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battery posts

MSI Wind battery used as a not-exactly-portable, unreliable USB charger

by Laura June posted Jul 30th 2009 @ 9:06AM

Yes, we find the fact that our USB port won't charge our phone when our laptop is sleeping to be pretty annoying, too. But does that mean we'll rip the battery from it and use it as a semi-functional, clunky but self-sufficient charger? Well, probably not, but that doesn't mean someone else shouldn't. Now, we don't want to launch into a big round of spoilers or anything, but we'll say this: it takes a little over four minutes of sweet, blistering house music to get the battery off of the MSI Wind, and there are a couple of false starts before the phone (an iPhone) begins juicing up. The good news? It doesn't seem to permanently damage the battery pack in any way. The bad news? The song eventually does end. Check it out after the break.

[Via Oh! Gizmo]

Continue reading MSI Wind battery used as a not-exactly-portable, unreliable USB charger

Seidio Palm Pre battery adds more staying power, retains slim figure

by Ross Miller posted Jul 9th 2009 @ 2:51AM

Admit it, your 1150mAh stock Palm Pre battery is far less than stellar -- it's okay, we won't tell anyone. In fact, you can pick up an even larger, 1350mAh battery from Seidio that manages to keep the same physical proportions as its predecessor, meaning no dead giveaway / gaudy bulge the back of the phone. Ideally, that'd get ya an almost twenty percent bump in usage, but we doubt it pans out so nicely in field testing. Feel free to find out for yourself, it's on sale now for a cool $45.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

HTC Touch Pro battery goes rogue, lights up an otherwise fine pair of pants

by Darren Murph posted May 21st 2009 @ 10:04AM

Just a note to everyone who carries around a spare smartphone Li-ion in their rear pocket: buy thicker underwear. The scene you see above was all caused by an obviously volatile HTC Touch Pro battery, one that the pants-wearer claims is an authentic HTC cell and not a cheap-o alternative from eBay. As the story goes, a foul odor led him to a laundry pile, where he uncovered eight moist socks, a torched battery and a ruined pair of pants. Look, we're glad this guy's okay and all, but seriously, can you imagine what this testy little thing would've done when tossed into the dryer? It's a blessing in disguise, kiddo.

[Via phoneArena]

US Cellular's battery swap program puts a new charge in your handset, for free

by Darren Murph posted May 18th 2009 @ 8:32AM

Ever dreamt of keeping a phone so long that the original battery went kaput? And, during that same dream, did your loving, compassionate carrier decide to bless you with a second battery for free? No need to keep dozing, as regional operator US Cellular has decided to show up the big boys by introducing its Battery Swap program. Launching tomorrow, the initiative enables customers to come into any US Cellular store and "change out a dead or dying battery for a fully-charged one, for free." Needless to say, the firm is pretty stoked about being the only wireless carrier in America to offer such a service, though you should know that only phones which have been purchased within the last 18 months are eligible. Sounds fair enough to us -- so, when's everyone else jumping on this bandwagon? Bueller...?

[Thanks, Kristofer]

mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

by Darren Murph posted Apr 19th 2009 @ 1:31PM

mophie's Juice Pack Air -- better known as the planet's thinnest iPhone 3G extended battery and case -- doesn't officially go on sale until Tuesday, but we've been toying with one over the weekend in order to share with you whether or not it's a solid buy. We have to say, our early impressions are pretty positive, and if you're hankering to know more, follow us past the break for a few more details.

Gallery: mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

Continue reading mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

KFE's new phone charger powered by zinc-air batteries, science

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 24th 2009 @ 8:04PM

Those AA alkaline- and lithium-powered phone chargers are a totally handy (and relatively inexpensive) thing to throw into a bag and carry around in the event -- the incredibly likely event -- that you end up running your set dry at one time or another, but there's a small problem: those AAs don't go very far. Generally speaking, you'll get a couple charges out of a set of batteries, which makes them environmentally dubious at best and less convenient than you'd like them to be. That's where KFE Japan's new solution comes in: same concept, but the batteries are zinc-air instead of alkaline or lithium -- the same tried and true chemistry used by hearing aid batteries -- whereby you pop a lid open on the charger to expose the batteries to air, which starts the juice flowing. The advantage is that you're looking at about 20 charges before the thing's depleted, and when you're there, you'll be able to send it back into KFE to be recharged. The chargers will run 3,000 yen (about $31) when they launch in March. [Warning: subscription required]

