The PowerGorilla: Flexible Portable Power

I’ve been testing a device that just been introduced called the PowerGorilla. It’s a portable power pack that acts an emergency back-up charger for your laptop computer other other electronic gadgets. The battery inside the PowerGorilla is a lithium-ion and weighs just 631 grams (1.4 pounds). The charger will give you an extra 2-5 hours of power, depending on your laptop’s specification, and over 20 hours on various other electronic devices.

To charge a laptop, you turn on the PowerGorilla, and then select 16V, 19V or 24V, depending on the DC voltage of your laptop. The PowerGorilla will remember your selection the next time you turn it on. You can then plug your laptop into the PowerGorilla using one of the eight included power tip connectors (other can be purchased separately).

All my laptops are Apple computers, and to charge those you must purchase a Apple MagSafe Airline Adaptor for $49. This adaptor allows to connect to the PowerGorilla’s cigarette-lighter style connector.

However, for testing purposes, I did have access to my wife’s old Dell laptop, which by chance had a completely dead battery. Here is a picture of PowerGorilla powering the laptop, and simultaneously charging an iPod through its USB charger socket:

To charge the PowerGorilla itself, you can use the included AC charger, or charge it using your laptop’s AC charger. Included are seven powertip connectors that allow you to connect the PowerGorilla to your laptop’s AC charger. You can also charge it with a solar cell, available separately.

Note that the PowerGorilla may not be able to charge all of your portable devices — there was no connectors available for my Sony camera or my (fairly old) Nokia cell phone. But overall, its a very flexible portable powerstation.

Available from: Ecogeekliving