Proporta Ted Baker No Ordinary Designer Charging Kit review

Proporta's Ted Baker No Ordinary Designer Charging Kit is an award winning multiple mobile device charger. I got one recently for this summer's camping trips during when the need for charging multiple portable gadgets (including the all important GPS receiver) is important to me (purists can scoff all you want but I do not care).

Despite being made of plastic, the Charging Kit it is solidly built and at 120g, it is also very light. The two tone coloured case is pretty stylish, though it does pick up fingerprints. A lanyard loop resides on the back and the front contains a Type A USB and a Mini-B USB connector. Inside the solid plastic case resides 3400 mAh of Lithium Ion battery, which in theory ought to charge a standard mobile phone a couple of times before needing a recharge. A switch with a build-in LED is found on the top.

Proporta includes a reasonable amount of accessories to get you started. Included in the sales package is a USB to mini USB cable, retractable cable with inter-changeable connector heads and a USB car charger. The charging connector heads that are bundled allows the device to pair up with Nokia phones, Sony Ericsson phones, Samsung phones, iPods, micro USB (for some Motorola phones), mini USB (HTC smartphones, newer Nokia smartphones, GPS devices) and anything that accepts 4.0 DC (such as the PSP). A cloth case is included allowing you to transport every of these tips safely.

Because the Charging Kit features a standard USB connector, you can easily plug in any USB charger cable you have. The 5v 700 mAh output is actually powerful enough to charge most of my portable devices (except for my camera), though an output of 1000 mAh would have made it better. It took about 45 minutes to recharge my Nokia E51 from its 50% battery level, which isn't too bad.

Recharging the Charging Kit itself is simple. Just plug the included USB to mini USB cable into a spare USB port on your PC and plug the other end (the mini USB bit) onto the Mini-B USB port (labelled 'IN'). You can also charge in your vehicle via the included USB cigarette light car charger or any generic USB wall charger, for example this Belkin USB wall charger. The LED on the top will indicate charge level.

Overall the Ted Baker No Ordinary Designer Charging Kit is a solidly build mobile charger. Even at £25 RRP (you can actually get it cheaper elsewhere), it offers an extremely good value alternative to getting expensive replacement batteries which can only be used on a single device. With the Charging Kit, you have a flexible device that is compatible with a large number of portable gadgets out there. Highly recommend, particularly if you are going on a short holiday away from any plugs.

The Proporta Ted Baker No Ordinary Designer Charging Kit is available from Proporta direct (or via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk)