I'm looking for the perfect Xoom case (for me).
I want a case that can house the Xoom, Motorola keyboard, Altec Lansing Sound Blade, and assorted small accessories such as a Mojo mini mouse, usb otg cable, stylus, card reader, etc. It can be hard or soft, and I don't want it to be larger than what I need for all those things.
BUT- I want it to have solar panels and a battery that will charge my Xoom & Droid.
I've found one for $600, but I'm not really quite THAT green!
Anyone have such a case? Chime in even if you have a charger (solar) that can fully charge the Xoom. I'm not opposed to buying a solar charger and somehow matting it with the bag.
Next choice would be a stand alone solar charger w/battery that is dimensionally close to the Xoom.
Thanks all.
Also looking at non-solar backup batteries. I would want one that is the same dimensions as the Xoom.
Question: What are the battery specs I'm looking for to fully charge the Xoom? Double what the Xoom's capacity is?
if you can do simple soldering and are proficient in modding you could make a pelican case to suit your needs. pelicans are also water proof. (do not work for pelican, i promise) they come with foam liners you can cut to suit individual items.
i turned one into an all in one 12v powered, ipod, wireless remote system with a headphone jack to plug into a amp on my dinghy so i could use my ijet wireless commander without getting everything wet, and keeping ipod and separate phone and wireless unit powered and charged. was pretty cool cause when i went out in the dinghy all i had to do was plug this box into cig lighter and haedphone jack on amp, and i had a water proof stereo, with wireless remote so i never had to touch ipod. or risk getting wet. ive since dissassembled the setup but i can show you pics of how the pick and pull foam in the box is easy to deal with.
not sure if i can post links, but here is waht i suggest, or something similar
http://www.pelican.com/1075/index.html
also solar panels are not that efficient, the solar panel will be more of a gimmick than anything else, especially if you are charging extra batterys as well, unless you make a mini foldout array, and now it is just getting complicated and unecessary. lithium packs are light, if you look on google you can find slim lithium packs to make a spare external pack, keep in mind you will need to keep the pack at 12v since thats what the xoom charges with. also its important to remember that the xoom uses 12v at 1.5 amp. by comparison thats almost equal to the output of 5 standard apple wall chargers, thats why our xooms charge so quick.. solar panels put out around 7w per square foot at 12v for the affordable panels that you see on peoples roofs, you would need a 4 square foot solar panel to meet the charging requirements of the xoom. so it would just be easier to integrate a beefy lithium pack that you can plug directly into the xoom. a properly sized pack could charge a xoom at least twice without weighing you down too much. of course you need to make sure you have the proper protections in place so you dont over or undercharge the external pack, packs can blow if treated incorrectly as we all know.
sorry about the ramble, sometimes i get carried away.
Thanks for all the input, bundles.
I am a good fabricator, so I may actually adapt something similar to the pelican, fitting it with a solar panel and LiIon battery pack. I know I can't run or charge directly off the solar cell, but the cell can take all day to charge the power pack; -That doesn't matter. Fitting the case together with all the components doesn't bother me, and I solder well (used to be a jeweler). But setting up several batteries in parallel or series, etc, I'm less confident about. Don't wanna burn the Xoom, and I don't wanna start one of those pretty green flamers like the old laptop batteries sometimes did!
I was also hoping to find something that allowed for several different currents/voltages so I could also charge the wife's iPad, our cameras, Droids, etc.
So it looks like the Energizer XP18000 is what I'll get for realtime practical functionality that meets my criterion, but I might make a separate solar cell unit to charge it with in the future.
the one other thing i forgot to mention is leaving a bag out in the sun will get very hot, i wouldnt want to cook my xoom in a solar powered oven of death. when you want to use it, it may be too hot.
If looking for solar / power up combo (costs a bit, but panels are amazing, I have the Adventure 10) ... check GoalZero products.
http://www.goalzero.com/shop/c/1/
That links to their power kit list.
if you can charge via your USB port you should also check out PortableSolarPower dot Biz and look at their USB solar charing panels , the 12w USB panel is perfect for the tablets that need 2 amps to recharge.
PortableSolar said:
if you can charge via your USB port you should also check out PortableSolarPower dot Biz and look at their USB solar charing panels , the 12w USB panel is perfect for the tablets that need 2 amps to recharge.
