Customer Reviews

Griffin 9784-PBLKRSV PowerBlock Reserve for iPhone & iPod

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With the iPhone utilizing 3G, GPS and push notifications the iPhone battery can get consumed quickly. Previous to this I had been using a Griffin PowerJolt in my truck and a Griffin PowerBlock Universal. This provided me with having power in my rig and at work therwise my battery would not make it through the work day.

So when I saw the Power Duo Reserve, I saw the opportunity to have a third additional charging opportunity in the form of an external battery. A few friends I have talked to don't like the fact that the battery hangs off the iPhone. I myself don't mind it especially if that is my only source of power for the iPhone at the time.

I like the overall design, the Power Duo Reserve provides the ability to charge your iPhone while charges the battery. The battery also snaps into place magnetically. I found the magnetic strength to be more than adequate in my testing. I fell though Griffin should have provided a dock connector cable with this unit. If I didn't have cables from other purchases I probably would have wound up purchasing a cable. This would have added to the $59.99 price tag of the unit.

Up to this point I was excited and with an upcoming trip to test this all out on even more so. That's about where my excitement stopped.

The battery did not provide enough additional capacity to the phone to warrant me spending $59.99. I also tested a Kensington modelthat comes with less features but provided almost twice the recharge that the Griffing unit did.

The battery has 5 leds on it, 5 indicating a full charge.
Connected to iPhone: 4 stars
3 stars 2 minutes later
2 stars 5 minutes later
1 star 8 minutes later
0 stars 40 minutes later

I tried this test more than a half dozen times with varying levels of charge on the iPhone with very similar results each time. The Griffin website doesn't list the battery capacity nor how long you should expect for additional time from a fully charged battery. Griffin should provide these specifications on their website. From some web spelunking it appears the battery has a unofficial capacity of 500 mAH while Kensington states that their battery is 1000 mAH. It is apparent from the week that I used it the battery capacity is too minimal to justify spending the money on this unit even at the reduced price offered at Amazon.

Here's the REAL story on this excellent item:

- The detachable, iPhone battery is more of a "booster" than a "full-recharge" system.
- This should be self-evident by it's demure size and 500 mAh rating.
- The iPhone's internal battery is approximately 1100 mAh, which is over 2x as much as this small booster battery.
- Harry Potter does not make this battery... thus there is no magic inside it. Therefore, because 500 mAh is only 45% of 1100 mAh, it's not very intelligent to think that a full power dump from the battery to your iPhone could add much more than 40-45%. If you need a full recharge... or even more, this is not for you. RichardSolo offers some nice options that are 1200 mAh (full recharge) and even a cool 1800 mAh (1.5x recharges). They're both more expensive and slightly larger, but wouldn't that make sense?

So, mathematically, this battery gives you what you should expect.

- A small bucket of water will only partially fill up a larger bucket.

- It will take about 45-min to do so.

Finally, here's what this product is, in a nutshell:

- A nicely packaged, small wall-charger with USB as its output. The power-plug prongs fold in neatly for ease-of-packing and as an added bonus, it includes a neatly mounted 500 mAh "booster battery that plugs directly into both the charger and also your iPhone. The booster battery holds approximately 40% of the capacity of your iPhone and can transfer that 40% in about 45-min. This is perfect for when you need to top-off your iPhone or "rescue" it from dying completely.

I hope this cleared up some of the details about this product.

