Customer Reviews

iGo powerXtender Universal Battery Operated Charger

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I use this to recharge my ipod while I am on an airplane. I watch movies on my ipod and the power always drains down before we land. This works like a charm - I plug in my ipod towards the end of one movie, and it fully recharges before the end of the movie, while I am still watching my Ipod. I use the charger that requires 2 AA batteries. I have heard the one that does not use batteries is not the one to get, that you want the batteries. I have flown for 2 months since getting this, and have not had to change the batteries yet.

The only con for this product is that the charger light is this annoying bright blue light. Its placed so that when I am charging my Ipod, the blue light has to face me. I put things over the charger to not have to see that light.

OK, here's the real deal. The IGO device does what it says it will do. It will provide a charge to your exhausted battery operated devices when you don't otherwise have access to an electric power source. How much of a charge you get will get will depend on your individual device and the type of batteries you use in the IGO itself.

Using the provided set of batteries, 2 AA Duracell standard Alkalines, I was able to get a 50% charge into my nearly depleted Kindle 2 battery. Using a fresh set of copper tops from my local drug store, again standard Alkalines, I pushed a 50% charge into my Blackberry phone. A set of Energizer Advanced Lithium batteries took my Blackberry from totally dead to 75% charged. Total transfer time in each case was about 3 hours. A longer lasting battery in the IGO would presumably provide more power, but do not look for 6 to 10 charges from a single set of batteries as one reviewer suggested, 'cause it ain't 'gonna happen.

One thing that most reviewers here have mentioned is the poorly designed battery access on the IGO. Those reviewers are right. It is difficult to open at first, and is easy to break afterwards. The engineer who dreamed this up was nuts. He needs to be hung up by his wrists for a week, while the manufacturer redesigns this part of the product to be something more conventional.

To compensate for this, the IGO is designed to be used with interchangable power tips that will accomodate practically every MP3 player, cellphone, ebook reader, and other portable gadget out there, making it the most versatile charger on the market. You will need to buy the tips you need separately, however; after all, the manufacturer can not know in advance which tips you require, and it would be unreasonable to expect the manufacturer to provide you with several hundred power tips for equipment that you don't even own. It would, of course, be best to determine which power tips you need prior to purchasing the IGO charger. Buy them together; get them together.

The down side is that it is not easy to determine which power tips you will need, short of going to the vendor's web site ([...]). They don't even provide a list of available power tips when you buy the IGO charger. I can tell you that the A32 tip will charge a Blackberry 8330 phone, and several other (but not all) Blackberry phones. I can also tell you that the A97 tip will charge a Kindle 2.

The charger and an appropriate tip is all you will need to boost your play/talk/listen/read time; however, I recommend that you buy the optional splitter cable to keep the weight of the charger off of the USB port on your device. The charger will work without it, but you run the risk of damaging your equipment. The manufacturer probably should have included this extension device with the product, but the price would then not have been competitive with other devices; and integrating it directly into the charger itself would not help with the marketing. Afterall, who wants to look at a pigtail hanging off of a charger when no one else's picture has it.

So we come to it at last. If you use your devices a lot, whether at the office or on some means of public transportation, and find yourself discharging your devices when power outlets are not handly, or your charging cables are at home, I think you will find this charger to be just what the doctor ordered. This one device will work with all your toys.

The iGo chargers and tips are really great. I use this to charge my cool *NEW* Kindle when I am away from power like on an airplane. They are just great products. I only need one charger to charge all of my electronic devices. Extremely handy & nice.

Great idea, and it works, but it's the worst design I've ever seen for such a device. If you don't buy the extender to go with it, you've got this relatively heavy brick hanging directly off your device. Not very slick. And every time I try to use it,I have to hunt down the parts and re-assemble it. It refuses to stay together. But there are very few devices of this type available and none that have the ability to power so many different devices, so it wins the race, if only by default. But I have a similar device made by Palm for the TX and Treo devices. It never comes apart, and it has a long lead on it so it's not hanging directly off the device. Now, if it could only accept the iGo tips. If you need one of these, by all means get one. It will do the job. But consider getting the extender to go with it and find some kind of case to carry it in...so the parts will be easy to find.

