Gadling gear review – Tekkeon myPower ALL MP3750 portable battery pack

Regular readers will know that I’m a huge fan of any gadget that can keep my other gadgets powered. Last month, I wrote about my “power anything anywhere kit“, and in it, I described the equipment I recommend in order to keep your gadgets going, even when you are away from a power outlet.

One thing I mentioned in that article, is that my current universal notebook battery pack (from APC) was a discontinued item. Because of this, I started on a quest to find a replacement product, and boy did I find one!

My search for a better notebook battery pack took me to Tekkeon – manufacturer of portable power products. Their myPower ALL MP3750 is a universal notebook battery pack that is better than my previous notebook battery in every possible way.

The MP3750 weighs just under 16 ounces and houses a 50Wh Lithium-Polymer battery pack. The unit can charge a laptop or any device with USB charging capability. The MP3750 comes complete with a charging cord and a variety of input and output power tips.

To charge the unit, you find the correct input tip for your current laptop charger, then plug a tip onto its output cable. This sounds more complicated than it is, and unless you are swapping laptop computers on a daily basis, you’ll only have to find the correct power tips once.

If you only use the USB power outlet, you’ll be provided with enough juice to keep an iPhone or other low power device going for over a week.

The unit can auto-detect the input power being provided by your charger, so the entire setup is pretty much plug and play. Alternatively, you can switch the unit to “manual” and select the required output power using the power button on the top.

The biggest advantage of a universal battery pack over a second battery for your laptop is that the universal pack is future-proof. If you buy a new laptop, you’ll be able to use the same battery pack for the new machine. Another huge advantage is that you can keep the battery pack in your bag until you need it. Once you find the need for some more juice, you can plug the Tekkeon MP3750 into your laptop, without having to shut down or potentially lose work.

The extra usage time you get out of your laptop with the MP3750 depends on the kind of laptop you are using. A large 15″ laptop will gain about anywhere between one and two hours. My small 10″ netbook was able to run about 3 hours longer off a fully charged MP3750.

If the capacity of the MP3750 is insufficient, you can double its power by adding a second battery pack. The MP3450 second battery pack includes a bracket for connecting to the MP3750, providing twice the power ( an additional $99.95).

The Tekkeon myPower ALL MP3750 costs $189.95 and is available directly from Tekkeon, or one of their online retailers. If you already know that you’ll be needing more power, you can purchase a bundle of the MP3750 and its second battery pack for $259.95.

Included with the MP3750 is a laptop charging cord, assorted power input/output tips in a carrying bag and a carrying pouch for the battery pack.

Seriously, there is nothing negative I can find about the Tekkeon MP3750 – it is lightweight, supports virtually every popular laptop computer on the market, and has a bonus USB port. Anyone who needs to keep their machine going, should consider the investment. The price is on the high end, but the quality more than makes up for that.