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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent compact surge protector, June 2, 2001
I bought this item in Jan 2001 just before a trip to Europe. I found it convenient for several reasons. One, it tells you if an outlet has power, if it's grounded properly, and if you're protected (three little lights on top). Two, it comes with two grounded outputs (one on either side) which are great for whatever extra appliance needs to be plugged in (your friend's powerbook, a lamp at the table, an external firewire drive, etc). Both of these outputs leave plenty of room for the extra wide converters that sometimes come with periferals. Three, it offers one telephone input, and two outputs (one for modem, one for fax or telephone). This means you can tap in anywhere (a hotel room, a friend's place, etc) and, when you're not using your modem, you don't need to replug-in the telephone. I found it to be great for working at coffee shops and for any trips within the US. One warning: I have only one criticism, which isn't entirely the fault of Cutris, but as it's a companion to a laptop, Curtis could have included some instructions not to plug it into a foreign outlet. Basically, it's a different voltage which is not at all grounded, I'm not even sure it could have worked even with a converter. Maybe they thought this was obvious. Regardless, I mistakenly plugged it (alone - no computer connected) into a hotel socket in Paris to the welcome of a gigantic spark and a quick shock. The lights went out across my wing of the hotel. Anyway, a warning not to try this yourself. I still give the item a great review. Suprisingly few surge protectors offer two tel-out jacks, especially on a portable. I bought a second one once I returned.
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