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Unfortunately, the Xoom cannot charge via USB.
I picked up this thin 10,000 mAh power bank last week at a kiosk in the Cherry Creek mall near my house. I was in the market for a small and powerful powerbank to keep my phone and tablet charged throughout the day and found this is a great solution. Here are my thoughts:
The Jumpr Slate comes extremely well packaged in this orange box. On the front is the usual branding it states that it is a 10,000 mAh powerbank with 2x 2.4A outputs. The packaging looks and feels solid.
On the back of the box are more details on what sets this powerbank apart from the pack like an industry leading 93% power transfer ratio, its light and sleek design at 6.7mm thick and only .77 lbs, and a badge showing that it meets worldwide safety standards (UN 38.3). There is also a list of devices that can be charged with the Jumpr Slate 10K.
The overall design of the Jumpr Slate is very nice. It is only about a half inch thick and the pattern on the top is simple yet provides a clean and industrial look, as well as providing a nice texture to grip onto.
The binder holes on the side make it easy to conveniently clip the Jumpr into a a notebook, and the thin design means it takes up very little space in a tablet case or briefcase. There is the EnerPlex branding in the corner but it is not over branded or too in your face.
On bottom panel there is a mini USB input to charge the Jumpr, and two 2.4A USB outputs. There is also a small button for turning the Jumpr on/off, and 4 LED indicator lights that display the amount of charge that the Jumpr has left.
To test out the Jumpr Slate 10K I let the battery in my Galaxy S4 run all the way down and I then used the Jumpr to recharge it. It took about the same amount of time as charging from a wall outlet, same with when I plugged in my GoPro. After charging both devices the indicator showed 50% battery life left on the Jumpr.... not bad.
PROS:
Charges devices as fast as outlet
Extremely thin and light
2 USB Outputs
CONS:
Will not charge laptop
Recharge time of about 10 hrs
Overall I love this thing and it has a permanent home in my computer bag. I also bring it with me to provide a backup charge to my GoPro when adventuring in the Colorado Rockies.
This is the external battery that everybody should have! No need to have any cables or wall adapters with this one!! I’ll explain later.
When you open the box, you are first greeted with a “Thank you for your purchase!” card. Beneath that is the battery in a plastic wrap. The entire battery is in a plastic molding. Once you pick up the battery and plastic molding, you find a warranty card, an instruction manual, a micro-USB to mini-USB adapter, and a micro-USB to Samsung pin adapter. You also find a 2-ft long micro-USB cable and a neat carrying pouch. The carrying pouch is so great, you’ll love it as soon as you touch it.
First Impressions: It feels REALLY nice in your hands. It feels so premium and high-quality. The product has a really nice matte-finish with a brilliant black color. I fell in love with it immediately. It has a built-in wall charger to charge the unit, so no need to carry an extra wall adapter. Also, it has a built-in micro-USB cable, so you also don’t have to carry a cable with you. If you want to charge another device, there is a port at the bottom that is covered with a flap that you can easily access to charge your second device. You just plug in the wire and plug it into your phone and BAM: it’s charging. The built-in micro-USB cable charges at 2.1A and the port at the bottom outputs at 1A. The battery has a button in which you press to have four LED lights light up that tell you how much power the battery has left.
After using the battery for some time, I noticed that if you pick it up with oily hands, the battery will get oily stains. You can easily wipe them off, but it is just a little heads-up. I like how it is scratch-free; that is a huge plus. When you plug in your device with the cable that is built-in, it is a little awkward stacking your device on the battery at first because you’re afraid of breaking it. Eventually you get passed that, but it is a small complaint. After the cable is bent a certain way for a while, it forms to that shape. Luckily, when you put the cable back in the battery, it is formed back to its straight shape. In other words, the cable is malleable. I like how they’ve packed in 9000mAh in such a small form factor. I don’t like how big it is, but I can’t complain since it has a built-in wall charger AND micro-USB cable! This battery is pretty great!
Recently I’ve been loving this over my other batteries because I can just throw this in pocket and I’m good to go. No need to carry anything else to use the battery or to charge the battery. This would be great for students, people that work, just about anybody that owns a phone or tablet!
