Energizer Instant Charger a boon in outages In the Bay Area, we could suffer a devastating earthquake or a major winter storm or other event with prolonged power outages. Do you know of reliable all-purpose chargers powered by generators or batteries for smartphones? I'm thinking such a device would be useful to add to our other emergency supplies along with flashlights, battery-operated radios, canned goods, etc. [...] most chargers - designed as backups for travel - have built-in batteries, so they themselves require charging via an electrical outlet before you can use them to charge your phone. For something you can count on during a long power outage, I'd suggest the Energizer Instant Charger, a $20 device that uses AA batteries for its power source. Tablets make fine e-readers and also can be used to watch movies and go on the Internet. [...] tablets offer color displays, which can bring to life e-books that contain color images or photographs. A few tuners come with built-in antennas for getting TV broadcasts over the air (including HD), but you're limited to local stations, and you need a more-or-less unobstructed line of sight to a broadcast tower. In the wake of the recent murder-suicide involving pro football player Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback Brady Quinn offered this insight into why no one around Belcher realized the extent of his problems: