New Mobi Products Treo PowerCradle

It’s been a rather long time since I last had the opportunity to write about a Treo cradle but finally a very good new one has arrived in the form of the Mobi Products PowerCradle which fits the Treo 650 and Treo 700p and 700w|wx.

Well designed and very solidly built (particularly around the essential connectors and support area) the PowerCradle offers both Sync & Charge capabilities via USB and wall charge via an included charger.  Additionally the kit also offers a spare translucent acrylic stylus which can be placed at the back of the cradle.

The main thing lacking from the PowerCradle however is a dedicted Sync button but this is really only relevant if you plan to use the PowerCradle at your PC and not as I would envisage as a spare cradle for your home office or bedroom.  Additionally, although the PowerCradle is undoubtedly quite stylish the fact is that a single miniUSB connector at the back of the unit may have been simpler and a little bit more elegant than the existing fixed USB + plug-in wall adapter.

Having said this, overall the Mobi Products PowerCradle is probably the smartest and best looking cradle available today after the more expensive Palm Cradle Kit.

Moreover, given the large number of options available for Treo chargers, cables and cradles I thought that perhaps I should provide you with my personal recommendations based on various possible needs and requirements.

I highly recommend the Palm Cradle Kit if you:

• are primarily looking for a solid ‘base’ to charge your Treo (at work and/or at home)
• own a spare normal or high capacity battery  since the Palm Cradle Kit has a built-in battery charger
• typically leave your Treo + spare battery next to your bed while sleeping and want to charge both overnight

I highly recommend the Mobi Products PowerCradle if you:

• are looking for a good overall value spare cradle for the office or home
• are specifically looking for a cradle which can charge your Treo via USB
• want to have the flexibility of USB and wall charging

I highly recommend the Smartphone Experts Retractable S&C cable if you:

• are looking for the smallest and lightest accessory to Sync & Charge your Treo via USB on your PC
• are looking for a versatile mobile Sync & Charge solution which can also be used to charge via USB at work/home (with USB Wall Adapter) and in your car (with USB Car Adapter)

I highly recommend the Smartphone Experts Wall Charger if you:

• want a dedicated wall charging solution for your Treo at work/home
• don’t want to fiddle with USB cables and prefer a simple solution even though it may not be the lightest

I highly recommend the Palm Vehicle Charger if you:

• want a dedicated charging solution for your Treo which you can leave in your car at all times
• don’t want to fiddle with USB cables and prefer a simple solution even though it may not be the lightest

I highly recommend the Seidio Portable Battery Charger if you:

• want a small and light dedicated battery charger which you can carry with you when you travel so that you will always have a fully charged spare battery while on the go
• want a spare battery charger which you can use both via USB at your PC or via a wall power socket (with USB Wall Adapter)

Treonauts always run at full charge…