Hardware Accessories Review: USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad

Published October 13th, 2010 in accessories, hardware-review, iphone, ipod touch, reviews, usbfever-reviews, wreview-wednesday

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USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad

As much as we love our iPhone, iPod and iPad, there’s something to be said about the NON-REMOVABLE battery that can be a pain to deal with. Unlike many other devices and smartphones that offer a removable battery where you can replace a freshly charged up new battery when the current one is dying, we are stuck with that one NON-REMOVABLE battery that is practically soldered in. So, when our iPhone, iPod and iPad are giving us the Battery Low warning, we are stuck with it. Either we get it charged up, and in many cases, we’ll be tied up to a wall or to a computer or we just stop using it or drain it until the battery drains. So what to do? As mentioned in my previous review of USB Fever’s External Portable Battery for iPhone and iPod, we can get ourselves a portable “emergency” battery that we can use in such circumstances to charge up our devices. Today, I’ll be reviewing another similar emergency battery that also comes with its own charger, so you don’t need to bring along your iPhone or iPod charging cable and it comes with its own AC adapter so you can charge it without needing an AC adapter.

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USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad offers several features all in one:

a portable battery with connector to charge up your Apple device
a wall socket charger for its internal battery
a wall socket charger for your Apple device
a data/charging cable that will enable charging and data sync to your computer

All of this in one little rectangular box about the size of a bar of soap. How do they do that? Let’s take a look.

Looking at the charger/battery from the front only not yield much information except for the logo in the shape of a “Q” and an apple inside it. On one side of the device (our left) shows a thin silicon based, rubbery cable that runs along a grooved line that traces over several sides of the device. A hint of its charging features can be revealed with what looks like the typical AC wall socket prongs that are stored and tucked inside the box. Looking over at the other side (our right) we see the black cable ends and is tucked and embedded inside the box. At one end is a USB symbol, next to a two lights labeled: Li-ion and ON/BATT and a Power button labeled with the POWER symbol. Obviously, there’s an on/off switch for the battery. Now flipping it over to the back side shows a removable panel and a slider switch with a red dot. Opening up the panel will reveal the typical iPhone/iPod/iPad connector. Remove the connector out and you will discover that the black silicon based rubbery line is actually the charging cable. Peel off the black cable from its side grooves and you’ll see that it’s a battery charger. Press on the Power ON/BATT button on the side and it will turn on a green light and if connected to an iPhone or similar device, will discharge the internal battery and transfer the power to the Apple device. If you push on the red dotted slider and slide it to the right, you’ll find that you’ll push out the previously hidden AC wall socket prong, allowing it quick and easy charging of its internal battery. To charge up the battery, simply connect and plug in the entire battery with the AC prongs out to the wall electrical outlet. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that there is an indicator light to show when it is plugged into the wall and charging. If you plug in only the entire battery by itself, it will only charge its internal battery. However, if you connect your Apple device and also plug it into the wall socket, you will charge both at the same time.

Finally, the other end of the cable can also be removed to reveal a male USB connector. You can then use it as a data sync cable, plugging your Apple device to your computer and performing an iTunes sync. However, I have found that the USB connector, although will work, isn’t well designed to plug and fit snugly into a USB port. Perhaps it may be due to the small size of the entire device but I have demonstrated in my video that in order for the connection to work, I may have to jiggle the connection a bit for it to connect. Thus, I would not recommend anyone use or expect to use it as data sync cable as it can cause a lot of frustrations. However, as a battery with a charger built-in, I think this is a great tool. Read on for more information.

More details of USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad (taken from USB Fever’s website)

Highlights:
When you are out, what need to be with your iPhone / iPod?

First of all, you need a chager when your internal battery runs out of power;

Secondly, you need a short and portable USB - Dock cable for charging your iPhone, it should be short and small, tiny, compact… in size.

Thirdly, it should also could be rapidly rejuiced by the A/C power instead of relying on the snail USB Port.

Finally, the battery should be nicely moulded, good hand feel and pocketable.

If you are looking one as the conditions above, then this one should be an ideal solution to you.

Features:
- External battery for your iPod / iPhone
- including a short USB - Dock cable for charging and hot-sync with your iPhone / iPod.
- ON / OFF Switch
- LED Light
- Ideal for travellers

This accessory is compatible with:
- Apple iPad
- iPhone 4 (or 4G)
- iPhone 3Gs
- iPhone 3G
- iPhone 1st Gen
- iPod Touch 3rd Gen
- iPod Touch 2nd Gen
- iPod Touch 1st Gen
- iPod Classic 120G
- iPod 5th Gen (Video)
- iPod Nano 5th
- iPod Nano 4th
- iPod Nano 3rd

Specifications:
- Input: AC100~240V 50/60Hz
- Output: DC5.1V - 5.5V
- Output Capacity: 650mA
- Capacity: 1400mAh

Color:
- White

Package Contents:
- Travel Battery / Charger set for iPhone / iPod / iPad x 1

Packaging:
- Box

Slideshow of USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad

Video of USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad

Video review of USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad

I Liked:

Portable emergency battery
Compact package design
1400mAh capacity
Built-in charger
AC wall socket prongs fits back neatly into device and slides out when needed
Prongs locks into place
Battery discharge button and light indicator
Can charge internal battery and iPhone simultaneously
Charging cable is removable and turns into data sync cable
can negotiate balancing iPhone on it when plugged into wall socket

I Didn’t Like:

No charging indicator for internal battery
Short cable
USB connector does fit snugly into USB port
No battery level indicator

Here are my observations:

I Liked:

Portable emergency battery

This is a very portable “emergency” battery that won’t take up much weight or room in your travel bag but can be a life saver at times when there isn’t any power nearby to charge up your iPhone or other Apple devices.

