If Gearlog held a beauty contest for portable gadget chargers, the tiara and flowers would undeniably go to IOGEAR's Gear Juice. Just don't ask it why "U.S. Americans" can't find America on a map. Thankfully though, the Gear Juice performs better under pressure than Miss Teen South Carolina.

Underneath that svelte shiny black exterior is a 2000mAh rechargeable battery that IOGEAR says will last through a good 500 charge cycles. A single button on the front of the device lets you know how much juice is left in the battery with a nice blue four-bar light. On one side there's a standard USB port, and a small DC jack, for charging.

A single cable (thoughtfully coiled) is included in the package, and its used to both charge the Gear Juice, and get that juice to your gadgets. Six interchangeable tips are included, which IOGEAR says will "charge any standard portable device in the market." This might be true if there were such a thing as a standard portable device port. Unfortunately for consumers, the closest thing we have is mini USB which, thanks to the introduction of the questionably necessary micro USB, is now even less of a standard. Still, IOGEAR does more than most, by including tips for devices sold by Nokia, Sony Ericson, and Samsung, along with mini USB. And for anything that can charge over standard USB, just bring your own cable.

Like most other chargers of this ilk, the Gear Juice isn't exactly speedy on the recharge. It managed to add about 15% to my MDA's battery in an hour. But if your phone's dead and you need to make a call, you can plug it in and talk right away, which useful in a pinch.

At about $40, the Gear Juice is cheaper than the somewhat similar Xpower Mobile Mini, though the XPower's battery has a third more juice. Still, if you're looking to recharge with style, the IOGEAR Gear Juice is the way to go. It's available now at online retailers.

Post by Matt Safford