As smartphones have become more popular and advanced, their battery lives have grown shorter and shorter and shorter.
As someone who uses a smartphone so much it’s probably causing me physical harm, I find mine needs charging sometimes twice a day. But when you’re out and about, it’s often hard to get enough time to sit down and plug it your phone in. And what if your external battery pack just died, but you desperately need to upload a photo of your lunch to Facebook? What happens then!?
Well, you could whip out your handy Resqcable power leacher!
A bit like a hungry vampire descending upon unknowing victims, the Resqcable allows you to feed… sorry, charge one smartphone off of another.
The retractable cable, produced by Japan Trust Technologies (not a suspicious name at all), has two microUSB ends, allowing you to plug one end into a “host” phone or tablet and the other into a battery-drained device. You’re host phone will need to have USB host mode which should be available on most newer phones. USB host mode, in case you’re not familiar with it, basically allows your phone to act as an energy source for other USB devices, like cameras or USB mice, as long as they don’t require any fancy drivers.
In addition to USB host mode, the phone supplying power will also need a microUSB port and Android 4.0 or higher. MicroUSB 4.0 was officially released in October, 2011, so if the phone came out in the last two years, you’ll probably be able to suck up its life-force.
However, if your phone has a “unique” way of charging, the Resqcable won’t be able to revive your phone. That’s what you get for trying to stand out.
▼Big end goes in the host phone, little end in the phone to be charged.
Phones that Trust Technologies has confirmed to be compatible include the Galaxy S4 and the Xperia Z. The company website also points out that tablets have batteries significantly larger than smartphones (3,000 to 6,000 mAh as opposed to 1,500 to 2,000 mAh), making them excellent mobile batteries.
The cable also comes with a regular USB adapter so you can charge your phone through your computer as well—but the cable won’t allow for data transfer.
At 980 yen (US$9.92), the Resqcable isn’t exactly cheap, but it might be the right price when you’re in a panic. If you can find a willing victim… I mean, host!
Source: K-tai Watch, Japan Trust Technologies
Image source: Wikipedia, Japan Trust Technologies