One-piece design is handy, but is it better than the cable you already have?
Despite improved software that gave battery life a bump, pretty much anyone with an iPhone 3G has the same complaint. The battery life still sucks. For most folks, a daily recharge is a necessity. And while we love the simplicity of charging and syncing with a single cable, there are times when we’re away from our Mac and its handy USB ports. For those occasions, Scosche’s new reviveLITE is a capable, portable charger. We just wish it were easier to use as a more permanent power station for an iPod or iPhone.
With its flip-out dock connector, reviveLITE makes a compact travel companion. Borrowing a page from Apple’s design book, the AC adapter’s prongs also fold away, similar to the way the prongs on MacBook power adapters do. And the face of the unit features a white LED night-light that automatically activates in low light. Thankfully, Scosche includes a large button for easily turning the light off as well.
Functionally, the reviveLITE works like any other iPhone or iPod charging dock, and we didn’t have any problems using it to charge our Apple gadgets. It can be a little cumbersome to use, however. Contrary to how you might want to use it, you need to place your iPod or iPhone into the charger before plugging the unit into the wall--the flip-out hinge doesn’t quite seem up to the level of force required to fully seat your device onto the charger. In our tests, inserting and removing an iPhone with the reviveLITE already plugged into the wall usually ended up with us accidentally unplugging the unit. To be fair, Scosche’s instructions indicate that you should connect your device before plugging the charger in, but we suspect we aren’t the only ones who hoped the reviveLITE would work as a semipermanent, wall-mounted home for our iPhone.
The all-in-one design might be just the thing for some users, but the reviveLITE is bigger—and not necessarily better—than Apple’s USB Power Adapter and an iPod cable, both of which you probably already own.
ReviveLITE
COMPANY: Scosche
CONTACT: www.scosche.com
PRICE: $39.99
REQUIREMENTS: Dockable iPhone or iPod
One-piece design means no cables or adapters to lose. AC plug folds down for travel.
Can be cumbersome to use. Must unplug from wall to seat iPod or iPhone.
