GP's new mini charger taps on USB

Reuben Lee | May 12, 2008

While GP has had USB chargers in the past, its latest offering was designed with portability in mind. Possibly one of the company's smallest AA/AAA-sized battery chargers to date, the Power Bank M530 is no larger than a small clamshell phone, which makes it really easy to carry around. An onboard foldable USB plug also means there's no need to bring along any messy cables and makes for easy storage while traveling.

According to GP, the M530 takes 1-2 hours to charge an AA/AAA (NiMH) battery and can handle up to two batteries at a go. A quick glance of the instruction manual, however, shows that the estimation is based mainly on a 1,300mAh and the lower-capacity AAA cells. To charge one 2,500mAh AA battery takes approximately 212 minutes (3.5 hours), which is pretty long. But that's to be expected of most USB-powered chargers.

The M530 also features several nifty onboard functions such as alerts to warn users of damaged or wrong batteries being inserted, an automatic cutoff feature to prevent overheating, and self-termination of the charging process (once the battery is fully charged). It comes bundled with two pieces of 2,500mAh rechargeable AA batteries and is expected to retail in Singapore from early June at about S$26.90 (US$17.70). GP currently has no fixed dates on the launch of the M530 in other Asian countries.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gadgets
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