MHL Cable
Leaving home without the right cable kit can be frustrating and often ends in unnecessary profit for outlets like Maplin. An MHL cable or adaptor kit is one such cord, particularly handy for giving presentations, or for those who love to force holiday snaps upon patient family members.
Manufacturers such as LG has been kind enough to include mini HDMI ports on its devices, but for those without, MHL is the way forward.
It essentially creates an HDMI output through a handset's micro USB port and plays content on HD tellies or other compatible displays. You never know when you might need it, but it's undoubtedly a convenient cable to keep in the kit and worth deliberation.
MicroSim Cutter and Spacer
A simple Sim adaptor might be the last thing you'd expect to see here, but with many of today's smartphones adopting Micro Sims - and Apple even proposing an all-new, diddier format - a Sim cutter and spacer is definitely a useful item to have around.
When I switched back to a regularly sized Sim recently, I was crying for one, and was instead made to wait 24 hours while my provider activated my old card. And that's no good when batteries die and you're forced to use your wife's old brick to make that important call from the campsite.
Next page: OneCable Sync and Charge
COMMENTS
Re: big battery
I do actually carry lead acid batteries for backup power, but they have wheels attached. I've added 5v supply USB sockets to both my car and motorcycle.
If you're planning on sticking lead acid in your pocket, may I suggest you go for slightly smaller 6v instead, it makes the regulation down to a useful 5v somewhat easier and less wasteful. Oh, and make sure you get a sealed one, not vented (unless you don't like your jacket, trousers, rucksack or skin).
As for life expectancy, standard lead acid, as used in a car/motorcycle, are designed to be continually topped up and don't like full charge/discharge cycles. For that you need a variation known as a leisure battery.
Re: Nasty!
It won't charge the phone in 5 minutes - it will give it 5 minutes'-worth of charge.
Re: Femto cells??
Ah, the Vodafone Femto, their way of getting you to pay for a fancy box, plug it into the broadband you pay for, and then deduct minutes/bill you for the time you spend using the connection you have provided yourself.
Re: I want the biolite stove thingy
I think you've highlighted the biggest issue with that biolite thing. If it's so big that you need to carry it around in a car then you're basically carrying a cute but inefficient electricity generator inside a box that's already fitted with its own far more efficient electricity generator.
Re: Femto cells??
The suresignal cells from vodafone are tied to a postcode and will only work in that postcode.
Even if you could just plug it in anywhere and have it work, if there's a 1Mb broadband connection that you can use and no mobile reception then I'm guessing there's also going to be a phone line.
This has got to be the worst survival accessory going.
