Digital Home Thoughts: The Lil' Sync USB Mobile Power Pack: Power on the Go

External batteries either work or they don't, and the Lil' Sync USB Mobile Power Pack from PPC Techs works. But how do you decide between this battery and another one? You look at power capacity, size, price, weight, etc. When I want to use a small, portable device battery, I use the excellent Proporta Mobile Device Charger, so that's what I'm going to compare the Lil' Sync USB Mobile Power Pack to since I think that's its main competition.

First and foremost, it's all about the power. The PPC Techs unit packs an impressive 4400 mAh of power, which is 29% more than the 3400 mAh that the Proporta unit supplies. Equally important is how much juice the battery kicks out - the PPC Techs unit manages an impressive 1000mA of output. This is enough to charge my Zune 80, which is something the Proporta battery can't do because it tops out at 700mA. So from a power perspective, the PPC Techs Lil' Sync USB Mobile Power Pack wins hands down. There's more to consider though: price and weight. The PPC Techs unit costs $69 USD, the Proporta $44.95. The PPC techs unit is thicker and a bit heavier but shorter (2.75" L x 2.10" W x .86" H, 4.3 ounces) while the Proporta unit is wider and longer, but thinner and lighter (3.9" L x 2.4" W x 0.6" H inches, 4.2 ounces).