Overall, this battery is awesome! The fact that the wall charger and micro-USB cable is built into the battery is awesome. Along with the fact that it has an amazing build quality and form factor, it’s pretty awesome! I highly recommend this if you want a battery but don’t want to carry so many extra things around with it.
I was provided a unit for testing purposes and I promised to provide a completely honest and fair review.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the link to this product on Amazon because posting commercial links is forbidden, but you can find it on Amazon by searching for the product's name that is in the title of this thread. Thanks!
Overview
Quick summary - great little device really solid and well balanced with three output slots to charge two devices. The hugh 10,000mah it enough to keep several devices topped up for quite some time. Despite its capacity its not too heavy, mine weighed in at 246g / 8.7oz).
Unboxing
So in the box is the battery pack, a short black USB lead and the instructions. The battery pack has a really large capacity at 10k mah which is enough to charge a Galaxy S6 up a few times before itself requiring recharging. The battery pack is black plastic body with orange plastic trim on the top and bottom. There is three USB outputs all at the top of the unit.
Despite the capacity of the internal battery the weight of this doesnt feel too bad, weighing in at 246g which is really isnt that heavy and the slim profile means that it will slot into a jeans pocket no problem.
On the front are 4 little blue LEDs which light up to show the capacity. In theory each dot should be enough to deliver 2,500mah of juice so in theory each light of power should easily charge any modern smartphone, just for reference the capacity of my Galaxy S6 is 2550mah. On one side is a plastic button you can press to view the charge or turn the pack on when you want to start charging a device. Lumsing doesn't specify the rating of each, but the device's maximum power output is 16W. That means with three devices connected charging will be pretty slow, with just 5W available from each. Testing out each port with Ampre the average output for my Galaxy S6 was 1000ma, it charged my S6 fairly quickly (about 1 hour 30) from nearly empty so the device delivers a amount of power from each port when charging a single device.
Overall I really like this pack, its nice, solid and premium feeling, works well and having three output ports is always a plus and pretty handy with lots of devices being USB powered, thi feels like the main selling point for this device. I can see this being used by people away long long trips or away camping or hiking where there is no access to an outlet to keep your smart device topped up. I really like the slim design which means it can fit in a pocket nice and easily.
This is probblly the best battery pack I have seen so far
The battery pack is gold metal with plastic on the top and bottom, the feel of the device is really premium and solid feeling like it could take a good knock should you drop it. Despite the capacity of the internal battery the weight of this doesnt feel too bad, weighing in at 260g which is heavy but doesnt feel like much more than some of the smaller battery packs ive reviewed. The battery pack feels very well balanced and isnt heavy down one end or the other.
On the front are 4 LEDs which light up blue to show the capacity. In theory each dot should be enough to deliver 3,350mah of juice so in theory each light of power should easily charge any modern smartphone. On one side is a button you can press to view the charge or turn the pack on when you want to start charging a device. On the top is an LED for which lights when charging the pack, a micro USB input and importantly two USB output sockets, adding to this devices versatility - the ability to charge two devices at once. The max output in total across both ports is rated at 3A, the output from each port isnt listed and it isnt listed if one port supplies more power than the other. Testing out each port with Ampre the average output for my Galaxy S6 was 1200ma, it charged my S6 fairly quickly (about 1 hour 20) from nearly empty so the device delivers a good wack of power. The little micro usb lead supplied is a fair length, long enough not to have my phone right on top of the battery pack. Also a nice plus is that the supplied cable also works as a data cable, something that doesnt always happen with battery packs. Overall I really like this pack, its nice, solid and premium feeling, works well and having two output ports is always a plus. I can see this being used by people away long long trips or away camping or hiking where there is no access to an outlet to keep your smart device topped up. The weight and size means that this would fit nicely into a pocket or backpack no problemOverall I really like this pack, its nice, solid and premium feeling, works well and having two output ports is always a plus. I can see this being used by people away long long trips or away camping or hiking where there is no access to an outlet to keep your smart device topped up. The weight and size means that this would fit nicely into a pocket or backpack no problem.
Also if you are interested in purchasing any lumsing power bank, please let me know and I can give you a coupon code for a discount on your purchase.
Does the powerbank also charge itself quickly?
Would love a coupon code!