iGo Everywhere....

Last year I was on the road around 300 days. As I think I have written, I went to 29 conferences and spoke at 11 of them. I don’t even want to think about the mileage that I put on my body, but it was exhausting.

One of the things that I learned about being incredibly mobile was the need to carefully make sure that I stayed organised and had the stuff I needed exactly where I needed it to be.

Along the way, I lost one charger for my ThinkPad and had another one fail. And being a mobile geek, the end result is that you are only as good as your batteries.

At Demo in February through the luck of the draw, I ended up sitting next to Stephanie Houser  of Launchcorp at dinner. We had a great time talking and she told me about her work with Mobility Electronics. It is always fun to talk to people who care passionately about their products. Their eyes light up, and you can just feel the energy. I told Steph that I would love to try the iGo out.

I have been using it for about 60 days. Works flawlessly! The iGo Everywhere is based on the notion that you can add interchangeable tips to the power supply and hence charge different devices. She sent me a tip for my Treo, my ThinkPad and my iPod. All work exactly as planned.

Now when I am on the road, it is me, my stuff, and the iGo, and all the other chargers sit happily on my desk waiting my return.

The real funny part of this all is that I have been watching prices drop on ThinkPads, and mulling a new one, know that all I will need is a new tip, and whammo will have a charger that works just like its supposed to. The same for any other device that I might get.

It’s too bad that hardware vendors just don’t bundle the iGo with their products so that everyone’s experience would be as good as mine.

I keep wondering why if products like the iGo make such sense, when don’t other companies just follow this model. But that would be too easy!

Comments

[Stephanie H.]

Buzz
you are a doll. thanks for the nice words about Mobility Electronics' igo - we surely appreciate it, and more important, we are glad it is helpful for you! I look forward to seeing you again at DEMO or another great show. Be well.

[Alan A. Reiter]

Hi Buzz,

I haven't used iGo but I know about it, and it seems like a great idea.

One question: How do you keep track of the power "tips"? Cables are relatively easy to find, but when you have several tips (that aren't attached to a cable) you've got to be careful, I assume, that they don't get lost!

Or do you keep them in an iGo case, assuming there is one?

[Joe]

The iGo (everywhere 7500) I got does have a nice little case that holds everything, and a nice little side pocket for any tips, although I kept the little plastic ziplock bag to keep the laptop tips separate from the other tips. :-)

[China Law Blog]

Buzz--

Warning. My laptop repair guru blamed my blown hard drive a few months ago on my using iGo. He said that it pumped out more wattage (or was it voltage) than was best for my laptop. I loved my iGo up to that point, but have stopped using it on his rec. Don't know if this is correct or not, but it scared the hell out of me. Anyone else know?