Heads up, urban mobile workers: If you already spend too many brain cycles hunting for available power outlets at coffee shops and dealing with near-dead devices on long road trips, then AMPL Lab’s latest creation is totally your bag. The AMPL SmartBackpack is a backpack with a mobile power station stashed inside. Charge your devices large and small—phones, cameras, even your laptop—while you haul them on your back. And while you’re walking around, you can monitor and adjust the charging activity via an app on your phone without having to open the pack. Beginning today, AMPL will start a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Customers will be able to pre-order the bag for $225, with a planned commercial release later in 2015. So, this is not just another battery bag for storing and charging smart devices. It is itself quite smart. Sensors inside and outside of the SmartBackpack monitor environmental conditions like temperature and push those stats (along with battery level) to an touch-capable OLED screen on the top of the pack, as well the AMPL mobile app for your smartphone.

With the app, you can not only monitor conditions, but also check the charging status of your individual devices and prioritize the power allocation to each device depending on its level of importance (the batteries use Qnovo’s adaptive charging tech). Of course, if you’re charging your phone while you walk around, you can keep it plugged in and secure in a holster on the left shoulder strap. Every bag has an integrated 5,000mAh battery, which has enough juice to charge your smartphone two to three times over. There’s a docking system inside that allows for three more modular batteries, each of which has varying degrees of power and is sold separately: A second 5,000mAh (18.5Wh) battery, a larger 14,900mAh (55Wh) “LaptopBoost” battery, which charges most PC laptops, and a battery/power inverter combo, which you can use to charge a MacBook, or just about anything that plugs into a wall. Configured to the max, you can get up to 147Wh of charge. When you need to recharge the internal packs themselves, you don’t need to remove them from the docking bay.

A power cable pulls out of the top of the bag, so you can just plug it into the wall. And if you find yourself in need of a quick boost, the modular batteries work completely independently of the bag. Just undock them and take them along even when you’re leaving the backpack behind. Internal storage niceties include a hanging tablet sleeve and an adjustable laptop compartment that can be accessed from the top or from the side. The laptop pouch also unzips and lays flat per TSA requirements. Sounds like one heavy backpack, right? The answer is yes, it’s going be heavier than your standard cloth or canvas backpack. However, AMPL has taked the weight of the components into consideration and adjusted the exterior material to lighten the load significantly. The exterior fabric will also be treated with a hydrophobic, water-resistant coating. This isn’t a pack for casual commuters. If you’re only spending an hour or two per day away from an outlet whilst in your car or on a train, the SmartBackpack probably isn’t a great fit for you.

It’s also on the spendy side—it’s $225 for the Indiegogo Earlybird special, but then moves to $250 after two days. But if you live for the long haul, or if you work out of coffee shops, or if you’re just a power user who frequently finds her phone or laptop at 19 percent before 3 pm, take note. ecote vagabond backpackReally the AMPL is for anyone tired of doing “battery math” and meticulously budgeting device usage instead of getting the most from gadgets meant to enhance—not complicate—the mobile lifestyle.stm switch padded laptop backpack AMPL Smart Backpack from AMPL Labs on Vimeo.swissgear scansmart laptop backpack weightWITH people juggling multiple digital devices that constantly need charging, backpack manufacturers have sensed a market opportunity.

Some new backpacks are specifically designed not only to protect our smartphones, tablets, laptops, headphones and game players, but also to recharge them and track their whereabouts.For those who need power as well as protection, Tylt’s $170 Energi Plus Backpack includes a 10,400 mAh battery, which can charge three devices simultaneously. Though it can hold up to a 15.5-inch laptop, it can’t charge one. The battery is intended for smartphones and tablets only.The battery takes about seven hours to charge; once it’s 50 percent done it can begin to charge devices. There’s enough power to fully charge an iPhone 6 more than five times. If not used, the battery will retain its charge for around one year. Pass-throughs embedded in the bag allow charging cables to be secured and then routed through to most pockets. The bag is attractively designed, constructed of heavy artificial material, including an exterior pocket for a water bottle, a hardened one for glasses, and others for small business items.

Numerous USB cables are included, as well as an older-style Apple 30-pin connector. The company says it’s working through its inventory before it will switch to a Lightning connector, like those used for the newest Apple mobile devices.Ampl Labs’ $299 SmartBackpack, expected to arrive this year, has even more charging ports. And any of the bag’s six ports can be routed to any pocket. The included 5,000 mAh battery can charge a smartphone three times, or three smartphones simultaneously one time. Fast-charging technology allows the bag’s batteries to be charged to 80 percent capacity in one hour. The bag can be reserved on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo for $250.With an additional specialized battery, the SmartBackpack can also charge laptops and tablets. The tablet battery is $59; the laptop battery costs $139, or $179 for an Apple version.Ampl Labs also has a smartphone app to work with the SmartBackpack; the app monitors battery charge and remaining battery capacity, and allows the user to prioritize charging order when powering multiple devices.

The app also aims to prevent bag theft. Walk too far away from the backpack, and the app will alert you.With the app, power profiles can be created for different users, learning what and how an individual likes to charge devices. The app can also be programmed not to alert the owner if the phone is separated from the bag if, for example, the owner is not working. A backpack that offers even more flexibility is the $649 Phorce Pro. It can transform from a backpack to a briefcase or messenger bag. It can also be expanded to twice its original size and is capable of holding a jacket.The 26,000 mAh battery can charge an iPhone 5 14 times. The battery can charge a laptop (there’s space in the bag for a 15-inch one), a smartphone, headphones — almost any modern electronic device.Constructed of canvas and leather, the Phorce Pro contains padded pockets for a tablet and laptop. The three USB plugs can be used to power three devices and a laptop simultaneously. Devices charge as fast as if one used the original charging cables.

The Phorce Pro also has a smartphone app with features similar to those offered by Ampl Labs. Phorce said it would like to eventually expand the app’s functionality to include such capabilities as changing the bag’s shape and fabric color, once that becomes feasible. Even with a charging-capable backpack as expensive as the Phorce Pro, though, once the battery runs out, you’re stuck if you’re nowhere near an electrical outlet. Voltaic Systems makes a line of solar-powered backpacks to help keep you connected when you’re climbing a mountain or hiking and still need power to call a friend.Its signature model, the $389 Array, includes a ruggedized solar panel that stretches across the frame, and a 20,000 mAh battery, enough to charge a laptop.The panel needs 90 minutes of sun exposure to sufficiently load its battery enough to charge a smartphone; two hours to charge a seven-inch tablet; and 11 hours to charge a laptop.The Array comes with a selection of charging tips for smartphones and laptops;