Compact package design

This is a great neat package design, with all components tucked back neatly away when not in use and when transporting it, yet still very functional. I love how everything all gets tucked back neatly back inside.

1400mAh capacity

This battery offers a decent amount of battery capacity offering 1400mAh. Unlike the product I previously reviewed, USB Fever’s External Portable Battery for iPhone and iPod which offers 1900mAh, this is still packing a good charge with the added built-in charger, eliminating the need to bring along your data cable or other charging accessories.

Built-in charger

One of the strong features of this device is its built-in charger offering a slide out AC wall socket prong that you can quickly and easily plug into the wall for quick charging. Obviously, with this built-in wall socket prong, you won’t need all those other extra accessories like AC adapters and charging cables to use this. It’s all built-in.

Wall prongs slides in and out when needed

I like the design of the AC wall socket prongs and how it neatly fits back inside the device when not in use (and possibly avoid causing damage to other items as well as itself). To use the charger feature, simply press down on the red dotted button at the back of the unit and slide it to the right. The wall prongs will come out. When putting it back in, simply do the opposite, press down on the button and slide it to the left. Very simple.

Wall prongs locks into place

This is a very important and essential feature which may be overlooked that makes the wall prongs “work”. The wall prongs when either extended out or pushed back in, “lock” into place, avoiding any unnecessary issues that may be caused if it did not have a “locking” mechanism. Imagine how frustrating it could be if the wall prongs don’t “lock” into place when extended. When you push the prong into the wall socket, the socket will be pushed back in and you can’t plug it into the wall. Also, similarly when putting it back in. Imagine how much damage it could cause to itself an other items in your bag if the prongs slid back out? Understand what I’m saying?

Battery discharge button and light indicator

It is an important feature to have a discharge/Power button and a light indicator showing that the battery is discharging. If there were no such button and light indicator, the battery would discharge as soon as it detects connection with an Apple device and without the light, you wouldn’t know if there were any battery juice left in the battery.

Can charge internal battery and iPhone simultaneously

I like how this unit can support charging both its internal battery and an Apple device simultaneously, cutting down the time required to charge both separately. Simply connect the Apple device to the battery and plug it into the wall.

Charging cable is removable and turns into data sync cable

One interesting feature is that the charging cable can be transformed into a data sync cable. Simply pull out the other end of the charging cable and you will find the other end to be a USB connector. To sync data like syncing to iTunes, you can plug in your Apple device to this cable and plug this cable to your computer.

Can negotiate balancing iPhone on it when plugged into wall socket

One thing I have discovered myself about this is that, due to the short length of the charging cable and the design of this unit when plugged into the wall, I can actually put my iPhone/iPod on top of this when charging. Since the unit plugs into the wall socket with the flat side up, and since the cable is too short and would be hanging off the cable if left alone by itself, it only makes sense to place the iPhone on top of the flat side of the unit. I think that the designers of this battery unit had it in mind when designing this.

I Didn’t Like:

No charging indicator for internal battery

Unlike other portable batteries, this battery doesn’t seem to offer a light indicator when it’s charging. But, most times, you’d know that it is charging unless the power went out or you’re at a place where you’re not sure if there’s power to the wall socket. If you have your iPhone connected while plugged into the wall, you will know it’s charging when the iPhone makes its beep sound and the charging indicator screen shows up. But when you don’t have anything connected, you are just out of luck.

Short cable

As mentioned already regarding the design of the unit when plugging it into the wall, I am finding that the short cable can be a bit of a nuisance. However, it isn’t that big of a deal since the main issue of the “hanging” iPhone when plugged into the wall has been somewhat addressed.

USB connector does not fit snugly into USB port

Although the idea of having the charging cable become a removable data sync cable is a good one, unfortunately, in practical terms, it doesn’t work very well. Yes, you can remove the cable at the USB end and yes, you can plug it into a USB port. But, unfortunately, there is a bit of a flaw in design as it doesn’t plug into the port as snugly as any other USB connector does whether it’s for a mouse, cable, etc. I have already demonstrated how I needed to jiggle the connector around in order for the iTunes to launch upon detection of the iPod Touch. Unless you are willing to hold on to your cable for hours when it’s doing its iTunes backup and sync, I’d strongly suggest you bring along your data charging and sync cable instead. This is a sad substitute.

No battery level indicator

I am somewhat dumbfounded that a battery doesn’t offer a battery level indicator. How else would I know whether the battery has only 10% of juice left or 90%? There is no such way to determine the level of battery at all and this is a very silly oversight by the makers and designers of this.

However, considering all the other features that are offered in this package, I guess many can overlook this point and still consider it as a travel essential tool to take along.

Review Summary

USB Fever’s Travel Battery/Charger set for iPhone/iPod/iPad is a portable emergency battery that offers a bit more than simply an emergency battery pack. It comes with a set of AC wall socket prongs that extend and retract when not in use, allowing for easy charging of its internal battery. You can also plug in an Apple device when it’s plugged into the wall for simultaneous charging og both devices. It comes with a charging cable allowing for quick charging of your Apple device. And, the charging cable can be removed and transformed into a data sync cable allowing for iTunes synchronization. However, the USB connector doesn’t fit snugly into a USB port so I wouldn’t recommend using it for data sync. Aside from its shortcomings of a lack of battery level indicator and short cable, the battery’s 1400mAh capacity and its built-in wall socket prong may help you overlook these points. Its compact design offers something to like, as its overall rounded corner rectangular shape the size of a bar of soap yet still very functional as a travel charging tool makes this a worthy product to take a closer look at.

Enjoyed this review? Check out the many other USB Fever reviews, accessories reviews plus software reviews such as palm os software review, windows-mobile software review, symbian os software review, iPhone and ipod touch software review.

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