Customer Reviews

Tekkeon TekCharge MP1800

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Sometimes when you travel there is no USB port on a laptop or AC outlet on a wall that is available to power your electronic devices when their battery charges start running low. This product is perfect for those situations. It is nice and compact, and comes with multiple adaptors to power and/or recharge a wide variety of electronic products. The included adaptors provide a backup for my iPod Touch 2G, iPod Nano 2G, Samsung cell phone, bluetooth headset, Garmin Forerunner 305, and Garmin Nuvi 660.

Additional adaptors for other gadgets(such as for the Amazon Kindle) are available at a modest price.

Here are a few comments to keep in mind:

1. You can charge only one item at a time. Therefore when you reach your destination and have access to an AC outlet, if you wish to charge multiple items simultaneously, this is not the item to do that (I recommend the Callpod, which I have reviewed on Amazon). [But see my April 24, 2010 update below. I figured out a way to do it and no longer use the Callpod.]

2. If you have a USB AC adaptor that you use for your iPod Touch or Nano, it will work fine to charge this unit. There is no need to buy a separate adaptor.

3. Once the unit is fully charged, you can just leave it plugged in to the charging source (I checked with Tekkeon tech support, which is very helpful and responds quickly). That way you can be sure that the unit will always have a full charge when you need it.

4. This unit will not power a laptop or comparable electronic product. But Tekkeon does sell more powerful (and more expensive) units that will do so.

5. I chose this unit rather than the less expensive MP 1550, which runs on AA or rechargeable batteries, because in my experience I have found that a power source with its own internal battery lasts longer than one relying on batteries. Of course, the flip side is that once this unit runs out of power, you can't just pop some fresh batteries in. However, that is not an issue for me, though something that you may want to consider.

This product looks nice, is simple to operate, and does what it says. I am very happy with it.

Update August 22, 2009: I like this so much that I use it at home on a daily basis. The unit has two USB ports--a mini and a regular. Using the included retractable cable, I plug one end into the mini on the unit and the other end (which has a regular USB) into an Apple travel charger that is plugged into the wall. That way this unit is always at full charge if I take it on a trip. I use the free regular USB port on the unit to charge a variety of devices (though one at a time) that come with a USB cable, such as my BlackBerry and iPod Touch [But see April 24 update below re how to charge more than one at a time]. It is more convenient for me to charge them on this unit than to plug them into my laptop (which I do only when I need to sync data).

I have also found the built in flashlight on this unit a nice feature to have when rummaging through my bags looking for some gizmo that I can't find.

Update November 24, 2009: I recently stayed in a very nice hotel where the bedroom was really dark at night, but there was no nightlight in the bathroom. Solution: I just turned the flashlight on this unit on all night (8 hours)in the bathroom. Not only did the light last through the night, but it took only a relatively short time (less than 20 minutes) to restore the unit to a full charge.

Update April 16, 2010: Customer service for this company is first rate. On a recent trip I realized that I did not have a micro USB tip that would fit my BlackBerry Tour and Kindle 2. I emailed customer service after I returned home, and was advised that this tip was supposed to be included with the product. But since I bought my unit over a year ago, it was not included then. When I explained the situation to Jerry at customer service, he mailed me the tip at no cost within 24 hours. It's always nice to know that a quality product comes with quality customer service.

Update April 24, 2010: If you would like to use this product to simultaneously power more than one USB device at a time, there is an easy way to do it. I use the Belkin mini USB 2.0 hub (which I have reviewed on Amazon) and plug it into this unit, and now have four USB ports for my gadgets. The more gadgets you plug in, the faster you will drain the unit. But it is handy, for example, on a longer plane ride or at the beach for my wife and me to each plug our Slacker G2 players into the hub, which is in turn connected to the MP 1800, in order to extend the playing time. I also use the same technique for my Kindle 2, BlackBerry Tour, iPod Touch, and Garmin Forerunner 405CX.

Also, when you arrive at your destination, just connect this unit to an AC adaptor as I described in an earlier comment above, connect the hub to this unit, and now with AC power you can simultaneously not only recharge this unit, but also recharge up to four USB devices--all without a computer or bringing along the separate USB adaptors for each device (though being a "belts & suspenders" kind of guy, I still bring them along just in case for some reason the hub should fail since "Murphy's law"--if something can go wrong, it will go wrong--has kicked in on more than one vacation). Note: What I have described only works with the type of relatively low power draw USB devices that I have mentioned above. Also if you are drawing too much power for all the devices connected, the light will flash on the Belkin mini hub and/or on the Tekkeon MP1800. If that happens, just disconnect one or more devices until the flashing stops.

