Home > Consumer Reviews > Tekkeon TekCharge Mobile Power and Battery Charger

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NJ81BQSAYV6 I've been using this for several months, and more than once it has paid for itself. It is small, lightweight, and has done everything I need it to.

I get several full phone recharges out of a set of four AA batteries, as compared to about one 85% charge from the Eveready® Energizer® Energi To Go™ Instant Cell Phone Chargers charger (although I suspect that the energizer was eating my batteries if I left them in there for more than a day.)

This unit does not discharge batteries no longer how long you leave them in there, so pairing it up with low self-discharge batteries is beneficial. You'll forget you have it until you need it!


VIDEO REVIEW TRANSCRIPT:

This is the TekCharge MP1550 mobile power supply and battery charger. This unit allows you to transfer power from standard AA batteries to USB power, and also will allow you to charge rechargeable AA batteries From USB power in an emergency.
This allows you to carry emergency power for cellphones, mp3 players, or anything else which can be charged from a USB port or cable. The maximum output voltage is 5v. You can use either standard alkaline AAs, or use rechargeables to power the unit.
The device is very small and compact, only a little larger than the batteries it contains.

The device comes with a charging cable and several interchangeable tips. The retractable cable on mine arrived frayed to the point where I don't think I could depend on it to work when I need it to. You can see the stray wires poking out from the wire sheath. I could have returned the unit, but I've never had good luck with "one size fits all" cables, and therefore probably wouldn't use it anyway. I bought the cables I need from my favorite auction website. For me, a six inch USB to mini-USB cable will do 85% of what I bought the unit for. A Standard USB A to B cable will do everything else.
The unit outputs power through a standard 5V USB plug. Any device I can think of with a USB charger can be plugged in and receive power through this port. There is an "ON/OFF" switch next to the plug, which controls whether a device is receiving power. There are also several indicator lights on the front of the unit which show how much power is left in the batteries.
The unit will run off of either 2 or 4 AA batteries. I would recommend using four whenever possible, as the lower discharge rate on each battery will mean you get more total power from each cell, as compared to using two at a time. However, it is nice to know that if I need to scavenge two batteries from the charger in an emergency, I will still be able to recharge my phone using the other two cells.
Beside the output USB Jack is a mini-USB Jack labeled "5V in". This is the jack which you can use to charge rechargeable batteries without removing them from the unit. The manual states that the unit will fully charge two batteries in three hours, or four batteries in six hours. It also strongly recommends to recharge batteries only when they are completely empty, so the charging function shouldn't be used to "top off" batteries which are only partially discharged.
I use low-self-discharge batteries, and use a separate Lacrosse BC-900 series charger to keep my batteries well maintained.
The Tekcharge unit does not appear to drain the batteries when it is not in use, which the "energizer" brand AA recharger seemed to do. Also, I get more power out of each cell as a result of the lower discharge rate associated with drawing the power from four cells instead of two. The battery compartment is also much easier to open than the energizer model, which often got stuck or jammed. However, to open the battery compartment you have to push down on the lever next to the USB jack. This is not indicated on the unit, although the manual does clearly state it.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this unit. It does exactly what it advertised, and feels well built. Again, the cable arrived frayed from the factory, but I would have thrown it away even if it was in good condition. However, for those who prefer playing with interchangeable heads, it would have been an issue. I am pretty confident that it was an isolated problem, and I'll bet customer service would have replaced it had I felt the need to contact them over it.
I keep this unit in my backpack, and it's nice to know that I have two weeks or more of power for my cell phone if I get stuck somewhere without my charger, along with a means of recharging batteries away from home.

I just tossed four AA Sanyo Eneloops into it, fully charged my RAZR two times, topped it off once, used it during a 1 hour phone conversation
because my battery died, topped off my Iriver Clix Gen2 (it was about 75% full) and I still have two lights left.

It also charges my BlueAnt Z9. I tested it using the BlueAnt USB cable.
I'm not sure how well it will handle my Garmin Nuvi 260W. It seems to be
able to charge it, but it puts it into data mode. I think I'll purchase the Garmin mini USB adapter for it. I understand it's configured differently.

It looks nice and the size/weight/build quality is great. It has three little green lights on the top, letting you know how much charge is left and one small light on the bottom that changes from green to red so you
know it's charging status. Two USB ports, one for charging the unit, one for charging your device. And a "slide type" off/on switch. The MP1550's output is 800mah.

I can recharge the batteries via computer USB port, Car adapter, my RAZR wall wart or just take them out and use the Eneloop charger.
What I like about using AA batteries is that I can easily swap them out too.

It would be a Big Plus if I could navigate with the Nuvi with it plugged in. A really big plus would be if all my devices were able to use the standard USB To mini 5pin.

FYI... BlueAnt Z9 uses a propriety socket.
Don't buy the Motorola mini to micro adapter, waste of money. Different plug. I use Sanyo Eneloops because they self discharge at a slower rate than other rechargeables. They have a longer shelf life.

Bottom Line: It does it's job.

UPDATE: I received the Garmin adapter, Tekkeon SKU: UA-U04. Plugged it into the Tekkeon MP1550 retractable USB cable. Then into the MP1550 and
Garmin NUVI 260W. Fired it up ... and it works...sweet! Yes I can navigate
with the NUVI 260W using only the MP1550. Now for how long, I'm not sure yet. Just the fact that I can use the MP1550 this way is a Big Plus.

I've used other products when trying to extend the life of my iPod touch on long airplane flights, but this one is tops. It's small size and ease of battery replacement is ideal, and it does everything it's supposed to adding considerable life to an iPod Touch, especially when viewing videos, which can drain the iPod Touch within a few hours. No longer is that a problem. I HIGHLY recommend this product.

This is a nice little charger. I love it but only giving it 3 stars. It charges my PPC-6700 VERY slowly and can't charge my HTC Touch Pro at all. It would show the batteries are dead after 5 min of charging and the charger gets super hot. After it cools, you can charge other devices just fine with the current batteries. I've tried it with alkaline, powerex 2700 NiMH batteries, powerex imedions, and eneloops with the same results. It works great with my ipod touch 2g, PSP, cowon D2, and creative Zen. I would recommend this unit for all your MP3 needs but if you plan on trying to extend the life of your smart phone, I'd probably get a Lithium-ion version.

This charger is awesome and works great with the Archos 605 wifi and all my chargeable cell phones, pdas and ipods!!!
I bought this because of the high ratings it was given on the Archos Forum!!! Believe me, they were right!!! Works like a champ and takes AA batteries to boot!!