A Walk Around the World With Ridge-- Extra Batteries

So for me and my tech friends, our smart phones are a way of life. All the Tweeting, Facebooking, foursquare, all the Disney Apps, reservations, surfing the web, texting and, on occasion, making a phone call. Now all these location-based apps burn up a battery and anyone spending a day in the parks can tell you a smart phone on medium to high usage isn't going to make it past lunch time. So where do you do find an outlet? Well, yes, you can but they are few and far between and a regular visitor has probably already taken that outlet from some poor kid that wants to play Angry Birds in Space. Next option? External Batteries!

There are several brands and varieties to chose from depending on your needs and your wallet.   Here are two that I own.


· Zagg Sparq. This little beauty is a hard core power packing brick that has 2 USB ports to charge your devices. It comes in at a whopping 6000 mAh (milli amps per hour) that is able to charge your phone up to 4 times. I personally own the Sparq and it has made 6 trips with me and I can't see a time that is hasn't been completely perfect. My phone of choice is an iPhone and it seems odd but I like having a long cord (I have several 6ft after market cords I purchased off of Amazon) connected to my phone and I can have my Sparq anywhere else. One of the nicest features of the Sparq is having the whole thing one contained unit. It has built in plugs so it can go right into the outlet and get to charging. I highly recommend the Sparq to anyone who uses (overuses) their smart phone. Check it out at http://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggsparq.php

· Another wonderful battery I own is the Anker Astro 5600mAh Backup External Battery. This little guy is small and powerful and has a built in flashlight, fits in the palm of your hand and kept me charged up all day. This little guy was half the cost of the Sparq but has some drawbacks when compared to the Sparq. Without an adapter you can't charge it. There is only one USB port to charge your device but since I only have one phone that wasn't a problem for me. I loved the size and ease of use and storage in my pockets.

I can say for sure that almost any extra battery would be helpful to everyone but it also depends on if you want to be carrying around extra things in your bags or pockets. Either of these batteries would be perfect for almost any situation where you need extra life for your digital devices. But there are so many options to chose from you need to do your research and find what would be the best fit for you. My personal rule is the bigger the mAh the longer it will last and the more I get to play.