature in the October issue, it’s an important
subject, and a source of concern for many cellphone users so it’s something we’ll
be coming back to from time to time. Like right now in fact; these two
batteries from Allgon turned up just a little two late to make it into last
month’s round-up, so we’ll have a look at them now. They’re both nickel
metal-hydride (Ni-Mh) types, designed to fit Motorola ‘Flip’ type phones. The
cells used in these batteries have a higher power density than nickel cadmium
types, so the packs are smaller and lighter for a given capacity, in this case
600mAh and 1100mAh (model numbers 10.005 & 10.009). The smaller pack has
the same capacity as the standard battery, yet it’s a millimetre or two thinner;
the other one is around twice the thickness and a good deal slimmer than most
high-capacity batteries.
We put both packs through our standard test
routine. This consists of a series of charge/discharge cycles that duplicate
medium and heavy usage. The results were as follows: Run 1, which simulates
high useage gave times of 2 hours 18 minutes for the 10.005 (600mAh) pack and 4 hours 38 minutes for the 10.009 (1100mAh) battery.
Run 2, the low demand cycle, gave times of 3 hours 20 minutes and 7 house 55
minutes respectively. The two sets of
results were very good and would have earned both packs 4-star ratings, so they’re
definitely worth considering.
THE FACTS
Battery type nickel metal-hydride
Capacity 10.005 (600mAh), 10.009 (1100mAh)
Telephone Allgon (01530) 510013
What Cellphone Verdict 90%
HAHNEL DELTA PRO 9000 PULSE CHARGER £109.99
It’s hardly surprising that most of the cellphone
accessory products we see are connected in one way or another with batteries.
They’re the only part that wears out, and just for good measure they always
seem to expire at the worst possible moment. Properly cared for a typical nicad
or nickel metal hydride battery can last for over 1000 charge/discharge cycles.
That’s over three years of daily use, in practice most cellphone users will be
lucky to get more than 500 cycles out of their batteries, before their capacity
is reduced to the point where they’re giving out halfway through the day. Much
of the time this is due to a condition known as cell imbalance, or ‘memory’
where one or more cells in the pack has got out of step with the others, reaching
full charge before its companions and halting the charge process, so the battery
as a whole never reaches full capacity.
The Hahnel Delta Pro 9000 Pulse Charge Centre
sets out to eliminate the memory effect using a technique known as negative pulse
charging, where normal charging is interspersed with short discharge pulses.
Not only will that ensure batteries operate at peak performance by eliminating
any memory effect, it may also revive batteries that will no longer work on a
conventional charger. It can’t perform miracles, though, but it will show if a
battery has passed the point of no return.
The charger was originally designed for
camcorder batteries but Hahnel have developed a range of adaptors to suit many
popular phones, these cost an extra £9.99 each. It also comes with a clip-on
holder for AA-type rechargeable cells, and a car power lead, so it can be used
on the move. It’s very simple to use, just slot the battery (or phone) onto the
charger and select the charge program. The unit has a set of LED indicators
that indicate the progress of the charging or discharging process, batteries or
phones can be left safely connected, it will automatically turn itself off ten
hours after the cycle has been completed. We tried it on a couple of batteries
that had been given up as terminal cases. The first cycles didn’t seem to do
much, but by the third visit to the charger one had returned to around 80% of original
capacity, the other one was still well down, but had regained enough useful
life to return to duty, albeit only as an emergency backup. It is expensive,
and simple dischargers that do a similar job cost less than half as much, but this
one does go that important bit further. It should interest heavy-duty cellphone
users, and if it can bring a couple of battery packs back from the dead, or help
prolong the lives and maintain the efficiency of others, it could easily pay
for itself for itself in a couple of years.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £109.99 (plus £9.99 for cellphone
adaptor)
Features Pulse charge/ discharger, AA cell
holder, mains power supply, car-cord
adaptor, 4.8 and 6-volt operation
Dimensions 160 x 100 x 40 mm
Telephone Aico (01635) 49797
What Cellphone Verdict 78%
P J LEATHERCRAFT CASES £13 to £20
Oh no, not another cellphone case! Well, yes,
but come on, these are different. For a start they’re manufactured here in
Blighty, and they’re very reasonably priced. They come from PJ Leathercrafts, a
family business in deepest Somerset, who hand make cases to fit most popular
phones, including the latest GSM models. They produce two ranges: standard no-frills
cases costing just £12.86, and that’s inclusive of carriage if you buy
mail-order, and the more elaborate two-tone Executive range, which costs
£15.57. Both ranges come in black leather as standard, or a range of 8 colours,
for £16.98 (standard) and £19.68
(executive). The colour choices are yellow, red, British racing green, dark
blue, mint green, sky blue or cream. Samples we’ve seen are very well put
together and finished. Where appropriate the cases have elasticated side gusset
to accommodate phones with non-standard batteries. Holes and cut-outs are all
in the right places, and they smell nice. What more can we say?
THE FACTS
Typical prices £12.86 (standard range), £15.60 (executive range), colour
cases approx £4.00 extra
To Fit most popular makes, analogue &
digital
Contact P J Leathercraft. Unit 18 Suprema
Business Park, Edington, Somerset TA7 9LF. Telephone (01278) 723360
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Ó R. Maybury 1995 1809
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