Echarger Emergency Charger Product Review

Charging things like MP3 players and phones on the move has become big business. After the car charger was invented, then came the question of how to charge away from the home and the car. You can now get mini-turbines and solar panels like the Solio Hybrid we reviewed. This emergency charger from Echarger is basically a way to connect an AA battery to any device and give it a charge in an, er, emergency.

And it works pretty well actually. I was impressed with it. You just find the right connector and connect it to your device and let it do it’s business. You can use a normal AA battery or a rechargeable one – other size batteries doesn’t fit.

I used a 2700 mAh rechargeable battery to charge my MP3 player through a mini USB connection and after about 45 mins it filled up one bar – which doesn’t sound a lot but is similar to the main and gave a good hours worth of listening. And even when the battery couldn’t charge anymore it the little LED flashlight still worked on any residual battery life that remained. It won’t light up a whole room but could help you find you keys in the dark.

It comes with a wide range of connectors, although the Sony Ericsson adapter was the old style so I couldn’t check how well it charged my phone – you can contact Echarger for a new one. Another nifty feature is that if you put a rechargeable battery in it then you can connect it to your computer and charge it up off the USB.

I find it a handy little device to have around, it measures only about 8cm long so you can even keep it in your pocket when you’re out hiking. As with all these charging devices, the product itself isn’t made from environmentally-friendly materials, but if you used a rechargeable battery and plug it into the computer while it’s on ayway, then you have a pretty green way of charging.

Available from Echarger, the emergency charger costs £15.

Interview With Tony Momoh From Echarger

Solar charging has been getting cheaper and consequently more popular, Echarger.co.uk aims to make solar charging affordable to everyone. Life Goggles spoke to it founder, Tony Momoh.

Tell us about how Echarger got started and your involvement in it?
Echarger started five years ago coming from African roots we have a big issue with power shortage. I started researching of ways to help my people try and find a way they can use alternative energy to charge certain appliances. The idea got so big that it was too much juggling work and doing research at the same time. Then four years ago my mum passed away, God bless her soul, and I had to go home for the funeral which was hard to deal with it. We arrived at the airport and the light was taken off as we arrived we had to wait 10- 15mins before the power generator came on.

Everyone had mobile phones but had to go outside and pay some dude a certain amount e.g 50pence for 30mins to charger their mobile phone – what a joke. I made a effort to get this out no matter what it takes if I had to sacrifice having late nights working and juggling Echarger well so be it. I only have one chance in this life so make most of it and being a martial arts studying (kungfu – ten years, taichi – three years and wingchun – two years) the spirtiual element and discipline gave me the insight to push myself.

Another scenario sometimes at work you will get a colleague coming to you do you have a spare nokia charger . Traveling abroad in cuba sis calls you run out of juice on your mobile, on the bus coming home from work you see school kids especially girls yapping away then the mobile dies off. I mean so many scenarios which happen to everyone everyday from all walks of life .

So really echarger evolved from there sourcing for supplies here and there and thats how we got to were we are now.

Were you a green person before getting involved?
The term green person is more of a trend. I would say being a sensible person that understands use less than waste For example: you tell me who would want to wash their clothes with their hands, they would rather use a washing machine. Having cold baths is actually good for you but people would rather use a hot bath in summer .

Solar power has been around for years, why do you think it’s only becoming popular now?
The oil crisis, increase in utility bills, as human beings feeling bad what we have done to the planet we can use the sun. I mean there are so many factors.

It’s also a complicated technology – how involved are you in solar power technology – do your products change as technology advances?
I do a lot of research on solar power technology finding out how it works and had a few friends that wanted to get it built in South America, Africa and Europe so that keeps me abreast. Yes it does constantly searching for new products

We seem to be gadget obsessed in the UK, is there any way we can make it green?
To obsessed is an understatement Yes there is a way to stop. Keep the gadgets at home and spending time walking with the family/friends/making a difference to the planet on your own at home / surroundings etc. We are a society of sheeps we follow without thinking – if Mr A has the latest iphone, I have got to have it. They forget Mr A can afford to pay for it / he rented it or it was a gift and its paid for, but the individual that wants it can’t afford it but he or she will break the bank just to get it. Basically following the trend.

Is it a problem there are so many different ways of connecting to gadgets?
Not really. I mean at the end of the day technology is so advanced now that everything interlinks now.

What’s the biggest advantage of solar power?
It’s free a God given resource that has being around since the creation of man or the planet, also would like to add you don’t have to pay any corporation nada

And disadvantage?
Corporations muscling in to make money of it

Solar bags and backpacks are getting more popular, why is that?
A trend sometimes but then there are genuine people out there that do want to make a difference to cut the emissons we burn out there all the time. We all carry gadgets and sometimes we do need them to be juiced on the move. So in a way we can cut the cost of our bills using the bags to be part of the solar bag revolution

How has your business changed over time?
Yes it has trying to get products that are customer friendly easy to use and it does the job.

What’s next for Echarger?
Keep on finding ways to get reliable products to our customers from all walks of life be it London, UK / Europe / South America / Africa or the rest of the world. Keep the drive of making a difference saving this planet before it implodes Peace.