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 Running out of power? Are you reserving your enjoyment in the air, switching off to stay in contact or keep shooting? Time for a rethink perhaps. Introducing the iWalk and iUp-13200, essential kit for the photographer on the move. Power blocks that will extend the life of your laptop and iPhone, keeping you working for longer, backing up making those long plane flights feeling shorter.
Charge! U20 iUP-13200 and the iWalk Charger Reviews.
Power to the People
If it seems like your photography accessories are getting a little power hungry these days, or you just enjoy technology a little too much whilst on the move, then here is a duet of chargers to cover your basic travel needs. As a travel and landscape photographer, I am always deploying cunning and polite ways off keeping my equipment charged. Multi output in-car chargers, power blocks and power inverters are all necessary clobber these days. Café staff are routinely tipped in exchange for a seat next to a wall socket than a window, but it is now thanks to the genius of U20, that I can stay out in the field away from electricity even longer.
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The champion team of chargers I now can't live without - U2O iWalk and the mighty iUP-13200 - utterly essential kit inside my camera bag and also my day life.
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The Charging System.
The iUP-13200 and the iWalk rechargers have the power to keep you moving, both independently or as a pair.
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The iWalk charging my iPhone 3GS
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iWalk - £45
The iWalk 5400 is predominantly designed at the mobile phone market. It has a single USB output and a D shaped USB input. It is designed to charge straight from another USB powered device like a computer. Again, a single button turns the unit on, connect your chosen lead into the USB socket and you are away. It’s designed to charge all manner of mobile phones, so all you need is the appropriate lead to recharge your phone, iPhone or indeed any phone.
iWalk in Use – Charges an iPhone 100%+
In the last month I managed to join the masses and purchase an iPhone 3GS. This magnetic accessory is now used for email, watching movies, as a compass, notebook, voice recorder, store my location research and listen to banging techno (of course). With 3G turned off, wireless networks disabled and the screen lower than half power, I can get a good five hours of entertainment on the move. With the iWalk in my pocket, this duration is now extended to a relieving ten hours. That kills a lot of air time and airport boredom, believe me. When you consider watching an hour of video consumes around 20% of the battery, that’s going to extend your trip enjoyment considerably. Its utter relief know you have another huge charge available at the press of a small button.
Inputs
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| Power toolbox - select 5v, 12v, 16v and 19v power output, or USB output. Charge the device with the supplied adapter. |
Nice and simple - iWalk can charge anything with USB. To charge it, simply plug it into a computer or any phone charger with D shaped connections. |
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iUP-13200 can charge the Clapptop back up to 90% from flat.
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iUP-13200 - £79
The iUP-13200 is one beefy power source, designed to power a variety of electronics but aimed at keeping the laptop user from despair. It has a selectable range of voltage outputs – 5, 12, 16 and 19v making it capable of juicing up all manner of devices but most importantly 19v laptop batteries. There are two power output connections – USB and a secondary standard DC output (very handy). On the top of the unit is a single button. When pressed it switches the device on and shows the charge it holds by illuminating four bright red LED bars. There is a set of different output ‘tips’ that can be adapted to fit your device included in the box.
iUP-13200 In Use – Charges a flattop to 90%
Using a now rather humble Samsung Q35 travel laptop and now an Apple Mac Book Pro, I find myself writing and working on the move more than ever before. It’s also my main source of image backup, but when it goes flat I am forced back to civilisation, or to find some means of electricity source. With the iUP-13200 to hand, I can literally double the time I can stay out in the field. My laptop will recharge to around 90% from flat, exhausting the iUP-13200 itself, but giving huge extended use. As the laptop lasts around 5hours with conservative use, or around a few days or backing up and picture review, I can last nearly an entire week away from electricity (as long as I avoid draining the battery with unnecessary image review)
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| iUP-13200 charging the iWalk, genious. |
In Tandem
Here’s the best bit, you can charge little brother from big brother. If the iWalk goes flat, plug it into the iUP-13200 for as many as six to seven recharges. This combo is such a brilliant way of keeping me in communication or topping up the iWalk before putting in my coat pocket, should I require extended battery life. This approach means you never need to recharge the device from a computer. Your phone can stay powered and online for over 30 hours, that just fantastic. I keep the iUP-13200 in my ThinkTank Airport Acceleration hand luggage and the iWalk in my jacket for flights, but I get such extended use from the iWalk alone that I rarely need to link the two.
Final Thoughts
As devices become more power hungry and chemical technology advances, we are bound to see many new devices like these in our kit bags. The iUP-13200 weighs in, but it’s essential kit as far as I am concerned and I wouldn’t be without it when I travel. The iWalk is in my pocket everywhere I go, both home or away. If you don’t travel very much, or use a laptop to while away the airport drudgery, you can get away with the iWalk alone. As a team it’s a super combination that I will be using for a long time to come.
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