‘Book Mystique Review: FastMac U-Charge Universal Battery Charger for Apple Laptops
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
by Charles W. Moore
FastMac’s new “U-Charge” is a 45W external battery charger that connects directly to the battery’s terminals to recharge batteries that supports batteries for for most G3 and later Apple laptops including iBooks, MacBooks MacBook Pros & PowerBooks. It connects directly to the battery’s terminals to recharge the battery without necessity of inserting the battery a laptop.
It’s definitely convenient to have one or more spare batteries if you depend on battery power a lot, or like me, live in an area plagued by frequent power outages. I can get more than 10 hours run time on my old G4-upgraded Pismo PowerBooks with two fully-charged extended life batteries, and having an external charger means I can recharge them both simultaneously from an inverter or when the power comes back on. THe U-Charge with some machines also does a quicker recharge than the internal charge, especially if you’re using the computer at the time.
The U-Charge supplies exactly the power needed to charge only the battery, bypassing the need to power the laptop. The unit’s main housing has an array of battery indicator charge LEDs that emulate Apple’s own battery charge indicators so you can quickly determine the charge status & battery level. U-Charge incorporates safety features that protect against overcharge, overheating, short circuits and power surges. It weighs in at less than 6 ounces, with dimensions matching those of the Apple AC adapter.
The U-Charge package contains three items - the U-Charge unit module, a battery connector cord and a power cord.
Before you connect a battery to the U-Charge it’s important to compare the voltage on your battery with the output voltage of the U-Charge printed on its label; they must match.
Once the voltage match is confirmed, just place your battery face down (that’s label side facing up) on a flat surface and attach the U-Charge’s 6-pin battery connector cable directly to the battery terminals on a horizontal plane.
Make sure that all pins are connected & in contact with the battery terminals, and this is extremely important: don’t attach the battery connector cable vertically, which would result in reverse the polarity and damage your battery and the U-Charge.
Once the U-Charge is plugged in and receiving power, and
your battery is connected properly, its charge status LED will glow red to indicate that the battery is charging. The charge indicator LEDs on the battery will illuminate in sequence from left to right as the battery charges, just as the Apple battery indicator lights do on some models.
When the battery is fully charged, the status LED changes color from red to green and the charge indicator LEDs on the battery stop flashing.
In addition to being a portable battery charger, the
U-Charge can also be used as a battery tester. The battery
charge indicator LEDs can independently indicate the
charge status and level, according to FastMac even when the battery has lost its calibration or its lights are not functioning. To test a battery’s charge level, unplug the U-Charge from the AC mains, and connect the battery connector cable. The charge indicator LEDs will light up and display the remaining battery capacity.
FastMac’s U-Charge Universal Battery Charger comes on two models and is compatible with the following Apple laptop computers:
The most popular 10.8V model is compatible with:
• PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard) “Lombard” • PowerBook G3 (FireWire) “Pismo” • iBook G3 & G4 12” (All Models) • Aluminum PowerBook G4 12” • Aluminum PowerBook G4 15” • Aluminum PowerBook G4 17” • MacBook Pro 15” • MacBook Pro 17” • MacBook (All Models)
And a 14.4V Model is compatible with:
• iBook Clamshell • iBook G3/ G4 14’’ • PowerBook G4 Titanium 15”Specifications:
• Input: AC 100-240V- 0.6-0.24A 50-60Hz • Output: DC 12.6V, 3.5A, 45W • Weight: 5.6 ounces (159 grams) • Dimensions: 2.875’’x 2.875’’x 1.125” • Cord Length: 8 feetFastMac’s U-Charge battery charger sells for $79.95, carries a 1-year warranty and also a 30-day money back guarantee.
The U-Charge is also a gift idea got Apple laptop users on your Christmas list.
For more information, visit:
http://fastmac.com/ucharge.php
and
http://www.fastmac.com/
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