TAG | Portable power to recharge mobile phones |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Wednesday, 31 October 2007 | |
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Page 1 of 2 It retails for AUD $34.95 in supermarkets, hardware and variety stores, comes with two Energizer e2 Lithium AA batteries, and comes with a few connectors, each for a different brand of phone, covering Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and others, with more connectors available for sale if your phone isn’t initially included in the pack. Although ‘Energi To Go’ will work with any AA battery, Energizer naturally suggests using their own e2 Lithium AA powered batteries as they will give you ‘optimum performance’, with a promise that the lithium batteries deliver up to 9 hours of additional talk time. However that’s no surprise, lithium batteries do offer more power and longer life than alkaline or regular AA’s, but naturally, they are more expensive - AUD $12.99 for a two pack and $19.99 for a 4 pack. You could also use rechargeable batteries, which have been growing in popularity over recent years, with Energizer and Duracell having to protect their disposable AA business from competitors like Uniross and Varta, both edging their way into the Australian market alongside the exiting big brand names. Using rechargeable AA batteries would be the most economical way of going about things, but of course you do have to remember to charge them, and have them with you. Still, having an AA charger means you can buy AA batteries from almost anywhere, meaning instant power when you need it. We’ve all had our phone go flat throughout the day, so while the Energi To Go isn’t the first to market, the Energizer brand name and a national advertising campaign which has already started could see this product be quite successful, both as a purchase that individuals make for themselves to stop flat battery problems or as a handy gift to family or friends. It’s also an interesting way for Energizer to boost sales of their premium battery range, as users consider whether it’s better to get stronger batteries now, letting them stay in the charger longer before needing to be replaced, or getting cheaper batteries now just because they’re cheaper and maybe getting the e2 Lithiums another time. Still, it seems certain that increased sales of the e2’s will occur. Competitors include NRG Gear and their Charge2Go unit. It works in a similar way but is only powered by a single AA battery. That makes it a bit smaller but obviously two batteries will give you more talk time, and now faces new competition from battery giant Energizer. There’s also the Solio which uses has an inbuilt lithium-ion rechargeable battery that can be recharged free by the sun, or by plugging into power socket, but you do have to remember to charge it or it too will be flat. Still, it’s a way to generate free power, and has had success around the world. NRG Gear also have something similar but designed more conventionally. Energi To Go was released in the US last year, and has reportedly sold very well there, foretelling the likelihood of popularity in Australia. While the current Energi To Go has no plug compatible with the iPod, a special model designed especially to charge iPods has been released in the US already , so is likely to come to Australia sometime next year. Energizer commissioned a nationwide Australian study on people’s thoughts and actions about losing the use of their mobile phone, and included some of the results in their press release. The details show just how attached we all our to our digital devices, and is included on page 2 - there are some interesting and telling stats! Please read on... |
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