Customer Reviews

Kensington Battery Pack and Charger for iPod; iPhone 1G, 3G

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The Kensington battery Amazon is selling is model K33396US. Amazon just shipped me the K38021/K33396, but the packaging still has K33396US printed on it. Why is this important? The K33396US has a battery charger designed for travel abroad. It has two European style plug adaptors that slip into the battery charger. The K38021/K33396 has a fixed battery charger with a US only plug.

I think Kensington decided to save a few pennies by reducing the product's capabilities and then saved even more money by not changing the packaging or UPC. But not telling Amazon to update the model number on their product page? Not nice!

I can absolutely confirm that this works withthe iPhone 3G.

After searching around trying several devices including the Duracell PowerSource Mini which did not work, and various "USB charging
solutions which did not work, I sent an e-mail to Kensingtion. They confirmed to me that this works with the iPhone 3G. So I went to the Apple store to buy it.

Pros:
- USB charging port withs with the iPhone 3G
- Wall AC Adapter with USB port also charges the iPhone 3G
- Comes with a sync / charge cable that syncs fine with a PC, but also charges in PC USB port, battery pack, and Wall AC USB charger. Also, this cable does NOT need to have the sides depressed (just like the Apple USB sync cable), which is nice for easy insertion and removal.
- Battery pack is nice and small and light.
- Comes with everything you need to charge the iPhine and recharge the battery pack.

This has been the best accessory that I've bought for my iPhone so far.

I took it on a short business trip to Europe. Not only was I able to use it to recharge my iPhone from ZERO to FULL on the plane and train (ie. Eurostar), but my husband discovered the included mini usb cable can recharge his BlackBerry as well. So we are able to share this one device for several of ours.

On top of that, the package included an iPhone sync cable. You can never have enough of these!

I have an iPhone 3G which needs to be recharged just about every day that it's used. That can be a challenge when I'm traveling, although if I have a laptop it's possible to recharge the iPhone via the laptop's USB port -- as long as the laptop has enough power to spare. The Kensington set is a good backup. It will fully charge a nearly exhausted iPhone battery in an hour or less. You can use the phone while you're charging it (although that means you'll use some of the stored power). The battery has a button that lights up a set of LEDs to show you how fully charged it is. It comes with both a wall plug and a USB cable. It's small enough to carry in a pants pocket. You also have to carry the included cable to connect it to the iPhoe or iPod. You could carry the whole set - battery, wall adapter and two cables -- in a jacket pocket.

The only thing that's missing is a case or bag with a drawstring. One or the other would be very helpful for storing the two cables, the wall adapter and the battery itself.

Pros:
- if I start with a fully charged brick and a fully discharged iPhone and leave them on the table I get close to a fully recharged iPhone in a little while. I haven't timed it but it seems pretty quick.
- because it uses a cord, it charges or powers any device that charges by USB. iPhone (any), Blackberry, GPS...
- you can use the iPhone while it is charging and it still charges (albeit more slowly).
- the brick is pleasantly small and pocketable.

Cons:
- requires a different (mini-usb) wire to charge the brick, so you have to carry an additional wire to recharge the brick after you've had to use it.
- connects to the iphone with a cord. It works to hold the phone to your ear and have the cord dangling to the brick in your pocket, but the cord is a pain. I like the idea of the mophie juice pack, which would still fit in my pocket or on the table or hold up to my ear, with no cord. They don't make that for the iphone 3G yet but I will get one of those too when it is available.
- my particular unit has never showed a full charge from day one, just 4 lights out of five. It works fine, I don't know if it is holding less charge than it should or if the 5th light isn't working, but it suggests less than perfect QA.

I've had several "battery packs" for iPods over the years but none have performed as well as this one - and none have had the flexibility of charging methods. I use it with my 80gb Fifth Gen. iPod and it gives me hours and hours of video time and since it charges the ipod battery, you can disconnect it when you don't want to be tethered and you'll have a fully charged iPod.

The fact that it uses a lithium ion battery instead of a NiMh battery is a BIG plus.

Excellent product.

I did my research and picked this one. Very happy with it.. but I wish I bought two as my girlfriend uses it for her blackberry and I haven't seen it in months. I never should have lent it to her.

I use my iTouch as a book reader. It is small enough to fit in my pocket and I can take it anywhere. I also use it for web browsing while travelling.

I bought this because on long flights or long travel days, my iTouch runs out of juice. With one of these I can read as much as I like. When my charge dies I use this to recharge once or twice--enough to get me to an AC outlet in an airport or somewhere. I have an adapter to work on a cigarette lighter also.

Pluses:

It works without blocking the audio port.
It charges my iTouch perhaps 2 times or perhaps a bit more.
Can be recharged from a laptop USB or Apple Wall charger.

minuses:

None that I can think of.

I bought this for a flight to asia. Its a great deal and seems to work fine. I also wanted to be able to plug it in over there too, and while it takes an adapter, it does accept 220.

I was ready to call Kennsington as I thought it wasn't doing the job -- I don't recall what I was thinking it was supposed to do, but it has turned out to be, hands down, the best accessory! It takes a while to charge it -- but you can carry it around with you and it doesn't seem to lose its charge so that when you need it, it is ready to go. Once you connect it to your iPod, it charges it up full, pretty quickly. You then remove and you are on your way. It's great to use intentionally (plane trip, etc.) or in an emergency when all of a sudden you realize that you are in the middle of a great book or planned to use it at the gym and the iPod/iPhone battery is close to zero. Just connect the Kennsington and in just under 30 minutes you have a fully charged device. It even brings to life an older mini iPod I own that can barely get a charge from the wall socket. Also, even if you have to have the battery pack connected while using, it's not that heavy or cumbersome, so....nice.

I have been making extended business trips, relying on my iPhone for e-mail as well as for entertainment. This battery was just what I needed on travel, and the price was significantly better than at the Apple Store. SuperSaver shipping got it to me an a few days, so I am pleased all the way around.