I went to the Apple store a couple of days ago to try to find a power solution for a trip I have across country coming up. I knew my options included the Slider case with a built in battery, the 3GJuice (this one is not available at Apple Store), the Kensington Mini Battery Extender, and this model from Griffin. They all seemed to claim the same prolonged battery life/recharge specs, so I went with the Griffin model at $39 instead of paying $49 for the Kensington or $79 for the Slider power case. (The 3GJuice, available only online as far as I know, is $55 online but lists for $65.) The Griffin PowerBlock does have 5 green led lights on the front of the battery to indicate the current level of charging when plugged in, but does not illuminate when plugged into the iPhone dock. So before I go across country in a little over a month, I decided to try it out to see if I made a good choice on the ten dollar savings. The night before I had given the PowerBlock a full charge, and my phone when I connected the PowerBlock had about 1/2 charge. The phone immediately displayed the battery icon indicating that the phone was being charged. So far so good. Since my plans are to use my iPhone to watch videos as I travel, and since the manual claims up to 6 hours of additional video usage with the PowerBlock I thought I would start it up and let it run and check on it periodically. After only one hour and 15 minutes the battery icon so longer showed that it was charging, so I disconnected the PowerBlock from the phone, plugged it into an AC outlet, and pressed the button to see if it was really drained. It was. Then I checked my phone to see if I had a full charge, which still would have extended the phone's battery life pretty well, but it was barely greater that the amount of charge from when I began. So the best I can tell you will get somewhere between 1-2 hours more video usage, but nowhere near the 6 hours claimed. This product will be returned to where I bought it and I plan to check reviews on the others I have listed to try to find one whose claims of extended battery life are valid per their published specifications.

Firstly the pros :
Very good design, sleek and magnetically coupled charger and battery device is aesthetic and the design works well.
You get a car charger and a wall charger with one USB port each, plus the additional rechargeable battery.

Now the cons: As my friends have mentioned before me, the battery is pure 'pathetic'. Percentage wise, the battery can charge the iphone about 40% of its internal capacity. I tried it at various discharged levels of the iphone battery and having the griffin battery fully charged (5 LEDS glowing). The Griffin block went from 5 LEDs to a dud in less than 45 minutes, and charged my iphone battery about 40% (if it was 25% earlier, expect it to reach only 65-70%, a fully charged condition is never reached). The Griffin reserve battery is very low in capacity and certainly doesnt deserve to be treated as a useful backup power reserve, least worth the $59.99 that they charge in the stores ! Also the rechargeable battery does not hold power over time and goes to half capacity in about 2 days after being charged completely ! To me, this was a total waste of money !

Yeah ok so when you first plug the battery into your ipod the first light goes away, but the battery last for about 45 min. It charges my ipod touch up to almost 75% sometimes. I love how i can charge up my ipod with the cord and the battery also charges at the same time, so i can have a fully charged battery to take with me if i need to go somewhere and i want extra power on the go. Also the battery is good for when i am still on my ipod touch and dont want to plug it into the wall, i can just plug in the battery and im good to go. I dont really know how long the battery takes to charge because i just keep it plugged in all the time, but i think its a few hours. So i would recommend this to someone who wants a reliable ipod charger that also has a very handy battery. It does what its suppose to then what more could you ask for? (but you do have to provide your own cable which should of came with you ipod)

Design- 4 stars
The design of it is nice but the charger is that kind of glossy black that shows your finger prints when you touch it, but i come on, its going to be down on wall the whole time so you will not see it too much.

Portability- 5 stars
The actually charger is fairly small and the part that goes into the wall in the back can flip up(like other apple products), so that its easy to pack it up for a trip or what every else you might want to do with it.

Need or want?- 4 stars
For me this is more of a want, rather than a need. But for you, if you need a extra battery that you can take with you to your meeting so your iphone will not die during a call or something like that, then yes, this would be more if a need. Or if you are more like me and like to play games on my ipod but want more battery life, then you also might want this too. The only bad part is that the battery makes the end of your device longer, if you want to hold your iphone horizontally, it might be a little difficult because of the bulk.

Overall- 5 stars
Its a great charger and has an extra battery for the go or extra gaming. I think its a great product and you will think so too.

With one small exception, this is a well-designed product. We think the following description could be helpful.

Made of black plastic, the charge unit measures 3" x 2" x 1" including the removable battery. The botton has a FOLDING wall plug. The top has a USB slot to charge IPHONES & IPODS (you need to supply the cable). The battery also fits into the top and is kept in place by a magnet that will hold even if the charger is plugged in upside down. The battery has 5 tiny LED lights. It takes about 3 hours for a full charge (all lights on).

The charged battery fits into the power slot of our IPHONE 4. The battery measures about 2" x 1 1/2 " x 1/2" and weighs perhaps 2 ounces. (A little larger but lighter than a standard 9v battery). It takes about 40 minutes to fully discharge the battery (pushing a button on the battery shows how many lights remain). With the phone on standby, we get about 18 to 20 PERCENTAGE POINTS of new power from a fully charged battery (ie:- the power reserve goes from 30% to 48%-50%).

We acknowledge that this is not a miracle. On the other hand, it is enough of a kick to get through the end of the day.

The main design flaw is the battery's power insert for the Iphone. It is uncovered and can snag in a pocket or purse.

Still, we recommend it as a standby emergency charger.

Great little device to supplement / top-off energy demands at the end of the day. If you are addicted to Angry Birds...and who isn't, then you know that, on that train ride home, you'll run down the phone leaving you no power to call home when you get in the car! Highly recommend.

I have used this battery on more than one occasion and love it when it is used for its purpose, which is in an emergency. It will charge my fully depleted iPhone 3GS to ~30% in about 15 minutes time. I carry the battery in my backpack and only use it when I find myself out of charge on the iPhone.

No, it will not fully charge your iPhone. But, it will allow you to finish a conversation (inconspicuously) or get to a wall outlet for recharging your iPhone. It's a very clever accessory.

Conflict of interest disclosure: Vendor provided a free copy of this item to me for the purpose of this review.

The Power Block Reserve is a black very stylish and elegant charging device. Works in almost any 100 to 240 volt AC wall socket and delivers safe power levels for iPod, iPhone, MP3 players and other USB devices. It boasts of an additional 6 hours of music and video on the iPod classic and 1 1/2 hours of web access and talk time on the iPhone 3G. You can charge your iPhone or iPod at the same time that you are charging the reserve battery in the USB slot.

Removable reserve battery pack provides additional use of your iPod or iPhone. Lighted meter on reserve battery pack indicates remaining power. Battery pack is also available as a spare and is interchangeable with the Powerjolt Reserve.

Putting the sleek design and compactness of the charger aside there are some short comings with this product. The stated time capacity I think is rather over stated. While using it on my iPhone I got maybe an hours worth of use out of it. It appeared to have discharged my phone entirely. Even after plugging in my iPhone to charge I still was not able to access any apps until about a half hours worth of charge had been made to my phone. It would keep shutting down and kept displaying the dead battery symbol.

The removable battery while small and easy to take with you has no protection on the ends so if you are carrying it in your pocket or a purse it is subject to getting filled with debris. I think maybe the battery is being pressed against objects in what ever you are carrying may attribute to its low charge or maybe that's just what it does. In order for you to see how much charge is left you have to put the battery on the phone for it to work.

The airplane mode indicator would pop up intermittently. Tried turning the phone of completely and then restarted it hoping that it wouldn't happen again...it did. Will admit didn't want to move my phone around too much when the battery was attached because I kept thinking I might accidentally break off the connector in the iPhone. It does appear that it's secure when it's attached to the phone just nervous about bumping into it. I have the Mophie which I use all the time and that gives me about 2 days worth of power if I just talk or surf the web or check email. When I use it for heavy gaming I get about 14 or so hours worth of life in my phone before I have to charge it.

This backup battery is just that a back up for when you might need a bit of juice for an emergency when you are traveling or maybe finishing up that song before you land.

Not much that hasn't been said - but as others, I was excited by the potential of this accessory -

I recently upgraded to the 3Gs specifically to obtain and use the GolfShot app > a real power drain - [...]

At 45%, the fully charged Griffin only raises the on-board batter by 20% (65%) - I'd have actually been thrilled with the 40% increase mentioned by another reviewer - it simply doesn't have any real power - the only application might be as an emergency source if your phone is completely dead... but on a daily basis, it is useless. Not worth the effort to charge and carry.

Additionally - because of its design, it will not attach to a phone in a case > necessitating removal and opening the phone to damage while charging. Again, a real drawback > an interim male-female cord would be a great help here.

If I'd thought to hold on to the box/packing, I'd have already returned for a refund - skip this product -

My two-cents -