Air Tamer A-310 review: Great idea, but not yet an answer to air pollution

Priced at Rs 9,999, the Air Tamer A-310 embodies the concept of portable air purifiers that may substitute traditional ones, but that does not seem likely just yet

Air purifiers have become integral to people’s needs these days, especially in major cities, thanks to the scourge of high pollution levels in recent times. The situation in Delhi during winters is particularly alarming and people earlier were forced to turn to air purifiers, which did not come cheap and you could not carry them with you. But that was earlier; technology is now moving towards what is called ‘personal air purifiers’, and that might change things for good.

We came across the Air Tamer A-310, a personal air purifier launched recently, and reviewed it to see if these devices could substitute the traditional air purifiers and answer the issue of air pollution in cities with an equal effectiveness. Here’s what we found:

The Air Tamer A-310 is completely portable — it fits in your pocket, so you can carry it with ease. It is a lightweight device and has a panel that looks like a display but is not.

At the bottom, it has a regular USB jack to charge the device, while the on/off switch sits at the bottom-left side. There are tiny bristles at the top to emit negative ions and an LED indicator at the back indicating if the device is on or off. Also, the device has a strap, so you can even wear it around your neck.

The Air Tamer A-310’s little bristles emitting negative ions attract injurious particles, including atomic-sized pollutants — viruses, pollen, smoke, moulds and dust mites — present in the air. These negatively charged particles naturally get attracted to the positively charged surface, rather than sailing towards people breathing that air. This significantly reduces the inhalation of such particles by users.

We used the Air Tamer A-310 outdoors — in busy streets, and even while riding a bike. The air purifier has a battery life of 150 hours; it easily lasted over a week. The device works on the electrostatic purification technology, so it does not have any filter unit. The company claims that it creates a 3-foot radius of cleaner air around itself. However, in the absence of an indicator, it is not possible to verify this. But we did bring the device closer to the nose to see if one felt any difference; we felt a there was some change in air quality.

Priced at Rs 9,999, the Air Tamer A-310 is certainly not cheap. The idea of a portable air purifier is impressive, given the health risks posed by air pollution. But the technology might still take some time to evolve before it can become a worthy substitute for traditional air purifiers in cities like Delhi.