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MOBILE EXTRAS
INTRO
Stay in charge when you’re away from home,
smarten up your phone, or wear it on your head -- just three of this month’s
mobile must-haves...
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KONDOR TRAVEL CHARGE PACK
Your phone may be mobile, but much of the
paraphernalia needed to keep it working often isn’t. Bulky mains chargers are
fine at home or in the office, but they’re not the sort of things you want to
lug around when you’re travelling. Kondor have come up with what looks like a
rather neat solution, a mobile phone travel pack that includes a compact mains
charger and car power adaptor, with an interchangeable connecting lead. The car
adaptor is one of Kondor’s standard models, built inside a cigarette lighter plug,
it has two LED indicators to show power connected and charge in progress. It
uses a standard microchip controller, to vary the charge current according to
the condition and charge state of the pack. After full charge has been reached
it reverts to a trickle charge condition, to keep the battery topped up, and
power the phone. The only unusual thing about this design is the detachable
curly lead, which connects to the adaptor using a US type (RJ11) telephone
plug.
The mains charger also has an RJ11 socket, so
the connecting lead can be swapped between the two. The charger is built into a
small box about the size of a bar of soap but the really clever feature is a
fold-out mains plug. It’s a standard continental two-pin type, that fits shaver
sockets the world over. The charger is a universal type, that operates over a
range 100 to 240 volts AC, 47-60Hz, which covers pretty well every type of
mains supply you’re likely to encounter. The maximum charge current from both
the car and mains adaptor is in the order of 1 amp, which means a typical
800mA/h nicad battery pack will charge in under an hour from flat.
Build quality is good, the car adaptor plug
in particular has been well thought out, and the four spring contacts, instead
of the more usual two, means that its a good tight fit in most cigarette
lighter sockets. Well worth considering if you’re thinking of taking your phone
abroad, and using it in a car, it’s good value too, cheap enough to keep one in
the glove box, just in case you’re called away.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £29.95
Features mains
adaptor with folding plug and cigarette lighter power supply
To fit most popular makes and models
Contact Kondor
Ltd., telephone 01202 481133
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 90%
DESKTOP TWIN CHARGER
Desktop chargers have tended to be lumpy
great things but this one from Alexander Batteries should fit into even the
most crowded workspace with little difficulty. It’s a dual port design, with
slots for the phone and its battery, and a second spare pack. The front phone slot
is large enough to accommodate higher capacity batteries.
The spare battery can also be treated to a
controlled deep discharge, to eliminate any cell-imbalance, which is one of the
main causes of the memory effect in nicad batteries, and to a lesser extent,
nickel metal hydride packs as well. Discharge mode is engaged by pressing a
small grey button on the side of the module, when the pack is fully discharged
charging starts automatically.
Power for the charger module is supplied by
an external plug-in mains adaptor. It has two LED indicators on the front, the
one for the spare battery changes from red to green, when charging has been
completed. When the charge cycles have finished the charger reverts to trickle
charge mode, to keep the packs topped up. Charge current is microchips
controlled and varies between 350mA to 500mA, according to the state of the
battery. This means a charge time of between an hour and a half to two hours
for most standard and high-capacity packs. Discharge time for most batteries
will be three to four times as long.
Apart from the small size this dual charger
is largely unremarkable. It performs satisfactorily and the quality of design
and construction is generally good. The price is on the high side for what it
is, but if space is at a premium on your desktop then it may be worth
considering.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £39.95
Features fast
charger/discharger with twin slots, for a phone and battery,
To fit most popular makes and models
Contact Alexander
Batteries, telephone (01327) 301090
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 72%
FONE RANGE DESIGNER HOUSINGS
Bored with your phone? Maybe it’s starting to
look a bit scruffy, but if your contract still has some time to run, or you
can’t afford a new one, then you’re going to have to live with it a while
longer. Alternatively you could replace the outer case, or rather pay an
engineer to do it for you as it usually requires specialist tools. Fone Range
have brought in a range of high quality Japanese replacement cases, in a
variety of eye-catching designs and finishes, including custom designs, in
small or large quantities. They include wood effects, see-through, tartans and
ethnic patterns that wouldn’t look out of place on the tail of a BA Jumbo.
