Customer Reviews

Kensington Mini Battery Extender and Charger for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G (Black)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

If you have an Apple iPhone 3G, then you probably have the same three complaints that everyone else does:
1) No video camcorder
2) No flash
3) Battery life is poor

Well, the Kensington Mini Battery Extender helps address the third flaw. I also bought an Incase Power Slider because I was wondering how they compared. I had read reviews and heard from people that the Mophie Juice Pack had problems with the rubber case falling off, so I decided to skip that one, although I played around with it a bit before buying the Incase.

All these products perform their basic function admirably - they charge your iPhone when you don't have access to an outlet. I can't actually compare which one recharges the most or for the longest, but it's pretty safe to say that they should take care of you through most typical situations (e.g. a transcontinental flight, a busy day on the phone, or a night out with friends after a long day at work). Unless you are Jack Bauer and have a magical cell phone that never runs down, chances are that any of these will keep you in power.

But the fit and finish of these products is the real differentiator (along with price). In reverse order, are my preferences:

3) Mophie Juice Pack: Adds a little bulk to the iPhone, but the rubber covering can cause problems in the long run. But I also didn't like the design - it only partially covers the iPhone, leaving the top part exposed. Seemed awkward to me, combine that with the high price, and this wouldn't be my first (or second) choice.

2) Kensington Mini Battery Extender: The design is very awkward. Other owners had talked about keeping it attached while using the phone - not only does the connection feel flimsy (making me fear that the dock connector would be damaged), but it also looks unattractive. I'd only use this in an emergency situation or if I wasn't planning on using the phone at the same time. The only reason I have it as my second choice is because the price is right - for less than $35 (MSRP is $39), you can have the same power backup as with the Mophie or the Incase. If you are on a budget, then this is a great option. Another possible scenario is if you want to have more than one battery extender/charger - you can get three of these for the same price as one of the others.

1) Incase Power Slider: By far, the Power Slider had the best design. The two-part design completely encases the iPhone, increasing the dimensions only slightly. It's a little wider, a little longer, a little thicker, and a little heavier. But it's a very natural look, and most people wouldn't even realize it's also a battery pack. It's pretty easy to put on and take off, and feels like a second skin in the end without impeding the camera. But it is harder to access buttons, so I don't plan on using this on a daily basis - only when I travel.

SUMMARY: Like I said, any of these will do the basic job, but the Kensington will do it cheaper and the Incase will do it in style.

Wanted to confirm that this works with Iphone 3g just fine. You can keep using your Iphone and listening to music etc while this is attached (it puts it into charging mode like plugging it into a wall outlet). Hoping to use this for my plane travel this week will report on battery life.

Also, wanted to say that this seems to charge fine with my Belkin Iphone charger (the set where you get wall and car charger with usb plug ins on both) it's really nice because the wall charger has two usb outlets so you can charge both the battery and Iphone at the same time without a laptop etc.

I tested this charger on my iPhone(first iphone version when they just came out.)

I drained my iphone down to 10% warning and plugged in a fully-charger Kensington Battery. It took about 70 minutes until the charger's juice was gone and it powered my iPhone to about 50%. Surely enough, 3 hours later of constant texting, my iphone gave me the 10% business.

The Good:

Truly Portable. Dimensions are 2.5 x 2 x 0.5 inches. (I'm not sure why at the time of this review, it shows dimensions as 5.2 x 6 x 1.5 units. I pondered why this was the case, and it turns out that these dimentions are in centimeters.) Dimensions blend in well with your iPhone: it doesn't stick out, but just extends the lenght of your iphone by 2 inches.

Charge and use your phone at same time: No need to wait til the power transfers.

Stylish: Yes, I said "stylish." Every time I plug this in, the other iPhone users turn their heads and wonder what my little attachment does. The brightly-lit blue energy bar really stands out and lets you charge in style.

Tiny charging retractible USB cable: While its 4 inches in closed position, its retractible up to 2 feet at full lenght. Its fully compatible with iphone's usb plug adapter, so you can charge your battery on the plug OR using computer's USB slot.



The Bad:

For emergencies only. It would be nice if this portable charger had more juice capacity than 50% of the iPhone's battery. Because of this, I don't carry it as much and only take it with me for emergency purposes. Its a good thing to keep in your car's glove compartment or at home for those blackouts.


