External Battery

MadDad

I recently bought the NUVI 3590, which doesn't come with a 120v charger. One from Garmin is @ $25. I noticed the usb port for my LG phone has the same type USB plug. Did some research on the web, and lots of people are using the phone chargers. So I tried my cell phone charger and it works just fine.

This led me to think about some other posts where there were complaints about short battery life outside the car. Why wouldn't a cell phone external battery work also to extend time. Looking at several of these batteries, and noting that the amps are OK, so why wouldn't these work? Anyone tried it?

Boyd

I'm sure it would work. But what kind of use is there for a 5" gps device tethered to a battery "outside the car"? :)

SergZak

Sure they work. I have several from New Trent (Trent is the correct spelling). Although I have *tried* these with my nuvi units just to see that they work (they do), I have not used them for any extensive testing since I have no need for the GPS out of the car. I have tested the chargers however very extensively with my iPhone 4 though and they are a godsend to me personally. I am at Disneyland on pretty much a weekly basis where I beta test an iPhone app called MouseWait (entering Disneyland attraction wait times). One single battery (New Trent IMP 500) will run the iPhone all day long. If you start with a fully charged iPhone and run the phone using the external battery, the phone's will pretty much stay at, or near 100% all day long and will use the external battery rather than the iPhone's battery.

MadDad

I have no need to carry around a 5" GPS either. I was just wondering if it would work as I read somewhere else that some people were using their GPS's outside of their car. I was just throwing it out there to see if it was possible.

Thanks for the reply's though. Fear not I will not be walking around looking at a big GPS tethered to a backup battery. :D

Ramaprem

I have a Pebble external battery unit; it can power/recharge just about any small electronic device.
I have used it with my former sat-nav, a TomTom, and my current 3590.

jimirb

Think BICYCLE.

I have a "waterproof" bike mount that holds several AA alkalines to power my 1450 while cycling. I've atually never used it, but I have it....along with all the other stuff I had to have but never found a practical use for :)

Ramaprem

Think PEDESTRIAN in foreign city - sometimes where street signs cannot be read.
Think PEDESTRIAN who can't remember where the hell his hotel is.
I've used it this way.

Boyd

But when I think "pedestrian" I don't think of a 5" screen. :D

Ramaprem

I don't think that way, either :!:
But that's what I have :roll:

beg3yrs

I regularly use an external battery with my Garmin. While on vacation I often am away from my car on a tour (think bus or walking or cruise ship or whatever). I throw it in my backpack and then use the trip log to geotag my photos. The external battery allows me at least twelve hours of logging.

Ramaprem

Exactly.

I have used my external battery pack under many circumstances. It's been useful in ways that I didn't anticipate.
I even use it as a "universal" charger for all my small devices; it plugs into a house outlet, and any and all my stuff gets plugged into it for recharging.

Think ... :D

DerekW

Apart from the name Pebble are there any other devices that will provide additional power (that are rechargeable) model numbers would be very helpful.

Many a time I could have done with a 6 to 8 hour battary duration when on bus or train or boat tours. I do not want to buy a standalone handheld GPS.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Ramaprem

My device is made by Veho:
http://www.veho-world.com
Look under Portable Power and you will see:
VCC-A007-PBP
which is what I have.

DerekW

Thanks