If you're a power user, your Treo is a mobile work horse and the battery is pushed to the limits on a daily basis. Even if you're not a power user, you still might be quite the talker, texter, play a lot of music, or play several games a day. And like me, you might read for long periods of time in a good ebook. Either way, batteries for our Treos have only so much life in them and need to be charged often. Especially with the newer models like the Treo 680, Treo 750, and 755p which have smaller batteries shipped with them.
There are many Treo chargers and battery chargers out there available for your Treo batteries. Palm's Cradle Kit (Read Review / Buy) even has a spare battery charging drawer so you can charge your spare battery while your Treo is charging. Now Palm has come out with their very first portable Palm Treo Battery Charger.
Design
I got the Palm Treo Battery Charger to try out and it's a nice battery charging option. The charger only weighs a mere 0.9 ounces and is just a tad bit larger than the battery you put inside it. The charger is square shaped, black on the sides and bottom, and has a smokey grey, see-through lid that flips up.
The size of the Palm Treo Battery Charger is just perfect. Being so lightweight and small, you can easily carry this thing in you pocket, gadget bag, or handbag. Extremely portable. It's such a nice and simple design and I'm surprised that Palm didn't come up with it sooner.
The charger doubles as a carrying case for your Treo battery too. I've been keeping an extra battery in it for awhile now. This is very convenient as I don't have to try to remember where I put that battery.
The charger doesn't ship with any sort of cable. It would have been nice if Palm had included an AC adapter. But of course you can use your Treo AC adapter that came with your Treo as well as your USB charging cable or vehicle power charger. I usually just use my Treo AC adapter. It's nice that you can charge your battery on the go or at your office.
To open the charger, you just lift the lid up. There is an illustration inside that shows which way to put your battery in. I can't imagine anyone needing this diagram but it was nice of Palm to include it. I guess they put it there for peabrains like myself, although even "I" could figure that one out. ;-) The charger accepts all current Treo battery types which is nice. I have two 1200mAh batteries, one for my Treo 680 and one for my Treo 750. I also have a Seidio 2400mAh battery (Read Review / Buy) for my Treo 680. This battery fits just fine in the Palm Treo Battery Charger. And with the bigger battery inside the charger, the combined weight is still only 2.5 ounces. Not too bad. That's roughly half the weight of my Treo 680 with the smaller battery inside.
The power connector is on the back of the charger and is the standard Treo "Athena" connector. Palm kindly put a tiny white arrow below the connector port so you know which way to line up the end of your charging cable. You just line up the arrow on the battery charger with the identical arrow on the cable. There is an LED indicator that lets you know that your battery is charging; Red for charging and Green for charged.
Usability
I carry two Treos with me sometimes so having the Palm Treo Battery Charger is a great convenience. Both my Treos just happen to be the newer models that have the smaller batteries so of course they don't last as long as my old Treo 650 with a long day of use. Here in my office, I can be using one Treo, have the other one on my Palm Cradle, charge a third battery in that very cradle that has the built-in battery charger, plus I can be charging a 4th battery with the Palm Treo Battery Charger connected to one of my Treo AC adapters. Now that's a lot of charging! I'm a fanatic about keeping all my batteries topped off so this setup keeps me happy.
When I'm on the go, I can carry a spare battery inside the battery charger. I usually carry one that's charged up and ready to pop into a Treo. I just throw the tiny charger into my handbag. When I'm really in total "gadget freak" mode and have my iPhone plus both Treos on board, I carry those sweet toys, er, I mean devices, in a gadget bag. Sometimes you just feel the need to have all your best gadgets by your side. My name is Jennifer and I have a serious gadget addiction. Let me tell ya, Crackberry addicts don't even know the true meaning of addiction. Dieter knows what I'm talkin' about. Jimmie knows too, and he and I have thought about starting a Gadget Freak helpsite for all us poor souls. ;-) But since there is really no cure, I guess that would be sort of pointless.
The battery charger works great. It takes about 2 hours to charge a battery and you know when the battery is charged when you see the green LED light. After my battery has been charged, I unplug the charger and put it in my top desk drawer. I could plug it in and leave it on my desk but I have way too many other gadgets and cords cluttering up my desk right now. I like that the battery charger is so small that you can store it just about anywhere.
Jay recently reviewed the Seidio Multi-Function Battery Charger which is another good option for charging your Treo batteries. The Seidio charger is bigger and includes/is an AC adapter.
Conclusion
The Palm Treo Battery Charger is a great Treo accessory to have. It charges all the current Treo battery types and doubles as a carrying case. Its small size and light weight make it very portable and convenient. Unlike charging cradles, the Palm Treo Battery Charger isn't chained to your computer. You can take the battery charger with you and charge your battery in your vehicle or in a hotel or at work.
I would definitely recommend the Palm Treo Battery Charger. Even though you have to provide your own charging cable, the battery charger, at $19.95, is a great buy. I would think that many Treo owners keep a vehicle power charger in their vehicle anyway and probably have a charge/sync cable at their office. Raise your hand if you do. Oh my, that's far too many for me to count! ;-)
If you crave the extra battery power and want something lightweight and portable, here ya go!
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| Pros |
Great design
Lightweight and small
Easy to carry
Doubles as carrying case
Accepts all current Treo battery types
LED indicator
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| Cons |
| Does not come with AC adapter or charging cable |
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