Product Description

Duracell Mobile Charger with 2AA and 2AAA Pre-Charged (CEF23DX4) essentially serves as a portable power hub, delivering power from 4 charged batteries to a variety of high drain ranging from digital cameras to Blackberries to MP3 players

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3974 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Duracell
• Released on: 2007-10-24
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 4.00" h x 5.00" w x 6.00" l, .76 pounds
• Battery type: NiMh

Features

• The Duracell Mobile Charger essentially serves as a portable power hub, delivering power from 4 charged batteries to a variety of high drain ranging from digital cameras to Blackberries to MP3 players
• Allows users to charge AA or AAA rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries by plugging the unit directly into a wall or car outlet
• Also features an USB port to enable users to charge a wide range of USB-enabled devices with built in rechargeable batteries, such as MR3 players and Blackberries
• For ultimate flexibility, the Duracell Mobile charger can provide power to USB enabled devices in three ways: 1) via 4 pre-charged NiMH batteries 2) by plugging the mobile charger into a wall outlet or 3) by plugging the mobile charger into a car adapter
• Contains 2 AA & 2AAA pre-charged rechargeable batteries

Customer Reviews

Versatile battery-charger with dual-personality
The Duracell Mobile Charger (CEF23) is an extremely versatile charger. It actually has two operating modes, as selected by the MODE button:

1. As an AA/AAA NiMH battery charger, or
2. As an USB charger for USB-powered devices.

In battery-charger mode, the unit is a smart charger that accepts 1-4 AA/AAA cells in any combinations. The charger can be powered by either 100-240V universal AC input, or 12V DC input. This means you can also operate it from your vehicle's cigarette lighter adapter. Note that the car adapter is included in the CEF23DX4N, but not in the CEF23DX2.

The charging current is 550mA for each AA/AAA cell. So it takes about 4 hours to full charge up the included 2000mAh low-self-discharge cells (which are the Duracell-equivalent of Sanyo eneloop). I consider this a good compromise between shorter charging time and longer battery lifespan. Once charging is done, the current is reduced to 25mA (actually 0-50mA pulsed at 50% duty cycle) in trickle charge mode.

One really nice feature of this charger is that it has four individual battery status indicator lights. The status light for each cell turns RED when charging, GREEN when the cell is fully charged. It will even blink if you accidentally inserted an alkaline cell.

In USB charger mode, the unit generates a regulated 5-volt supply at its USB socket. You can then connect an USB-powered device (such as IPOD charger) to this unit. Input power for this USB charger can be from one of the following sources:
1. From 100-240V universal AC input,
2. From 12V DC input (car adapter), or
3. From four AA/AAA NiMH cells in the battery compartment.

The third way is the most interesting, because in case of emergency, you can even use 4 alkaline cells to power this USB charger, in order to charge up your cell phone's battery.

I must say that this charger is really well designed. It is a great bargain even if all you need is a simple battery charger. The USB charger mode is just an extra bonus.

excellent kit
First, a note on what's included: 2AA, 2AAA, a charger, and a car adaptor. It does not come with a usb cable. You can see the customer photos I uploaded.

As noted by others, these batteries are "highly similar" if not identical to Eneloops. So the batteries are great.

For AA, I like the charger included in this kit more than the one in this Eneloop kit for two reasons:

1. Each slot has its own individual indicator so you know which battery is done. Equally importantly, you can detect bad batteries in a set. Say you always use four as a set but one suddenly finishes charging a lot earlier than the other three, it's time for testing. (For testing, I use Maha MH-C9000.)

2. It charges faster, at 550mA, so the 2000mAh AA batteries charge in about four hours.

Unfortunately 500mA is also how it charges AAA batteries. Contrast this to the Eneloop charger in the kit above: 300mA for AA and 160mA for AAA. We see that the Eneloop charger is a lot more gentle for AAA. (I won't charge my AAA in this Duracell charger.)

Perfect Charger
I've done a lot of research on batteries and chargers, and I have to say I'm impressed with this charger. I am a photographer, and my fancy flashes are only as good as the batteries they use. Other reviews have already stated the high points: gentle charge rate (550 mA is great); individual charging of batteries (absolutely vital); intelligent shutoff (does not overcharge). On top of these, it runs off of 12V and any AC wall power in the world (120-240V), and it charges USB devices. It also will charge a USB device off of 4 charged batteries. It's a dream come true.

One thing to note: You cannot charge batteries AND charge a USB device at the same time. You have to pick one or the other. But this is a very minor issue for something so functional, portable, and inexpensive.

Assuming it doesn't die in two months, this is the best consumer charger that is widely available. (I also have the Maha C-9000, which I love, but is not for the faint of heart. The Maha C401FS is also very good.)

If you're even considering buying one of those 15-minute chargers, PLEASE don't. It will destroy your batteries by cooking them at a high temperature. Buy this one, instead. Just get an extra set of batteries to swap out while the others are charging, if you need the quick turnaround.