Review: Computing on the Move - Part 1, Belkin AC Anywhere, F5C400u300w

Don Bradbury looks at a useful range of accessories for travelling computer users. In Part 1 here examines the Belkin AC Anywhere.

Product	AC Anywhere, F5C400u300w
Company	Belkin
Web	www.belkin.com
Price	£59.99
We like
We don't like
Rating	9/10
Requirements

The hardware that a travelling computer user will have in his luggage for the day may extend to no more than his trusty laptop or PDA. That's a risky strategy for any important work in hand. Batteries may go flat, the stylus for a touch-sensitive screen can easily go walkabout, and ambient lighting may be insufficient to work in, making keyboard work all but impossible. There may be other factors to consider, too, and many of these are already covered by accessory manufactures, so let's take a look at a few examples.

 

AC Anywhere

Carrying a spare battery is one obvious strategy for when the lights go out on your computing device, though these are neither cheap nor everlasting. An alternative could be to carry the charger with you if an evening in a hotel beckons. If you're out on the road, however, a way to generate mains power could be preferable, and Belkin have an answer to that in the form of their AC Anywhere kit.

 

This is a power inverter, designed to take 12 volt output from your car battery - either the cigarette lighter or direct from the battery terminals - and give you 50Hz, 230 volt output to a standard 13 amp socket, into which you can plug your charger or other suitable mains device as if you were back at base.

Two output wattage designs are available, but we looked at the higher-rated 300 watt model. This will cope with a TV set, a VCR, a video camera, laptop, radio, or lamp for example, as well as lower power consumers such as a mobile phone or a PDA.

 

A class II product requiring no earth connection, it features an on/off switch, a power and status indicator light, child safety shutters over the pin sockets, overload and overheat protection, and a low-battery alarm (at 10.6V). The device does, however, take a small idle current of up to 0.4 amps, so you would not want to drain your car battery with a constant connection. Run the engine if you need to overcome this.

 

Crocodile clips on a short lead, terminating in a dummy cigarette lighter socket, are for use direct from the 12V battery, and this is recommended for higher power consumption utilities rated at over 150 watts. A spare fuse completes the pack. The fan-cooled 300 watt AC Anywhere kit can take a substantial current drain from the battery but it worked nicely with everything we tried on it and so it's recommended.

 

 

 

 

Check out part 2 - Review: Belkin Wireless PDA Keyboard

Check out part 3 - Review: Belkin USB Lamp and Belkin Retractable USB Cable

Check out part 4 - Review: Belkin Pens, styli and more

 

Don Bradbury