Computer,Music,Books

Miccus ChargeBlock Mini Portable Battery Charger for iPhones/iPods - Black

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Product Features:

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Technical Details:

Simple - Connect the ChargeBlock and keep using your iPhone or iPod while it recharges.

Compatible - Made for iPhone and iPod certified- recharges any model iPhone and iPod with a dock connector (30pin).

Easy - three indicator lights. Blue LED signals when fully charged and Red LEDs signal the remaining ChargeBlock capacity.

Smart technology- protective circuit designed to prevent your iPhone or iPod from overcharging, which can decrease battery life.

Operating times (Based on iPhone 3GS) - Up to 11 hours of audio, 3 hours of talk, 3 hours of video and 2.5 of internet (results vary by model).

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Customer Reviews:

Reasonable bang for your buck

Had high hopes for this external battery. Some salient points:
- One of the cheapest external iPhone batteries. There seem to be better ones out there, but at $100 or more. I know the phone is actually worth a lot more than the $199/299 we pay up front, but psychologically it just seems odd to pay
half as much again on an external battery, esp. for something that is more likely to be lost.
- Fits the iPhone pretty well, same width but about 50% thicker so it's not flush. Connection feels solid but you will probably want to be careful that it doesn't get bent and damage the iPhone's connector.
- Charge is fair, enough to go from <10% (red) up to ~60% charged. For me, that's enough to get me out of a jam when I'm on the go and need to extend the life of the battery a few hours. Definitely doesn't charge the phone to 100% as some others have reviewed, maybe it's my 1.5 yr old iPhone battery that is the limiting factor, but then again, I imagine many people looking at this product are in my shoes as well.
- Doesn't hold a charge more than a few days, so you can't charge it and just leave it lying around ready for emergency use. But then again, haven't met a rechargeable battery where you could do that anyway, but still you can't help but want that.
- Nice connect-through USB feature so you can leave the battery on the phone and charge it and your phone at the same time. However, the USB port is on the back of the battery, so you would have to lay your phone face down, and turn it over and hold it in your hands every time you want to use it.

So I think you get the point. It's not bad for the price and I feel like it does the job, but it's not exactly a 4 or 5 star item either IMHO. I'm a little surprised at the nearly unanimous high ratings from others, so I guess YMMV.

[Update 2 yrs later - well not surprisingly, it really doesn't hold a charge for more than a day. I didn't use it much, so it spent most of its life uncharged. Thankfully I've moved on to an iPhone 4 that lasts through the day. I still bring this with me on some trips just in case, but haven't had to resort to it yet.]

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