Zune Thoughts: Charge All of Your Stuff on the Go with the Proporta Car Power Supply with Dual USB Sockets

If you're a gadget freak like me, you carry lots of electronics with you most of the time. My new car has only two power outlets. So what do you do if you're on a long trip, your GPS unit's power supply is taking up one of your power outlets, and both your cell phone and your companion's cell phone need charging?

Proporta comes to the rescue with their Car Power Supply with Dual USB Sockets ($14.95 USD). Many new devices use a USB cable for charging, so Proporta's supply is just the ticket in this situation. It features 2 USB sockets flanked by the ubiquitous blue LEDs on either side. I've grown to rely on quality materials and construction from Proporta's products, and the power supply lives up to those expectations.

And how well does it work? Very well indeed. My Garmin GPS unit, Sansa View music player and Plantronics Bluetooth headset were all accommodated nicely by the Proporta charger. However, be aware of the fact that some devices don't support charging in this manner, even if they will charge when the USB cable is connected to a computer. My Motorola Q smartphone is one example... it will charge when connected via USB to my laptop, but not when the USB cable is connected to a power adaptor. So while my Q doesn't work with the Proporta charger, it's the phone's fault, not the charger's.

The Car Power Supply is ideal for long trips and emergency use, and $14.95 is a small price to pay for so much convenience. Highly recommended. You can order one online here.

Doug Raeburn is a data architect specializing in data warehouses. He lives in Pewaukee, WI.