[Duo2400] Re: Electrovaya PowerPad results

[John Buenfil]

It's hard to believe we're talking about the same product. Well actually
we're not exactly. I have the Electrovaya PowerPad 120 rather than the 160
and while I have a 2300C as my reason for being on this list, I bought the
Electrovaya to go with my Wallstreet Powerbook.

Using no power saving features, I got about 3 hours and 45 minutes on the
external battery. That was before I installed the Sonnett G4 upgrade in my
Wallstreet, I haven't tried the Electrovaya since I did the upgrade. And as
far as design goes, after I got the Powerpad out of my carry-on luggage
which had been squeezed into the overhead bin on a flight to Florida the
batteries inside seem to have separated from the cardboard sides of the
device and it now has a lot of flex to it. It still works but for the price
I am quite disappointed.

John Buenfil
eleganttype at earthlink.net


> 
> Excellent review, and as far as the weight is concerned if you were to
> remove the internal battery then the actual weight of powerbook +
> external is a lot closer to the weight of the Powerbook and internal
> battery.
> 
> ~ Larry, Darn Good Design
> 
> 
> On Wednesday, July 23, 2003, at 05:33  PM, Gary Shigenaka wrote:
> 
>> A long-time list-lurker hereŠI thought I would share with you my early
>> experience
>> with the Electrovaya PowerPad 160 external power source and my 2400c
>> (G3 320 mhz).
>> I know that a few others had indicated they would post their results
>> but I don¹t
>> recall seeing anything yet.
>> 
>> For those of you who aren¹t familiar, the Electrovaya batteries are
>> lithium ion
>> power sources for notebook computers.  There are three models, the 80,
>> 120, and the
>> 160.  The number represents the power capacity in watt-hours.  Weight
>> ranges from
>> 1.4 lbs (for the 80) to 2.4 lbs (for the 160).  Size of the PowerPad
>> 160 is just a
>> little bigger than the footprint for the 2400c and about 3/8² thick.
>> The size and
>> thickness of these batteries mean that they pretty easily fit into
>> backpack or
>> briefcase-type computer carriers.  These buggers are expensive‹around
>> $400 for the
>> PowerPad 160 at Provantage‹but they can be used for any G3 or G4
>> PowerBook, not just
>> the 2400c.  I bought this thing for work, to use in remote field
>> research situations
>> where access to AC power is not very consistent.
>> 
>> 
>> So I charged it up and this morning thought I would see what kind of
>> duration I
>> would get out of the thing.  The result:  it has powered my 2400c for
>> 9 hrs straight
>> and the built in LED ³fuel gauge² indicates that the PowerPad is still
>> at 10-20%
>> capacity.  That¹s not the lowest power level the gauge will show, but
>> I don¹t want
>> to sit around waiting for the battery to drain (it¹s actually hot and
>> sunny in
>> Seattle).  So...I would figure a nominal 10 hrs of use from the
>> PowerPad before the
>> internal PowerBook battery has to kick in, which would give another
>> hour or so of
>> use.  That¹s a pretty decent long day¹s work and might even last
>> through an ugly set
>> of flights complete with airport delays.
>> 
>> The two main disadvantages are the initial cost (about the same as a
>> 2400c on eBay),
>> and the fact that the battery has to be recharged via its own AC
>> adapter (included)
>> (some notebook chargers provide the proper input voltage for the
>> battery and an
>> additional charger is not needed‹that¹s not the case for PowerBooks).
>> Now that I
>> have a unit that works‹I have to say the performance of the PowerPad
>> 160 is
>> outstanding.  The fact that it works with the whole family of G3 and
>> G4 PowerBooks
>> makes it a pretty versatile external source of power if a couple of
>> pounds of
>> additional weight (and the cost) aren¹t a deal-breaker for you.
>> 
>> Cheers, Gary
>