Page 4: Use, Conclusion
Use
We believe the best use for the Power Fort is in the car. Most of my family members don't have car charging adapters. The Power Fort Advanced gives them the ability to charge their battery on the go (with the car adapter) and to take the extra power with them in case they need the phone away from the car and don't have enough juice to last. The added flashlight feature makes this use case all the better.
Using a Blackberry Storm as the test subject, we got about two full charges from the Power Fort before it was drained. The Power Fort makes sure all the juice is pushed to the target device. We found that it took a couple of hours to recharge the Power Fort. This also depends on the charging source. If you use a computer to charge the Power Fort, it'll take a bit longer since most computers won't put out more than 500mA of current over USB. The AC and car adapters included will push 1A (1000mA). The Power Fort contains a 10Wh battery. Watts = Volts * Amps. At 1 Amp and 5 Volts, it'll take take two (10/5) hours to charge the unit. At 500mA, it'll take four hours.
We didn't try to hook the unit to itself for a perpetual motion type of thing. We didn't want to violate the laws of thermodynamics.
Our video feature is presented by the Editor-in-Chief, again. Please watch it or listen in while you're working.
Conclusion
The Cooler Master Choiix Power Fort Advanced has a MSRP of $69.99. The standard version has a MSRP of $49.99. When the Power Fort hits a majority of retail shops, it should come in at a lower price point than the MSRP. Since the product has just been released, we couldn't find it available at any of our normal shops that we check. Needless to say, if we look to how MSRP and retail price lines up, it should be less at retail. If you don't need car or AC adapters, the standard kit is the way to go. We don't see the need to spend $20 on the extra AC and car adapters. The Power Fort alone would be a good package itself. Since most people reading this will have a computer, you can charge the Power Fort through that.
We feel that the Power Fort is a very handy product for a few niches. Having this as an emergency charger for the car is the best use case and the flashlight really helps in low light situations. Give it to your passenger to read a book in the dark without turning on the overhead lights. Cooler Master's unique features make the Power Fort a very interesting product. If the retail pricing is lower than the MSRP, Cooler Master should have no problem selling these units. ASE Labs recommends it.
ASE Labs would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.
We believe the best use for the Power Fort is in the car. Most of my family members don't have car charging adapters. The Power Fort Advanced gives them the ability to charge their battery on the go (with the car adapter) and to take the extra power with them in case they need the phone away from the car and don't have enough juice to last. The added flashlight feature makes this use case all the better.
Using a Blackberry Storm as the test subject, we got about two full charges from the Power Fort before it was drained. The Power Fort makes sure all the juice is pushed to the target device. We found that it took a couple of hours to recharge the Power Fort. This also depends on the charging source. If you use a computer to charge the Power Fort, it'll take a bit longer since most computers won't put out more than 500mA of current over USB. The AC and car adapters included will push 1A (1000mA). The Power Fort contains a 10Wh battery. Watts = Volts * Amps. At 1 Amp and 5 Volts, it'll take take two (10/5) hours to charge the unit. At 500mA, it'll take four hours.
We didn't try to hook the unit to itself for a perpetual motion type of thing. We didn't want to violate the laws of thermodynamics.
Our video feature is presented by the Editor-in-Chief, again. Please watch it or listen in while you're working.
Conclusion
The Cooler Master Choiix Power Fort Advanced has a MSRP of $69.99. The standard version has a MSRP of $49.99. When the Power Fort hits a majority of retail shops, it should come in at a lower price point than the MSRP. Since the product has just been released, we couldn't find it available at any of our normal shops that we check. Needless to say, if we look to how MSRP and retail price lines up, it should be less at retail. If you don't need car or AC adapters, the standard kit is the way to go. We don't see the need to spend $20 on the extra AC and car adapters. The Power Fort alone would be a good package itself. Since most people reading this will have a computer, you can charge the Power Fort through that.
We feel that the Power Fort is a very handy product for a few niches. Having this as an emergency charger for the car is the best use case and the flashlight really helps in low light situations. Give it to your passenger to read a book in the dark without turning on the overhead lights. Cooler Master's unique features make the Power Fort a very interesting product. If the retail pricing is lower than the MSRP, Cooler Master should have no problem selling these units. ASE Labs recommends it.
ASE Labs would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.