External battery packs make charging on the road very convenient. What isn’t convenient, however, is just how long it takes to fully charge those large battery packs when you plug them in at home. The Pronto is a new type of external battery charger that can top up from a wall outlet at a rate that’s 12 times faster than conventional batteries.
Created by Power Practical, the battery can draw up enough power to fully charge an iPhone 5 in just five minutes. That means, even if you forgot to plug in the pack last night before you went to bed, you can still have a generous load of extra power to bring on the road if you hook it up while getting ready to leave the house.
The Pronto uses a proprietary technology that enables it to charge at a fast pace, enabling you to spend less time tethered to a wall outlet. It comes in two models, Pronto 5 (4,000 mAh) and Pronto 12 (13,500 mAh), both of which feature a rugged hard-anodized aluminum enclosure, two 2.4A USB ports, and two LED dials that show current battery status and charge rate. The bigger model adds a 12-volt adapter into the mix, enabling its use for charging larger devices, such as laptops, DSLRs, and even quadcopter drones. Both come with a smart charge chip that enables them to charge any device at the maximum rate it can handle, as well as a removable cap and strap combo that covers up the ports for waterproofing.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for Pronto. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at $79.