Bottom Line: Perfect for emergencies, but will leave you wishing for more juice in the long run.

With my morning 30 minute conference calls, I barely get by each day without needing to recharge my iPhone.

What drew me to this was the all in one style design. No cables or mess to deal with. Here's the low down:

Cons:
- Simultaneous charging (connected to my Macbook Pro) took a little longer than preferred, but I guess it was because my iPhone was completely dead.

Pros:
- Tiny battery pack was able to charge my iPhone to about 65% from dead which was impressive in a relatively short period of time
- Battery indicator was extremely helpful
- Small enough to keep in my pocket without the weight and bulk
- The smartest thing about this battery pack is that it leaves about a 1.5mm gap on the bottom of the iPhone so the microphone isn't blocked. Genius.
- Oh yeah, it comes with a plastic cap to protect the connector if you toss it in your work bag or something.

Just got this battery from amazon today. It works great.

To test it out on my new 3G iPhone, I drained the phone's battery completely. The external battery was not charged out of the box so I fully charged the external battery through my computer, which took about 3 hours. Then I attached the charged external battery to the iPhone. I kept the iPhone off while it was being charged by the external battery. The external battery charged my iPhone back to 80% battery life. The charge took about 1 hour.

Also, I have a case on the iPhone and did not encounter any issues with charging the phone with the external battery. The case did not have to come off!

Excellent product. I'll use this just about daily at work/home.

Ok, i was really excited to get this charger. It looked cool and had good reviews. It does work great, i will give it that. My only oversight that I am wanting others to be aware of, is for the 1st Generation Ipod Touch, the headphone jack is located on the bottom right of the Ipod. When you plug this thing in, it completely covers up the headphone jack. So, if you are watching a cool movie and your battery runs low you have to stop and wait for it to charge. Tip: If you are traveling, keep it attached when you are not using your Ipod so it stays charged until you need it. Or, you can play a game that doesn't require sound, it's just a little harder to hold the Ipod and i keep dropping it in my lap.

My unit broke after about a month of not too frequent use leaving me to sort out warranty repair.

I wish I'd read the reviews more carefully before I bought this. As someone else pointed out, the battery does an OK job of recharging an iPod Touch, BUT while it's attached you can't listen to music because it blocks the audio port. There has to be a better solution.

I like others have found that the iPhone's battery doesn't last that long when you are on the 3G network. I looked at several battery extenders and decided on this one because of the size. It is much smaller than the Richard Solo and seemed like it would be a good deal for the money.

The pros: I have been very pleased with the results as I am able to go all day on the Kensington. By the time I get off of work, it is usually on the last battery indicator. That is with moderate use. With heavy use, it will fully deplete by that time. That is all I was wanting from the device. That way, by the afternoon, I still have a full charge on my iPhone's internal battery. In my typical day, I am able to set the iPhone down, near me, and not have to put it in my pocket all day.

Now the cons: If you are someone who is very mobile and has to put your iPhone in your pocket and is always taking it out, putting it back in........etc. it might not be a good battery extender for you because it is just hanging there off of the bottom of your iPhone. There have been times I have knocked it off while putting it in my pocket or taking it out. I have found also that if you use a case on your iPhone, there are times when certain cases will make it to where the Kensington can't plug in all the way. It will work, and will charge, but it is not engaged all the way to where the bumps are inserted, thus making it very easy for it to just fall off. If you are a mobile person, I would suggest something like the Mophie or other brands of battery extenders that are also "cases" at the same time. That way you don't have something hanging off the end of the iPhone.

Overall.......this is a great device for adding battery life, and also extending the life of your iPhone's internal battery. Since it uses the Kensington first, it lessens the amount of charge cycles your iPhone's internal has to do, thus prolonging it's life.

I am writing this review in response to one of the 1-star reviews that claims this product does not work with the iPhone 2.1 or 2.2 software updates. I purchased the product for my brother as a Christmas gift, and was a little worried that it would not work. My brother and I have been playing around with the battery all day today on our v2.2 iPhone 3Gs... and I can verify that it works PERFECTLY!

We have not had any problems working with the battery, and it's nice that you can charge your iPhone even with the battery connected. Great product with a great price from Amazon!