Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 Review

by Jerry Jackson

Anyone who travels with their notebook understands the need for more battery life. Whether you're talking about powering a laptop or your new iPhone, it always seems like a power outlet is nowhere to be found while traveling. You could bring extra batteries for your notebook, but what about for your BlackBerry and your iPod? If you need extra battery power for multiple devices the best option is a universal power source, such as the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100, that provides both AC power and DC power from its own internal battery. Is the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 the best battery solution for road warriors? Let's find out.

Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 Specifications:

• Combines a 100-watt inverter with a lightweight, high-output 4.0 amp-hour lithium-ion battery pack
• Converts 12-volt DC power from a vehicle battery into 120-volt AC power
• Three-prong AC outlet to handle all chargers and adapters for mobile electronics
• Two USB charge ports
• Blue LED On/Off indicator
• DC cable with vehicle and airplane connector
• Lightweight AC charging adapter
• LED battery status / charge status indicator
• Unit dimensions (L x W x H): 5.375 x 3.125 x 1.5” (13.7 x 7.9 x 3.8 cm)
• Unit weight: 1.1 lb (0.5 kg)
• One-year warranty

Setup

The first thing you need to do after opening the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 is plug it into a 120v wall outlet to charge. When the orange charging indicator on the power switch turns green the outlet is ready to power your devices. Users also have the option of charging the device inside an automobile via a 12v power jack. Charging times vary between both 120v alternating current and 12v direct current, as a wall outlet chrages the Mobile 100 in a little more than four hours and a car power outlet charges the Mobile 100 in just two hours.

Above the orange/green charge indicator is the blue LED on/off button. You have to press and hold the power button for several seconds to turn the PowerSource Mobile 100 on or off.

In Use

To use the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 for AC powered devices, the instructions tell you to turn the device on prior to plugging in your device. That said, I was able to get the PowerSource Mobile 100 to power any device even if I plugged it in prior to turning on the PowerSource Mobile 100.

When the outlet is fully charged it is capable of powering a wide range of devices. With a Dell Latitude E6400 running in "Power Saver" mode, the runtime was better coming in at one hour and 19 minutes. That's actually surprisingly similar to the performance of an Energizer Portable Power Outlet we previously tested, which powered a Dell Inspiron 1525 for 70 minutes.

I was able to fully charge a Motorola Q9m smartphone via the power outlet on the Mobile 100 and was able to charge an 30GB iPod Video via one of the USB ports.

Problems

Unlike some other mobile inverters/outlets, the Mobile 100 worked with every notebook power adapter we tried, including Dell-branded 65w and 90w adapters.

Noise is a problem with many mobile outlets/inverters and we expected the built-in cooling fan inside the PowerSource Mobile 100 to sound like a small weedwacker. As it turned out, the Mobile 100 is whisper quiet, and even when the outlet is being stressed while charging a laptop the cooling fan remains so quiet that you can only hear it if you put your ear next to the air vents.

There were only two real "problems" that we encountered during our testing of the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100. First, the main on/off switch is located in an exposed position that makes it possible for the device to be turned on or off inside a laptop bag. During one business trip to New York I arrived at my destination only to discover that the Mobile 100 had been turned on in transit and the battery was partially drained. While we're on the subject of partially drained batteries, the only other minor annoyance with the Mobile 100 is that the battery indicator really needs to have multiple LEDs to show you exactly how much charge is left. As it stands now, you really only know when there's a full charge, partial charge, and a nearly depleated charge.

Conclusion

The idea of a very lightweight inverter with battery has become a popular idea over the last few years as more and more consumers use mobile electronics with limited battery life. So far in practice the mobile power offerings are indeed helpful, but not quite perfect. The Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 exceeded our expectations and worked perfectly with every notebook and mobile device we tested, but laptop users may not be satisfied with only another hour or so of battery life. We would still recommend the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 to any laptop user who needs a portable backup battery, but a second laptop battery will provide even better battery life for the same amount of money or less.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Easy to use
• Charges from AC wall adapter or inside car
• Quiet
• Powerful enough to handle any notebook we tested with it.

Cons

• Power button can be accidentally pressed inside a bag
• Battery life indicator could use multiple levels to let you know exactly how much charge is left

 

Hi there,

Three questions:
1. How big is it? (could we have a pic next to a standard DVD video case)
2. How long with it power a diamondville netbook? (Acer AO or lenovo S10)
3. Will it be sold in then UK?

Many thanks

 

The dimensions are 5.375 x 3.125 x 1.5” (13.7 x 7.9 x 3.8 cm). I'm not sure about UK availability since we received a review unit from a US PR agency.

 

What voltage is the battery so we can calculate the capacity in Watt-hours?

There are two weaknesses with these solutions that provide power at mains voltage:

(i) The conversion losses through changing the power to mains voltage and then back down to the notebook voltage.

(ii) The notebook thinks that it is on mains power so power-saving features don't cut in automatically.

John

 

AC power output:
AC output power (continuous): 80 W
AC output power (5 minutes): 100 W
AC output surge capacity (peak): 160 W
AC output voltage: 120 V
AC output frequency: 60 Hz
Internal AC charger: 2 A

DC power output:
Internal battery capacity: 4 Ah
Internal battery voltage: 11.1 Vdc
Inverter no-load current: < 200 mA

 

Is this compatible with the Toshiba x305 q701? If so, how long can I expect to game with it in High performance mode. I get about 45 minutes with the stock battery in High performance before I get the 10% charge warning.

 

I'd need to check the specs on your Toshiba, but if I remember correct it has about a 45Whr battery. If you drain that in 45 minutes, that means your laptop draws about 60 watts. That shouldn't be too much for this duracell battery, but you'd probably be pushing it. In order for the device to put out 60 watts, the battery inside will have to put out considerably more than 60 watts because of losses during the conversion from dc to ac, and then there will also be losses in your laptop power adapter.

Also, you'd probably only get another 30 to 45 minutes extra battery life.

 

Thanks, I think investing in another stock battery would be a better idea then. If only they made an extended battery for my laptop, though this had the idea only if it could last longer.

 

can anyone give me a rough idea what this would give on a lenovo S10 netbook?

 

Purely a guess, but assuming that 2/3rds of the 44WHr capacity gets through to the computer and your power drain is 11W then you might get 3 hours. But it might be less. A spare battery would be a safer bet.

John

 

cheers.

it might be worth it to be able to charge my other electronics tho.