Customer Reviews

Xantrex Technologies 852-0251 XPower Mobile Mini Power Source

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, right into the details...

-- The Pros: --
- 3Ah Battery(3000mah) capacity. I believe the average Blackberry has a 1000mAh battery, iPods range from 400mAh up to around 800mAh and cellphones are in the 1100mAh to 1600mAh range. These are all "rough" numbers, you could look up your item to find more specific numbers. What this all means is that the stock battery capacity of this Xantrex will last about 3 charges for Blackberries and Cellphones, and perhaps even more times for smaller iPod/MP3 Players...Before you have to recharge the charger.
- That 3000mah battery is Lithium-Ion (Li-On). Unlike your average rechargeable AA or AAA batteries that self-discharge within a few weeks (some even only days!), Li-on batteries hold their charge for a lonnnnng time...So you don't have to worry if you haven't used the charger for a while, it should still have a good amount of capacity when you do use it.
- It has a built-in, swivel mini-usb connector. Perfect for gear that uses that kind of port for power (such as the Blackberry) and since it's built-in there's no worries about losing it
- Also has a standard USB port. Especially nice as both ports are active...Meaning you can charge 2 items at once. Your iPod and Blackberry running low on juice? No problem, plug them BOTH in and they'll both charge at the same time.
- Comes with AC Power adapter, DC Power adapter (Car lighter connector) and can recharge from standard USB connector as well.
- It's right at the edge of almost being a bit big for easy carrying, but the little bit of extra heft is well worth having that 3000mAh capacity.

-- The Cons: --
- The Power on/off button is hard to press, sometimes I have to use the corner of my thumb or nails to get it. It feels like it might break from the amount of pressure required.
- Though the charge status indicator (the lightning bolt) will change from green->yellow->red depending on the leftover capacity of the battery...I'd have preferred some kind of powerbar with a 'check' button for a clearer idea of status.
- Uses a non-standard plug for the charge cable. Lose that cable and you're out of luck. The biggest attraction for this charger is it's versatility in supplying the common USB type ports for charging things...So why couldn't Xantrax have done the same thing and used a mini-usb charge port to charge the charger? I've got tons of those, all over the place.

I bought this Charger as an accessory to go in my manbag/manpurse/techbag for backup power to my iPod Mini and Blackberry. In my Condo complex Cellular reception is horrible, which means the Blackberry is constantly "hunting" for signal and therefore the batteries drain very fast. Having the battery backup gives me piece of mind that I won't be without email/cellphone if the Blackberry is drained.

Another, unexpected benefit, was that I recently added a portable 320gb hard drive to my bag as well. It's supposed to be able to power itself on just 1 USB port on your computer, but has 2 USB heads in case it can't get enough juice to power the drive...And in my case, 1 port wasn't enough. Instead of having to use a 2nd USB port (and not have it available for something else), I plugged it into the Xantrex and it works beautifully.

No buyer remorse here, this is a solid product that gives you a bit of reassurance and piece of mind.

If you're looking for higher capacity, portability and the ability to plug your Notebook into it for extra runtime, take a look at the Xantrex 852-0281 XPower PowerSource 100 Watt Inverter. Or if you'd rather have something really small (about the size of 2 little tic-tac containers next to each other), check out IOGEAR GearJuice Mobile Pocket Power Pack

I've been a flight attendant for Delta airlines for 18 years, if I get a dollar for each passenger with a dead cell phone, I would have been retired by now. With this little Powersource battery, you can buy yourself an adapter for your cell phone and use it during your call to extend your battery life, or simply charge your dead battery during flight. I have bought two of these, one for myself and one for my girlfriend who makes her weekly commute to JFK airport. Both of us use it regularly to recharge our phone, and for our Zune players!!! It takes a few hours to recharge its built in battery, and with a full charge, it stays full charge for days. It can recharge your cell phone battery, from dead to full without any problem.

Got this as the battery life on the TMobile G1 Android phone is very short. I don't know how many charges this battery provides for the G1, but from my experience it does seem greater than one full charge.
It did a good job keeping the G1 running for music and game playing on a 12 hour international flight. The flip out miniusb plug is very convenient for charging the G1 without needing a cable. Also tried charging a usb device from the USB port and that works well too.

Only complaint is that the power button can end up pushed by accident, like in a bag, without intending to turn it on.

This little battery is really handy: it's small enough to tuck into my briefcase, backpack, or jacket pocket and light enough I forget I'm carrying it; it holds enough juice to fully charge my RAZR three times (and I mean from completely dead to completely topped off); it seems to hold a charge for a long time without bleeding off; and the little mini-usb out means I don't need to carry any other cables with me when I'm out and about.

Other perks: it comes with a car adapter and a wall adapter, both usb and both of good quality, so you can charge this thing from a computer, at home, or in the car; and it has two power outputs, the mini-usb one and a full sized usb out, so it's compatible with many devices.

Cons: I don't know why they didn't use a mini-usb in to power up. I have lots of cables that would charge from either usb to mini-usb, or wall plug to mini-usb, or car adapter to mini-usb. It would be very convenient for me, and probably many other people, if I could charge this battery up with the same cables that I otherwise use for my RAZR. For whatever reason, they decided to go with a special needs cable, so if I don't have it with me I can't restock the battery, and if I ever lose that cable I'll have to buy another one from the manufacturer.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this product, and highly recommend it.

I like this product because it's small and seems like it should do everything in Amazon's product listing. They say it should charge a PSP, which is the reason I bought this, but it doesn't.

I actually bought this to charge my blackberry on the go but ended up getting an iPhone and to my surprise it charge it just fine. It can charge my iPhone about 3 times before I need to recharge the mobile mini powersource. I keep it in my car and it really comes in handy especially when I am out and my iphone battery doesn't seem to last a long time (probably because I am constantly playing with it). I would definitely recommend this to anyone! The only reason it didn't get a full 5 star from me is because it has a proprietary plug to charge the unit itself. A usb type charger would have been ideal.

I use this mostly with my Blackberry tour and i love it. As anyone with a blackberry knows if the battery dies then it takes a long time to turn it back on. Also when the battery gets low the antenna shuts off now with this i never have to worry about that again. I am not sure how many charges i get off it but its at least 3.

I was searching for a portable power supply/source to end those times when my mp3 player or my phone would die and I'm nowhere near an outlet. This is perfect because I can plug the USB cable for my mp3 player and tuck it inside my pocket and stay mobile. The size is perfect for anyone to keep their devices charged

This power source doesn't take long to charge (via AC) and is perfect for those that forget to recharge their mp3 player or phone. I keep one in my book bag in case of emergency.

I've had this product for about two weeks and I've used several times to charge my Blackberry and iPod Touch. It's very handy when you are starting to run low on juice and don't want to stop working. I also loaned it to my neighbor when her power went out and she needed a quick charger for her cell phone. This is a great all in one charging unit and very portable.

This Li-ion battery pack is also made by Xantrex for Duracell, but sold at a higher price; it seems to be the exact same unit, so why not save ten bucks or so? It is ideal for powering my GPS and MP3 player in the field when away from another power source, since neither of these devices, like many today, have a removable battery. In a camera, for instance, you just buy an extra (albeit special) battery and keep it charged. This seems like a good solution to that problem; the 3,000 mAh capacity provides quite a bit of juice for powering these small devices until their battery can be recharged. I do wish it had a capacity indicator, such as a few LEDs, as other power sources have. Overall, this is a very good buy and fulfills a definite need!