FastMac taking pre-orders for U-Charge battery charger

Back on 15 May 2008 I gave you an exclusive look at FastMac's TruePower U-Charge (US$69.95) portable battery charger. FastMac has announced that they're now accepting pre-orders for the innovative little charger.

U-Charge looks like an AC adapter with a special charger tail that snaps onto the contacts of Apple notebook batteries to charge them outside of the host machine. The benefit is that it allows you to keep a backup battery fully charged and ready without needing to purchase a dedicated, bulky charger.

You can charge all 10.8 volt Apple batteries produced since 1999 with the U-Charge, including batteries for the iBook, PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro. FastMac will also be offering a separate 14.4 volt U-Charge that works with the higher voltage requirements of the iBook clamshell, PowerBook G4 Titanium, and iBook G3/G4 14-inch.

They expect to begin shipping orders in about two weeks and a full list of supported batteries is posted on the FastMac ordering page.