Varta AA and AAA USB battery charger
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Charge AA or AAA batteries from a computer socket with the Varta USB Charger.
UK price: £9.99
Pros: small, light, works
Cons: it’s a fiver and yet another gadget to carry around
Verdict: Neat little device that saves money in the long run
Rating: 
Available from: Amazon
Product Review
Taking spare batteries on your travels is such a palava. This little device helps, the Varta USB Charger, which comes free with two AA and two AAA batteries. It charges two AA or AAA batteries from a computer USB port. That’s handy for me because I’ve always got my laptop and I can be working on it, as I am now, and charging batteries at the same time, as I am now (for my daughter’s compact digital camera).
Carrying batteries for cameras, MP3 players and games consoles is a right pain. And battery rechargers tend to be hefty great things. But this gadget is a small black plastic thing that weighs nothing and measures nothing too. Actually, it’s about the size of a big matchbox. Varta say it’s ‘shock resistant’. I think they mean you can stamp on it and it won’t explode - not that you can give it electric shock therapy.
Nice touch: the Varta USB Charger comes free with two AA and two AAA pre-charged batteries. It charges one or two batteries at any one time and caters for the two different sizes. Two green LEDs indicate when the device is charging.
And need I remind you, as I clamber up onto my portable soapbox, that switching to rechargeables can help to preserve the environment by cutting down on waste batteries and their packaging.
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