Gear Diary The Porsche Design mPower Illuminator will shine a light on your financial situation photo

Do you have more money than sense? If you do, then the new mPower Emergency Illuminator will likely be your flashlight of choice. What does $289 get you — other than an LED flashlight that vaguely resembles the SS Enterprise?

The mPower Emergency Illuminator™ is a personal illumination tool that offers Power On Command™. In addition to primary standard lithium batteries, the illuminator also features a groundbreaking reserve lithium battery with a shelf life of at least 20 years. Upon activation, via the simple twist of a knob, the reserve battery will provide power to light a high intensity LED lamp for approximately two hours of continuous use. The illuminator is also able to charge electronic devices – including cellular phones – through an accessory USB connection.

I know that I am being a tad bit facetious here, but to wait 20 years to activate a battery and then only get two hours of continuous use from it seems like a bit of a letdown, doesn’t it? I guess if you were stuck in a cave with this flashlight and the main battery died, two hours from the reserve might be enough to get you out. Right? … Right?

The mPower Emergency Illuminator™

Technical Highlights:

Featuring design by Porsche Design Studio, the mPower Emergency Illuminator is equipped with two widely available CR123 3 volt lithium batteries. A second compartment houses the mPower On Command™ Reserve Battery, developed by mPhase Technologies, Inc., a leader in the field of nanotechnology as applied to reserve power sources.

The mPhase 3 volt lithium reserve battery employs a custom-designed internal barrier and triggering mechanism to prevent liquid electrolyte from interacting with the solid electrodes until the battery is manually activated.

Available in two finishes – Titanium Satin and Black Chrome – the illuminator incorporates a state-of-the-art high-intensity LED light source and a custom-designed optical lens assembly to provide optimum lighting for emergency applications.

The design features a conveniently located USB plug adaptor (Type A) so that many brands of cell telephones can be recharged, allowing for the completion of an emergency call. A simple twist of the lens bezel will switch the illuminator between lamp and USB mode. A color-coded OFF/LED/USB indicator light will glow green in LED lamp mode, blue in USB mode.

Specifications:

LED: Cree XR-E Q5 USB: Standard size (5 V, 500 mA)

Primary Battery: 2x CR 123 (3 V, 3 Amp-hr)

Reserve Battery: 1x mPower on Command. 3 V, 1.5 Amp-hr

Size: L 5.51” x W 1.92” x H 1.46” (L 140 mm x W 49 mm x H 37 mm)

Weight: 9.7 oz, including batteries (275 grams, including batteries)

Awards:

mPower Technologies has been named an International CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for the development of the mPower Emergency Illuminator

Availability: March 2010, available exclusively online at www.mpowertech.com

Retail price: $289.00

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About Judie Lipsett Stanford

View all posts by Judie Lipsett Stanford
I have had a fascination with all types of gadgets and gizmos since I was a child, beginning with the toy robot that my grandmother gave my brother - which I promptly "relieved him of" in 1973. I have long been captivated by devices that did anything interesting or served a unique purpose - however silly. I can't tell you how everything works – but I am known world-wide for using a product until I have a full understanding of what it does, what its limitations are, and if it excels in any given area...or not.


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