Electrovaya's PowerPad Charges Laptop and USB Devices

I've long been a fan of products like the PowerPad—huge slabs of battery that can offer up to a full day of extra running time for your notebook, but which weigh only a couple of pounds and which don't take up much extra space in your bag.

There hasn't been a ton of innovation in this category for years, so I was interested to hear that Electrovaya had finally come up with something new: placing USB ports right into the battery slab, so you can charge your USB items like an iPod or a cell phone without using your computer at all.

I checked out the PowerPad 130, and it's a really nice product. The case is ruggedized, much sturdier than a laptop case. And there's a nice color LCD that shows you whether the unit is charging or discharging and exactly how much battery life (in percent) remains on the device. Depending on your notebook and additional gear, Electrovaya says you can expect to get nine to 12 hours of running time from a fully charged pad. My tests generally show that, with a smaller notebook, you can expect to land in the lower part of that range.

For $299, the PowerPad is a fair chunk of change, but it's not excessive when compared to additional notebook batteries.