'Go Plug Bags' review that can charge PCs and smartphones anywhere with a built-in power supply and outlet in the backpack
If you use multiple gadgets such as smartphones and tablets on your PC on a daily basis, you may be in a hurry when the battery is low on the go. In such a case, it is common to carry a commercially available mobile battery, but the bag ' GoPlug ' that goes on top of it is a bag that can be used as a USB power supply and an AC 100 volt power supply after integrating the bag and battery. In 2014, the project that was soliciting investment on the crowdfunding site 'Kickstarter' finally shipped the finished product, and one arrived at the editorial department, so I immediately tried using it.
GoPlug Bags
GoPlug is a bag that integrates a battery that uses a lithium-ion battery in the bag and a power supply that can output AC100 volt power supply in addition to a general 5 volt USB power supply. You can see the details in the following article.
'GoPlug', a bag with a large-capacity battery and various outlets that you don't have to worry about when you're on the go-GIGAZINE
At the prototype stage, the side part of the bag was equipped with an outlet and a USB port, and it was designed so that this part could be used as a wide variety of power sources by rotating around.
About three years after the Kickstarter campaign, I finally received the GoPlug bag.
When I unpacked it, I arrived with a bag with a slightly different design than what I saw on Kickstarter.
That should be the case, in fact, this campaign was canceled once in November 2015, and then redesigned and restarted in March 2016. Apparently, the factory that was planning to produce was not very cooperative, and it seems that it became difficult to continue with the original specifications. It is a trouble that often occurs in crowdfunding such as Kickstarter, but this time the project is restarted and the product arrives properly.
The lineup has changed with the restart, and this bag is called 'Computer Backpack'. Aside from this, a tote type bag is also available.
The part on the back is a design with a moderate pad
Since it is a thick and thick shoulder strap, the weight is dispersed and the durability does not seem to deteriorate.
When I actually carry it on my back, it looks like this. In the case of the editorial staff with a height of 170 cm, it was a size that covered almost all of the back.
There is a zipper pocket on the waist pad, so you can use it to store small items.
A pocket on the side where you can put a PET bottle etc.
The back part is designed to open with a zipper, and it is a storage area where large items can be stored. In the photo, I put in a 12.1 inch size Let's note, but it still feels like it has plenty of room. It seems that even a 15-inch size notebook PC can be stored sufficiently.
The surface is made of a material with a fluffy feel like fur, and it seems that delicate things can be put in it.
There is a cable hole in the corner so that cables such as AC adapters can pass through.
There are two accessory cases with zippers on the front of the bag. Anyway, this bag has a lot of storage, so it helps to organize small luggage.
When I opened the zipper on the front, I found the built-in power supply unit, which is the bag's bag.
The power supply unit 'Smart Power Bank' is a separate type from the bag. It is contained in a separate package.
Inside the box was the main body of Smart Power Bank, a charging adapter, a conversion cable and an instruction manual.
Smart Power Bank is an unexpectedly large device with a size of about 20 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm. It contains a lithium-ion battery and a regulator that produces 5 volts for USB and 100 volts for AC.
From the left, the terminal surface is lined with an AC 100 volt outlet, USB power port x 2, battery level meter and changeover switch, power button, DC 12 volt and DC 19 volt output terminals, and power input terminal for charging the built-in battery. is.
The switch is a 4-step switchable type, but it is a little unclear which position has what function because the explanation of the instruction manual is insufficient. If you move it to the far left, AC100 volts and USB power will be supplied, so this time I fixed the switch and used it.
By the way, the DC 12 volt / 19 volt terminal and cable are each specially shaped to prevent incorrect insertion.
The back side looks like this. If you look closely, there is a cut in the lower part ...
Specifications that the 'docking station' that you have in your hand can be attached and detached with a magnet. Although it is named a docking station, it actually has only a 12 volt and USB power connector, so it seems that it is actually designed to switch the direction of the terminal back and forth.
The capacity of the built-in lithium-ion battery is converted to [email protected].
It is stated that it takes 4 hours to charge the built-in battery with a dedicated adapter, 5 hours with a car power supply, and 6 to 12 hours with an optional portable solar panel. In addition, the output can supply up to 2A / 10W for the USB terminal, 9.7A for the 12 volt terminal, 5.7A for the 19 volt terminal, and 80 watts / peak 120 watts for the AC 110 volt power supply.
It weighed about 1 kg, which was more than I expected.
First, connect it to the dedicated adapter to fully charge the built-in battery. When the product arrived, about 75% of the remaining amount was indicated by the LED indicator.
Continue the bag while charging. The inside of the bag has a large space, and there are plenty of accessory cases.
A feeling of size that almost hides when you put a 12.1 inch notebook PC in your pocket. The storage capacity looks good to expect.
The handle of the bag has a dedicated space for the Smart Power Bank to fit in.
A zipper is installed inside this space, and it is possible to guide the cable from the docking station to the inside of the bag.
When the Smart Power Bank was fully charged, I plugged in the laptop adapter, and in that state I removed the laptop battery and put it in the 'power only from the Smart Power Bank' state. By doing this, I tried to verify how many hours a notebook PC can be driven with only Smart Power Bank.
As a result of the verification, when the notebook PC was driven only by Smart Power Bank, the built-in battery was exhausted in about three and a half hours. When the battery was exhausted, the power switch on the front turned red.
While supplying power, use a tester to measure the terminal voltage under load. Then, the value of the tester was 95.8 volts, which was lower than the specified 110 volts. After that, I measured it several times and found that it could rise to about 105 volts depending on the situation, but it seems better not to expect the voltage stability strictly.
The output of the USB terminal was 5.02 volts and 0.93 amps, so this is almost as specified.
When I measured the temperature of the main body in use with a smartphone compatible thermo camera
I actually packed my bag and went out. The Smart Power Bank is packed with a laptop, an AC adapter, an iPad, a digital camera, and a tripod, and weighs more than 3 kg.
The bag was heavy, but thanks to the wide and thick straps, you can walk without feeling as heavy as the actual weight. However, because the 1 kg Smart Power Bank is located at the top of the bag, the center of gravity is high and you can feel the bag's 'shaking feeling' a little, and when you put the bag on the ground, the weight is 'Kunya'. The point of falling down may be unavoidable.
The GoPlug bag has been evaluated for its merit of being able to supply power to notebook PCs, but now that three years have passed since the project
GoPlug's Smart Power Bank can be purchased from the online store for $ 299 (about 33,000 yen), and Computer Backpack for $ 99 (about 11,000 yen). Also, the set of Smart Power Bank and Computer Backpack is a little cheaper at $ 359 (about 40,000 yen).
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