I have confirmed that this works as an emergency charger for the Amazon Kindle when used with the iGo A00 Sprint Phones Power Tip. However, I might be tempted to use it in conjuction with either the cable from iGo Everywhere PS00252-0003 Universal Wall (AC) and Auto (DC) Charger with Retractable Cable or with the Igo Power Splitter -- using either as a "strain relief" so that you don't have a big pod of batteries directly attached to a little connector in your Kindle.

Here is a really cool item that allows you charge your electronic item (in my case the Kindle) from anywhere. All you need are 2 AA batteries, and the appropriate tip (NOTE: THE TIP IS NOT INCLUDED, SO YOU NEED TO PURCHASE THE TIP THAT'S APPROPRIATE TO YOUR ITEM TO USE IT).

Two AA batteries (Energizer with mine) are included. Put them in and then put the appropriate tip on the end. Then plug the iGo into your device and turn the iGo on (slide switch on the end of the iGo up), and a light on the iGo turns on to let you know it's charging. When it's finished charging, do the reverse in removing it.

I would advise everyone to be careful with this, as the plastic is very thin, and with the batteries inside, I think one drop would have the plastic crack.

This device is really good for charging a Kindle or electronic device when you have no access to electricity (outdoors, traveling, power outage, etc.) or do not want to use a DC charger.

As for the number of charges you get from one set of batteries, so far I've gotten six and it's still going, and going, and going.....

I bought this to replace a lost Energizer USB battery charger, and immediately realized that this would solve a lot more problems than just charging my Blackberry on the road. Leveraging the iGo tips, I'm able to charge my iPhone, my Blackberry and my Kindle in one nice little device without having to resort to finding my chargers or ever carrying them on business trips. Fill the powerXtender with rechargeable batteries and check iGo's website for the correct tips and you're ready to travel lighter and smarter.

I purchased this charger plus a iGo tip to power my iPod Touch during a week, quite literally, spent in a jungle. It worked like a charm, and for a lot cheaper than iPod specific products that claim to do the same thing. I would leave my iPod Touch connected and charging overnight, ready to use the next day (I was collecting some data using a custom app).

A regular set of AA Duracells would just barely charge the iPod Touch once, a set of Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAs would charge the iPod completely about 2.5 times, and they weigh almost nothing.

I now also have tips for my cell phones and I carry this around when hiking, as a backup for my cell phone battery.

Bottom line: It works. It's inexpensive.

This is small enough to take camping and it powered my phone for trip with ease. I also imagine it will work well to keep my children's portable electronics going on long flights. It is nice to have and the fact that it can power different things with the different tips makes it quite useful...

I finally broke down and purchased an iphone 3GS 2 weeks ago. I am not tech savvy but knew enough not to purchase accessories at the AT&T store. I was really happy to find accessories on Amazon.
I have an iGo charger system for the past 3 years and have been extremely happy with its versatility. When I saw the iGo powerXtender Universal Battery operated charger for a whopping $3, I figured that this would be a great product since it used regular batteries. I felt this a real advantage for planes and for backpacking.

The problem is this. It doesn't give a full charge to my iPhone. The batteries that came with the unit(exp. 2016) charged it in 2 hours to 49%; then shut off. I used the iphone till drained to 18% and then tried it again with new batteries (exp. 2017). The charger shut off after 2 hours with only a 52% charge of the iphone. I toggled the charger off/on without effect. I then left the charger on and attached even though the charge light was no longer on. 5 minutes later the iphone and charger turned on and the iphone stated that the powerXtender was not a compatible device.

I left both devices attached and on for the rest of the night without any addtional charge added to the iphone. I don't remember any reviews prior to buying this stating this problem. If anything, i remember a few stating that they got up to 6 charges out of a pair of batteries.

I guess this device is acceptable for emergencies where you need some charge. Don't expect this device to allow you to use your iphone for plane or other social use unless you can live with a 50% charge and can wait 2+ hours to charge it. I can see keeping this device in your Emergency Preparedness Kit at home. I will be taking it with me backpacking but only for emergency use.

BTW, the iGo site now has a newer style for $50 but the reviews are no better.