All kits are supplied with new membrane rubber
keypads and LCD windows as likely as not they will need replacing too. Some
models also include a new microphone as well and they are a little dearer. All
necessary fixings and fitting are included, and Fone Range can also supply
matching batteries. The three cases we’ve been looking at, for the Nokia 1610,
2110 and Ericsson 338 were all well made, the gauge and feel of the plastic was
little different to the manufacturer’s original. The fit is very good too, to
what appears to be the manufacturers original specification. Clearly replacing
the case on your phone will invalidate the warranty and the dealer who does the
job may or may not take responsibility if anything goes wrong, but if you’re
willing to accept the risk, it’s a quick and simple way of customising your
phone or give an old mobile a new lease of life.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £30-£40
Features a
range of replacement cases in a variety of finishes
To fit most popular makes and models
Contact Fone
Range, telephone 0181-838 8899
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 83%
CHEAPIE QUICKIES
UNIVERSAL PHONE HOLDER
Normally we give market stalls selling
cellphones and accessories a very wide berth but this phone holder caught our
eye. It’s quite similar to a lot of other universal holders in that the phone
is held in place by a pair of spring-loaded grippers. The side of the holder
and the ‘finger’ are padded, so it won’t scratch the case, and they open wide
enough to hold most phones. The bracket mount is an unusual design, though.
It’s a ‘L’ shaped piece of spring steel, with four holes on the base; this can
be either slipped into a ventilation grille or mounted on the top of the
dashboard or centre console using the fixing kit supplied. This consists of a
double-sided adhesive pad, or a set of self-tapping screws. The only minor
problem is that it has obviously been configured for left-hand drive cars, so
there’s a bit of a knack getting the phone in and out. Considering the price it
is very well made and the grip is secure. Unfortunately the stallholder who sold
it to us was less than helpful when asked where it came from and wouldn’t tell
us who was distributing it, so you’re either going to have to visit Lingfield
Sunday market in Kent where we brought out, and hope he has some left, or keep
an eye open at your local markets and car boot sales.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £3.00
Features in-car
phone holder, multi-way mount, cushioned, spring-loaded side grippers
To fit most makes and models
Contact Aeolus
??? (seen in several street markets and car boot sales in SE)
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 85%
K-TEL PHONE EZE
Despite coming from Poundland, ‘Where
everything costs just £1’, this nifty gadget was on special offer in a South
London branch for just 50 pence! It’s has to be the world’s cheapest hands-free
car kit but unlike most other models on the market, this one works with any
make or model of phone, and there’s no wires... The phone is suspended on an
adjustable headband, so it rests against your ear. It comes with a pair of
self-adhesive Velcro pads, that attach to the back of the phone or its battery.
It looks completely daft but strangely enough it actually works quite well and
it can be worn for several minutes without discomfort. Getting it on and off is
a bit of a struggle, and we’d hesitate to use it whilst driving but if you
don’t mind looking like a bit of a wally, and you want to get on with something
else whilst making or taking a call then this could be the best ten bob’s worth
on the mobile phone accessory market.
THE FACTS
Typical Price 50
pence
Features hands-free
phone holder
To fit most makes and models
Contact Your
local Poundland
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 85%
PHONEY OF THE MONTH
NOKID THUMB SCORCHER
You could kid friends and neighbours that
it’s world’s smallest mobile phone -- it’s a very convincing copy of the Nokia
2110 -- but it’s real purpose is to burn the tip of your thumb, whenever you
press down the aerial. Presumably it is intended to be a novelty cigarette
lighter but it fails on two counts. Firstly it leaks, so it only works for a
day or two after being refilled, and second, there’s no way of adjusting the
blowtorch-like flame. Incidentally, out of curiosity, we dialled the phone
number printed on the front of the lighter, it turned out to be an irate
resident of Hong Kong’s Aberdeen district, who was none too amused at being
woken at 3am...
THE FACTS
Typical Price £2.99
Features leaky
piezo-electric lighter with non adjustable flame
To fit most pockets
Contact novelty
lighter stalls everywhere
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 30%
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Ó R. Maybury 1997 0108
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