What are they?
First off, AA battery chargers are used to reverse electrical current back into a rechargeable battery. By doing this the charger pushes the energy directly back into the battery. This is perfect for any vacation or trip where you have a possible use for batteries.
A lot of chargers today are able to recharge the most common types of rechargeable batteries, NiCd and NiMH. These names are actually the names of the cell in the battery. These cells allow the currents back in when they have been reversed. ALWAYS BE CAREFUL because not all alkaline batteries are rechargeable. Just ask the guy online who tried to disprove that theory. His theory that all alkaline batteries could be recharged was less than successful. Luckily neither he, nor his kitchen, suffered too much damage.
Why spend the money?
In today's market of MP3 players, digital cameras, portable video games, and all the other things we use nowadays, that we "could not live without." I know that every time my batteries on my digital camera die, it makes me very sad that I will not be able to capture the moments of my life. Imagine if your camera was never out of batteries. That is the amazing capability of these AA battery chargers.
Along with a great product, most AA battery chargers come with around 4 rechargeable batteries. These are perfect "starters" for the kit. The other helpful part of the batteries is that it shows you what kind to get. It is also helpful because usually the company that sells the battery charger also will sell the batteries. This way you always have a place where you know you're able to get replacement batteries, if you lose the originals.
Which one to buy?
There are many different types of AA battery charger. There are "overnight" chargers to the new LED display fast acting battery chargers. The "overnight" battery chargers are given their name because you must leave the battery in overnight in order to get a complete charge. Depending on your reason for a AA battery charger this could be very helpful. The plus side of "overnight" chargers is that there is a minimal chance that you will overcharge the batteries. The benefit of that is that the batteries will last longer.
However, there are also many upsides to the newer, faster chargers. First is the obvious fact that they are faster. They usually take around 2 hours to complete a charge. This is helpful for a person who is more on the run. Another upside is that they usually tell you how far the battery is so that you know when to take it out on time.
Common Questions
First off, most people think that if you buy a charger and battery set from one company, that the only charger you can use to recharge those batteries is the same brand charger you used before. This is not true. A lot of battery chargers can charge any rechargeable AA
batteries.
Another common question is about quality. The main thing to remember is that just because it costs more does not mean that it is higher quality. Similarly, if it does not cost that much that does not necessarily mean that it is going to be a lower quality. It is all about the product itself.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
College Students Checklist for a Cross Country Road Trip
Written by: Jackson Kaplan
In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience".
Check out some of the other ones; College Student's Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student's guide to Ipad, College Student's Guide to Move In Day, College Student's Guide to a Successful First Month, College Student's Guide to having a fun Dorm Room, College Student's guide to "camping" and College Student's guide to memory keeping.
What you will want
Camera
Camera accessories
Extra Batteries
Chargers
iPod (or other MP3 device) and other music like CDs
GPS
Optional
Radar detector
Laptop and charger
This list does not include things that I feel are obvious. These things include a car, a driver's license, cell phone, gas money, food and of course someone to keep you company.
Camera/ Camera Accessories
You will definitely want a camera. The reason that I put this first is that when taking a cross country road trip you do not want to miss a single moment. There are going to be some really boring places that you pass, however, there are also some amazing sites to be seen. Some of the students will have the already have cameras. Most probably have the little point and shoot cameras, with the occasional SLR cameras. This is not necessarily something that is completely necessary. However, in my opinion it is something that you will really want to have. Remember, if you are bringing a camera there are things you will want to have. These things include extra batteries, memory cards, and a case. On top of these things you can get creative, for example, having a tripod and wireless remote makes being in your pictures much easier. No more having to find and then ask a complete stranger to handle your camera and take a picture. You now have the option to completely do it on your own. This lovely luxury is one that mostly is represented for SLR users.
Extra Batteries
Everything has extra batteries that you can buy. Anything from cell phones, cameras to even laptops has extra batteries that can be purchased for a reasonable price. Though it is more difficult to charge the laptop and cell phone batteries, unless they are in the device, it is still possible. However, extra batteries are immensely important, especially those that you will be using a lot.
Chargers
There are millions of different types of chargers for every battery or battery powered device on the market. First and foremost, since it is a road trip, you should try to get as many car chargers as possible. There are also car chargers that can convert the energy into an AC/DC outlet. This means that if you already have a wall charger for something you do not have to buy another plug for the same thing, you can just plug this in. Another thing that I would recommend is a 4 form USB charger. Cameras, iPods, cell phones and many other things have a USB capable charger. If you buy the four form chargers you can plug them into the car, a wall outlet, or you can charge with AA batteries or even a 9 volt. These are perfect for a road trip because you can literally charge these things anywhere.
iPod (or other MP3 device) and other music
I cannot recommend enough bringing every form of music possible. For those of you that have iPods, get an FM transmitter or something along those lines to help you make it through the long drives. However, for those of you lucky enough to have an iPhone, I would highly recommend a two in one FM transmitter. They are making them now so that you can listen to your music, and then if you get a call the sound of the call goes through your car speakers. This is incredibly helpful, because you can be hands free, which is a legal necessity in some states now. Now, for those of you that plan to stay in hotels or hostiles or anywhere where you will not be in the car I would recommend highly a portable speaker. These are very useful, especially when it comes to alarms. Most people do not think about it, but if you set your iPod alarm and you have it connected to a speaker, it is almost guaranteed to wake you up. If you have the extra money there are now solar powered speakers that charge your iPod while you listen to it. These are helpful for when you are sitting in the sun, relaxing from a long day of driving.
