There are tons of portable charges out there on the market, but very few of them have a hand crank on the back.
Hi, I'm Sarah Mitroff from CNET and this is a First Look at the Eton BoostTurbine 4000.
This is a portable charger with a 4000 milliampere hour battery.
That size battery can charge nearly any modern cellphone and most small tablets.
Eton calls the BoostTurbine pocket-sized, but it's too bulky to fit in most pockets.
You're better off toting it around
in a purse or a laptop bag.
The device itself has a brush aluminum finish.
On one end, there is a standard USB and microUSB port plus a power button and LED indicator lights.
To charge a cellphone or tablet, you plug the included cable into the USB port.
If you need to charge the BoostTurbine, you can plug the cable into the microUSB and connect the other end to your computer or a wall outlet adapter which is not included.
If you press the power button once, it will turn the battery on and begin charging whatever
gadget is plugged-in.
Press and hold the power button and the LED lights will flash showing you how much battery is left in the BoostTurbine.
My biggest fright about the device is that because the power button is recessed below the surface of the outer case, it's really hard to press.
The BoostTurbine's most noticeable feature is its hand crank.
You need to rotate the crank about 1 or 2 revolutions per second to generate enough energy to charge the battery.
Eton says that 1 minute of cranking will give you 4 minutes of talk time.
Given that the
BoostTurbine 4000 is heavy and clunky, it's not the most portable gadget charger on the market.
Still, with enough power to charge many smartphones and a hand crank to top off the battery, the BoostTurbine is a handy gadget to keep around for when your phone dies and the power goes out.
You can read my full review on CNET.com.
I'm Sarah Mitroff and this has been a First Look at the Eton BoostTurbine 4000.
