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Energizer charges ahead with a pair of new portable devices
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) ST. LOUIS, Mo. _ You're on a trip, hundreds of miles from home. You unpack your suitcase. You've got your underwear, fresh clothes and your toothbrush.
You whip out your cell phone, but it's almost out of juice. You check your suitcase. Uh, oh _ no charger.
Energizer Holdings Inc. has a solution. The company is launching two types of portable battery-driven chargers, called Energi To Go. One type supplies power to the majority of wireless phones. The other can be used to charge portable gaming devices and the Apple iPod.
The devices will become available on Sept. 1 and will be publicized through a national marketing campaign set to open Labor Day weekend. They will be sold nationally at mass-market retailers with suggested retail prices of $19.99 for cell phone chargers and $29.99 for gaming and audio devices.
They are the first new products that Energizer has introduced in a number of years, said Kelvin Belle, senior product manager, global marketing.
"It's very exciting for us, because it is giving us the ability to expand our brand into new markets and retailers," he said.
Energizer would not say how much revenue it expected to generate from the devices, nor would it comment on how much will be spent on marketing.
Belle said cell phone chargers frequently are left behind and users often forget to charge their phones.
A 2004 survey by the Hilton hotel chain showed that cell phone chargers are the No. 1 item travelers forget, and the market research group Roper ASW found that 20 percent of consumers lose cell phone power at least once a week.
Although there are other portable chargers on the market, Belle said the Energizer devices are the only ones using long-lasting e Lithium batteries and a patented intelligent control chip to maximize power transfer from the charger to the phone.
The charger allows consumers to place a call within 30 seconds of activating Energi To Go on some cell phones with a completely discharged battery.
The chargers can power about 80 percent of cell phone brands available in the United States. Four different tip connectors fit about 100 phone models, including most Nokia, Motorola, Sprint and Samsung cell phones. However, they do not fit LG phones used by a number of wireless phone companies.
The charger also can be used with a variety of mini USB devices, including the BlackBerry, Razr and Slivr.
The chargers for audio and games are packaged with four e2 Lithium batteries. The audio device powers the Apple iPod, Nano and Mini. The gaming device powers PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
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(c) 2006, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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