Update September 11, 2011: Due to Hurricane Irene, the area in which we live was flooded and my wife and I were trapped in the house for 24 hours until the flood waters receded. We lost all power, and to my dismay the corded land line phone had gone dead. That left me with only my BlackBerry to communicate with friends and family.

Power was not restored until four days later, but in the interim I had to return home during the day to supervise flood restoration crews and other persons. Each night I charged the Tekkeon at our friends' house, and brought it with me to my home during the day so I could keep my BlackBerry charged to make and receive calls and email. It worked like a champ.

Bottom line: In emergency conditions, this unit proved critical and performed flawlessly.

Like many people, I live in constant fear of running out of power for my portable devices. Well, okay, maybe fear is too strong a term, but particularly when I travel in this era of hours long airline delays, I am concerned about my must-have devices, like my cell phone and media player, running out of juice.

Yes, you can buy extra batteries (and even with the Tekkeon MP1800, that may not be a bad idea), but the Tekkeon MP1800 gives you lots of back-up power in a very small, lightweight package.

Tekkeon says the unit will give you 12 hours of talk time on a smart phone, 6 hours on a portable media player and so on. I wouldn't trust the projections all that much, but based on the specifications and my limited experience so far, I'd say it is totally reasonable to presume you'll get 4 - 6 hours or more time out of any small device.

The Tekkeon MP1800 can either be a source of direct power to the device or act as a recharger for the device battery. The unit measures 3.3" x 2.1" x 1.1" and weighs 4.5 ounces. It is delivered with eight adapter tips for Blackberry, iPhone/iPod, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. With the increasing shift to the miniUSB port, however, I find that is all I need. The unit also has a flashlight, though it is relatively low-powered and cannot be used while the unit is powering another device. A lanyard is also provided.

The MP1800 has a 4,000 mAh capacity. I recharged a cell phone battery using it in about two hours, bringing it from about a 20% charge to full. According to the simple diode system on the MP1800, I still had more than 70% of the internal battery's charge remaining, more than enough to recharge the phone again or another device.

The unit has a voltage regulator to protect the devices you attach it to, a nice protective touch.

The unit is supplied with a retractable USB cord which is used both for charging from your computer and for attaching to whatever device you are going to power. Tekkeon says it takes about 8 hours to recharge the MP1800. Since it takes a standard 5v input, I strong suggest you get both car lighter and wall AC USB power adapters. Tekkeon doesn't say anything about this, but I suspect these items would provide speedier charging.

Tekkeon, by the way, has excellent customer support. I wrote them about a very small issue I had with another of their products and they responded quickly and very helpfully.

At its modest price, the Tekkeon provides a nicely designed portable power package. Small and light, you can drop it in your bag and not notice it - until youneed it, at which time you will be thankful for it. There are few things as excruciating being stuck, for example, at an airport with a dead cell phone.

Jerry

I previously had a Mophie Juice Pack Air. The problem with that was:
1) Didn't play well with an iPhone with invisible skin
2) Crappy mAh capacity

I looked for an alternative and narrowed my search down to this Tekkeon and the Kensington external battery pack.

The size of the Tekkeon isn't too bulky or heavy, nor does it make my pockets bulge out. I actually performed a mini-test to see how well it would charge the 3GS.

Here's my test:
1) Test to see if there is any juice left in the Tekkeon: Nope
2) Fully charge the Tekkeon from a red to green light.
3) Unplug the Tekkeon for a few hours to stimulate real-time usage

4) I started at 75% and ended at 100%. Net: +25%
Conditions: phone on, wifi on, brightness 33%
beejive running in background, email fetch set to 15 mins
read & answered emails, chatted on beejive

Started at 61%, ended at 100%. Net: +39%
phone on, wifi on, brightness 33%
beejive running in background, email fetch set to 15 mins
read emails, text msg, chatted on beejive

Started at 65%, ended at 100%. Net: +35%
phone on, wifi on, brightness 33%
beejive running in background, email fetch set to 15 mins
chatted on beejive, read and sent emails, test msg

Started at 55%, ended at 100%. Net: +45%
phone on, wifi on, brightness 33%
beejive running in background, email fetch set to 15 mins
heavy chatting on beejive, heavy safari browsing, reading email, moderate text messaging

Started at 53%, ended at 84%. Net: +31%
phone on, wifi on, brightness 33%
beejive running in background, email fetch set to 15 mins
text message, beejive chatting

*Note: Several hours passed between each charge to stimulate real-time usage.

Conclusion:
For a total net of +175% while the 3GS was under moderate to heavy usage, the Tekkeon is AWESOME! The Tekkeon is rated at 4400 mAh compared to 1200 mAh in the Mophie Juice Pack Air. The only issue I have, which is not about the product, is the 30-pin to USB cable being so long. There are short ones (8-10mm in length) but at a hefty price of about $15.

