~<*>~ Energizer ~<*>~ Engerizer have been around over a hundred years and made the first consumer batteries so should know a thing or two about batteries and chargers.
~<*>~ Price ~<*>~ Bought mine from Maplin at a reduced price, £12.95 Jessops online £10.99 + £3.99 p&p Tesco online £29.99 As you can see there is a huge variation in prices so check them out before you do.
~<*>~ What you get ~<*>~ Ultra Compact Charger. 4 X AA 2500mAH batteries. Instructions. The packaging is that tough moulded plastic that is impossible to open without scissors. Tried to open with my bare hands with no success, i am very stubborn.
~<*>~Instructions~<*>~ Are very basic and come on an A4 size piece of paper in 16 languages. The GB instructions would fit on one side of a credit card and the text is very small and people with poor eye sight will struggle to read them. Pictures come with the instructions and these are a lot larger. As the charger is easy to use the pictures are all you will need to use the charger.
~<*>~Charger~<*>~ The charger weighs only 132grams Hight 3.3" Width 3" Depth 1" The charger seems well made and should least. The case is a dull silver plastic with black sides which have dimples on so you can grip better to slide open the bottom part where the batteries go. Only Nickel metal hydride (NiMA) batteries can be charged using this charger. Once open the battery charger will take 4 X AA or 4 X AAA batteries or 2 of each battery or 2 batteries of the same type, but you can not charge only 1 battery. + and - polarity are clearly marked so you can not insert the batteries in the wrong way. If you do the green light on the front will not illuminate when plugged in. AA batteries just slot in but a lever has to be flipped down so the smaller AAA batteries fit into the charger. When the batteries are fully charged the green light will go out and the charger will stop charging so it is impossible to over charge and damage the batteries. The charger comes with a 3 pin plug that can be slid off, the 2 prongs underneath can be pulled down and then the charger can be used in America. It would have been nice to have a European adapter to attache on like the 3 pin plug as it is aimed at the traveller. Charging times vary depending on the power of the batteries. AA 2500mAH take 8.5 hours AA 1300mAH take 4.3 hours AAA 850mAH take 8.5 hours
~<*>~Batteries~<*>~ The 4 x 2500mAH rechargeable batteries supplied are definitely the way forward as they can be charged 1000 times and last 4 times longer in a digital camera than normal batteries. This has to help the the environment as there are less batteries to dispose of.
~<*>~conclusion~<*>~ Great ultra compact charger great for holidays as it takes up less space shame about the European plug but you can not have everything. Would recommend this charger with the high powered batteries as it will save you money in the long run.
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