GPS
Being a person who has a great sense of direction, I never had a GPS. However, after my first road trip with my sister, who thankfully does have one, I realized how important they are. If you are going across the country you will be changing freeways and staying on freeways, which can get very confusing. If you have a GPS, you are always safer. You can accidentally take the wrong exit, and it will reroute you back to where you should be. This is especially for those college students who do not know how to read a map (and yes I know that there are some of you out there). Along with being a helpful tool, these GPS are also easy to carry. I would recommend, being that you do not know where you are staying, a carrying case for the GPS. Better safe than sorry right?
Optional Things
Radar detectors, if you have the money, are a great addition to the road trip experience. When on long roads it is very easy to get going faster than we realize. If you have a radar detector we can be told when law enforcement is near, which is helpful to alert the driver that they should check their speed. This is not to say that I condone speeding or that I myself speed, but I feel that it is a helpful tool.
Another optional tool would be a laptop. This is helpful if you do not have email access on your phone, or if you would like to actually have a real computer to check every once in a while. This also allows you to listen to movies and other things like that while in the car. They even have USB speakers now, to blast the movies as loud as is necessary while the car is moving. This is a great thing for the passengers in the car, falling asleep to a movie is quite enjoyable on a long car ride.
In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience".
Check out some of the other ones; College Student's Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student's guide to Ipad, College Student's Guide to Move In Day, College Student's Guide to a Successful First Month, College Student's Guide to having a fun Dorm Room, College Student's guide to "camping" and College Student's guide to memory keeping.
What you will want
Camera
Camera accessories
Extra Batteries
Chargers
iPod (or other MP3 device) and other music like CDs
GPS
Optional
Radar detector
Laptop and charger
This list does not include things that I feel are obvious. These things include a car, a driver's license, cell phone, gas money, food and of course someone to keep you company.
Camera/ Camera Accessories
You will definitely want a camera. The reason that I put this first is that when taking a cross country road trip you do not want to miss a single moment. There are going to be some really boring places that you pass, however, there are also some amazing sites to be seen. Some of the students will have the already have cameras. Most probably have the little point and shoot cameras, with the occasional SLR cameras. This is not necessarily something that is completely necessary. However, in my opinion it is something that you will really want to have. Remember, if you are bringing a camera there are things you will want to have. These things include extra batteries, memory cards, and a case. On top of these things you can get creative, for example, having a tripod and wireless remote makes being in your pictures much easier. No more having to find and then ask a complete stranger to handle your camera and take a picture. You now have the option to completely do it on your own. This lovely luxury is one that mostly is represented for SLR users.
Extra Batteries
Everything has extra batteries that you can buy. Anything from cell phones, cameras to even laptops has extra batteries that can be purchased for a reasonable price. Though it is more difficult to charge the laptop and cell phone batteries, unless they are in the device, it is still possible. However, extra batteries are immensely important, especially those that you will be using a lot.
Chargers
There are millions of different types of chargers for every battery or battery powered device on the market. First and foremost, since it is a road trip, you should try to get as many car chargers as possible. There are also car chargers that can convert the energy into an AC/DC outlet. This means that if you already have a wall charger for something you do not have to buy another plug for the same thing, you can just plug this in. Another thing that I would recommend is a 4 form USB charger. Cameras, iPods, cell phones and many other things have a USB capable charger. If you buy the four form chargers you can plug them into the car, a wall outlet, or you can charge with AA batteries or even a 9 volt. These are perfect for a road trip because you can literally charge these things anywhere.
iPod (or other MP3 device) and other music
I cannot recommend enough bringing every form of music possible. For those of you that have iPods, get an FM transmitter or something along those lines to help you make it through the long drives. However, for those of you lucky enough to have an iPhone, I would highly recommend a two in one FM transmitter. They are making them now so that you can listen to your music, and then if you get a call the sound of the call goes through your car speakers. This is incredibly helpful, because you can be hands free, which is a legal necessity in some states now. Now, for those of you that plan to stay in hotels or hostiles or anywhere where you will not be in the car I would recommend highly a portable speaker. These are very useful, especially when it comes to alarms. Most people do not think about it, but if you set your iPod alarm and you have it connected to a speaker, it is almost guaranteed to wake you up. If you have the extra money there are now solar powered speakers that charge your iPod while you listen to it. These are helpful for when you are sitting in the sun, relaxing from a long day of driving.
GPS
Being a person who has a great sense of direction, I never had a GPS. However, after my first road trip with my sister, who thankfully does have one, I realized how important they are. If you are going across the country you will be changing freeways and staying on freeways, which can get very confusing. If you have a GPS, you are always safer. You can accidentally take the wrong exit, and it will reroute you back to where you should be. This is especially for those college students who do not know how to read a map (and yes I know that there are some of you out there). Along with being a helpful tool, these GPS are also easy to carry. I would recommend, being that you do not know where you are staying, a carrying case for the GPS. Better safe than sorry right?
Optional Things
Radar detectors, if you have the money, are a great addition to the road trip experience. When on long roads it is very easy to get going faster than we realize. If you have a radar detector we can be told when law enforcement is near, which is helpful to alert the driver that they should check their speed. This is not to say that I condone speeding or that I myself speed, but I feel that it is a helpful tool.
Another optional tool would be a laptop. This is helpful if you do not have email access on your phone, or if you would like to actually have a real computer to check every once in a while. This also allows you to listen to movies and other things like that while in the car. They even have USB speakers now, to blast the movies as loud as is necessary while the car is moving. This is a great thing for the passengers in the car, falling asleep to a movie is quite enjoyable on a long car ride.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
We have a few new products up, some camera cases and memory cards! Check it out! http://ping.fm/7DOdf
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