The newer version of MP1800 has a USB icon printed above the USB port (the port that has the "5V OUT" printed beneath it). The older version does not have the USB icon printed. This newer version can output higher current (probably close to 2A) which can power my cradlepoint CTR500 mobile broadband router (whose technical spec says it needs 2A power input). Most if not all other USB battery packs that I have used output current at 500mA to 1A. So if you have any 5V mobile devices that need higher current, this newer version of MP1800 will delight you.

Like Jerry who gave a 1-star review because he couldn't charge it. I too was frustrated because I never saw the charging indicator turned green. Only after I called Tech Support, then I was told that I should charge this newer version of MP1800 with the switch set at OFF, rather than set at ON as for the older version. Obviously Tekkeon manufactured a newer version of the device without updating the user manual. Very bad business practice.

I have two MP1800s of the newer version. I once charged them with two different USB chargers. And I found one of them never turned green. I swapped the charger and eventually got it to green. My speculation is that I need a USB charger that outputs higher current (probably at 1A) in order to fully charge the MP1800, something that other reviewers have also concluded.

I'm very happy with my purchase. The Tekkeon is small enough to fit nicely in my messenger bag, can charge any USB device, and in my experience holds enough charge to give my iPhone 3-4 full charges. It does take almost a full 8-hours to charge up in my experience.

The beauty of the device though is that even if you're somewhere near a power outlet when your iPhone battery dies, you're then "attached to the wall" when you want to use the iPhone. With the Tekkeon, even if you're at home, you can attach it to the iPhone, put it in your pocket and continue to read your iPhone Kindle book or talk on the phone. Then just disconnect when you have a full charge and recharge the Tekkeon at some point. No need to ever have your iPhone tied down.

I purchased this battery to backup the "internal" battery of my Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera. The image stabilization on this camera seems to put more strain on the "internal" battery and I also use an external microphone which also draws power. This video camera's battery is a swappable Li-ion (not AA or AAA) and requires a special charger and/or adapter. But with this TekCharge MP1800 I can shoot video until I fill the 32 GB SDHC card. It is easy to carry in a pocket or purse, etc., and comes with all kinds of connectors for cell phones and small power draw gadgets. PLUS, it has a pretty bright built-in white LED flashlight. I usually recharge it using the USB cord connected to my desktop computer (I keep it plugged usually). It does have a small green indicator light on the front to show the switch is in the "on" or "light" position. It works for me!

This $25 device is great for people on the go whose gadgets regularly run out of juice when you don't have time to plug them in and recharge them. A fully charged Tekkeon can recharge both my cell phone at least 3 times.

Charging the Tekkeon does take a while (the manual says 8 hours), but you can do that overnight.

My only complaint is that the Tekkeon is a little chunky (3.3 inches long and 1 inch thick) so you may not be able to fit the Tekkeon and your cell phone in your pants pocket at the same time.

Note that there is no Apple iPod/iPhone to USB adapter, though I suppose Apple includes one of those with most of their products (and replacements are cheaply available at discount electronics stores). Also, there is no plug-in charger to charge the Tekkeon. You can charge it from a PC USB port or you can buy a USB charger separately. If you have a Motorola or Garmin or Apple etc. product, you may already have a compatible USB charger. If you need to buy a charger, this $10 Belkin charger is cheap and works well:
Belkin Dual USB and AC Wall Charger for iPod

There are smaller (and cheaper) competitors on the market, but those are less powerful. If you only need to recharge one device per day and bulk is important to you, then something like the Duracell Instant Power Charger may be a better choice for you:
Duracell Instant Power Charger--Charges and Powers USB Compatible Devices

I bought two of the Tekkeon Tekcharge MP 1800 for a trip to China. The product does everything as advertised and more. Just plug your cell phone or other device into the USB outlet on the Tekcharge to charge it. With one Tekcharge, I can recharge a completely depleted a iphone 3GS at least two times. I didn't even need to use the second Tekkeon on an 8 hour flight; one did the job!

Pros: 1) long battery life; much longer (probably 2-3x) than the Mophie juice pack. 2) LED charge indicator on case to indicate level of charge left. 3) fairly compact size. 4) multiple adapters included to charge just about any device (except Nintendo DS).

Cons: No A/C charger included. However, any A/C to USB adapter (such as comes with the iphone) will work to charge it.

Overall, you will be happy with the Tekkeon Tekcharge MP 1800.

Fantastic product used mainly for my electronic cigarette. There is no better value out there.

I bought this because when I am camping or on the trails, I want a reliable source of power for ALL my electronics (namely, my phone). With all the adaptors, this will fits everything that I use: gps, phone, ipod, camera. I am entirely satisfied with the product.