I don’t own a laptop or an iPod, so my PDA also functions as my music player and mobile surfing machine. Suffice it to say, these activities eat up a lot of battery, especially the surfing. I used to have an extended 1800 mAh battery for my Axim x51v, but I find the extended batteries for the TyTN make it way too big for my liking. The only mobile alternative to having a larger battery is to carry a charger of some sort with you — like maybe a Lil Sync Mobile USB Power Pack from PPCTechs.com! 

You see, that looks like un-clever product placement right there, but what I’m actually doing is introducing my dear readers to what I’ll be reviewing today: a Lithium-Ion based mobile charger for your PDA, for easy charging on the go!

Hit the jump for a full review with awesome pictures that I took!

Inside the Package

• Male USB –> Male Mini USB cable
• Mobile Power Pack (MPP)

The cable is basic, although you’d best check on the PPCTechs website for a cable that will fit your device should it not have a mini-USB port.

The power pack has  two ports on opposite ends, one USB and one Mini USB. It’s got a switch on the front for power, and then three LEDs to the right of said switch. The LEDs glow green when the pack is on or fully charged. Each green LED counts for 33% of the 4400 mAh battery. The right-most LED glows red when charging the Power Pack itself.

Set-up is incredibly simple: charge the Power Pack via your computer’s USB port overnight. When it’s charged, plug the USB head of the wire into the Power Pack, then the Mini-USB head into your device, flick the switch, and Presto! You’re charging your device!

Size and Weight

The size and weight of the MPP are perfect in terms of portability. Although the device is pocketable, it’s more suitable for a coat pocket or a separate bag, especially when you consider the wire trailing between it and your PDA. The black casing feels quite solid, and the shade of black just looks really stylish. Slick!

As you can see from the pictures, it’s about 3/4 the height of my TyTN and is about equal the width of my PDA. I’ve been carrying the MPP in my coat pocket and I barely notice it’s there.

Combo it up!

One thing I really like about PPCTechs equipment is how interchangeable a lot of it is. I use it alongside a Lil Sync Pro Cable (shown below) and I never, ever have to charge my device while I’m at school. It is wonderful to have such an easy charging solution when on-the-go, and I can’t wait to really field test the MPP on a weekend trip. It’s a fantastic, super hardware-geeky feeling when you know you cannot not run out of battery, even if you try.

I’ve also tried pairing it up with the Lil Sync Duo Handsfree and Charging Adapter (boy, that’s a mouthful), which allows me to charge, talk, and listen to music while out and about. The only real price to pay here (well, besides cash) is the mess of wires, but that’s inevitable until wireless charging becomes a reality.

Battery Life and Charging

So, I guess the essential question in any mobile charging solution review is: how long does the thing last? Well, for comparison’s sake, my HTC TyTN sports a 1300 mAh battery, whereas the MPP has 4400 mAh inside its black shell. That’s easily three full charges for my TyTN and a good way towards a fourth. I tested the MPP by using it as my only charger while I went about my daily routine. My battery usually drains around 40-50% after a full day, and the MPP lasted me around four and a half days. I could probably have gotten more juice out of the MPP since I left it on overnight to charge my device at least once, but I’m already happy with that figure. That’s four and a half days of real usage (some wi-fi, lots of music playing, and playing around with review programs) without ever having to touch an AC socket.

The battery takes around two-and-a-half to three hours to charge to full on USB power. If you’re just using the battery intermittently it can easily last a week on standby, so you don’t have to worry about the MPP draining a lot while you’re not using it. I charged my TyTN from around 10% (I needed my phone, so I couldn’t completely drain it!) to 90% in around an hour and a half, so a two-hour charge should fill up most PDA phones with 1300 mAh batteries.

There are adapters for AC or car charging, but I only had the USB cable to test with. I was a little surprised that the MPP doesn’t come with the AC adapter by default, since I picture the idea of a mobile charger as something you can take with you and keep charged while away from your home (and main computer. Although Doug raised a good issue when he asked, "why have a mobile battery if you can just AC charge on the go?", I think that the MPP is still [than a plain AC charger] better for a truly mobile experience. That way you don’t have to take a seat in the coffee shop beside the electric socket, and you’re free to sit by the window

Hey, Wake up!

My time with the MPP has been smooth, high-powered sailing, with the exception of a strange charging problem that might have to do with Windows Mobile or my TyTN. Here’s the problem: sometimes I’ll connect the MPP to my device but it simply won’t charge until I wait a couple of minutes (sometimes more than five). I have an orange LED on my TyTN as well as status indicators (like on SPB Mobile Shell 2) which indicate whether the device is charging, but these won’t turn on until, well, until they feel like it. I state it like it’s voodoo because that’s just what it feels like. I e-mailed PPCTechs about it and they said they didn’t have the problem on the TyTN II (ATT Tilt) that they had, but that they did encounter this problem sometimes with AC chargers. Apparently, sometimes Windows Mobile devices just take a while to "realize" that they’re charging.

This isn’t a deal breaker for me, since I’ll usually leave the device to charge for a couple of hours, but I figured I’d mention all the details. After all, if knowledge is power, then knowledge about power is — well, let’s pretend I found an ending for that joke.

Final Thoughts

I’ve really enjoyed reviewing the MPP and its design is really perfect for a user like myself. I don’t like having to think about AA or AAA batteries in my chargers, and I really do prefer Li-ion batteries, so I’m glad PPCTechs offer this solution. The price point of $69.99 is quite reasonable, considering the 1800 mAh battery I bought for my x51v cost me $80. I also like the idea of a mobile charger instead of making my entire device larger (that rhymes), since I won’t always need the extra juice — but it’s easily accessible if I do. Having an extra three full charges in such a tiny package gives me a wonderful sense of security. So if you’re on the market for a way to increase your battery life on the road, or just recharge while on-the-go, then definitely give PPCTechs’ Lil Sync Mobile Power Pack a shot!

Important Info:

Availability: PocketPCTechs website

Price: $69.99 (although on-sale $59.99 at time of this review)

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