mophie's Juice Pack Air: world's thinnest iPhone 3G battery / case

by Darren Murph posted Feb 11th 2009 @ 6:34PM

mophie's iPhone 3G Juice Pack received universal praise, and while the additional baggage bothered some, most users just appreciated being able to utilize 3G for more than 47 seconds without needing an AC outlet. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company has today introduced the new and improved version: Juice Pack Air. Contrary to popular belief, this actually isn't intended for Apple's MacBook Air (now there's an idea to capitalize on, mophie), but instead, it's the planet's thinnest external iPhone 3G battery / case. The device houses a rechargeable 1,200mAh battery that "virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send messages." Eager consumers can pre-order theirs now in black, purple or white, while patient souls can mellow out until they hit mophie's website and Apple stores everywhere this Spring. Full release is after the jump.

Continue reading mophie's Juice Pack Air: world's thinnest iPhone 3G battery / case

Exploding cellphone kills Chinese man

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 2nd 2009 @ 1:51AM

Here's the thing about batteries: they store energy. Lots of it. Channeled correctly, that energy does really awesome things for us -- but channeled chaotically, and... well, you know where this is going, don't you? A man shopping in a Lenovo store in mainland China has been killed after the phone in his chest pocket exploded, severing arteries and leading to massive blood loss. The make and model of the phone and battery have yet to be identified, but seeing how this is the seventh high-profile case of an exploding phone in China in the last six years, it really gives you pause before installing that shady off-brand juice, doesn't it?

Sony Ericsson's BST-33 Li-Polymer batteries swelling into a lawsuit?

by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 28th 2009 @ 7:31AM

We've seen plenty of swollen and exploding batteries 'round here, but this is the first Li-Polymer battery (a technology generally assumed to be more stable and less prone to swelling and fire than Li-Ion) that we can recall ballooning into such a possible danger. Reader Christian sent us these pics of what's normally a 4-mm thick battery (pictured right) inside his W880i handset now swollen to a full 7-mm. The BST-33 sits at the heart of a long list of SE phones, a list we've included after the break along with one more picture. Do let us know if you're seeing similar issues.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson's BST-33 Li-Polymer batteries swelling into a lawsuit?

Seidio's oversized G1 battery is bursting with juice and joy

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 16th 2009 @ 8:42AM

We're not particularly fond of over-sized battery covers in general; your average smartphone is chubby enough. That said, some handsets need more help than others in the longevity department and, given that we found the G1's battery life to be about a third that of the iPhone's in our review, it certainly falls in the "more help" camp. Seidio's Innocell 2600mAh replacement does the trick, offering more than twice the oomph of the stock 1150mAh cell, but it also resulting in a considerable bump in the chubbiness of a phone that wasn't particularly slender to begin with. Suffice it to say if you're still bummed about the G1's chin rubbing you the wrong way in your pocket this won't be the upgrade for you, but if your little Android stays constantly tethered to your laptop just to keep kicking, this might be $55 well spent.

[Via CrunchGear]

Palm Pre to use Centro-sized battery

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jan 16th 2009 @ 2:00AM

For all those commenters in our recent Palm Pre feature wondering just exactly what kind of battery we could expect to see in the device, wonder no more. According to Dieter Bohn over at the newly christened PreCentral, the phone will use the exact same battery as the Treo 800w and the Centro -- a 1150mAh model. Apparently Palm reps were happy to snap the back off the device and show the source of its juice off. That same size battery is used in the G1 as well, and Dieter notes that there's an aftermarket 1350mAh version which could offer more power. Certainly such a small battery -- a size which we know leaves a lot to be desired in a next-gen phone like the G1 -- isn't music to our ears, but since we don't know how the Pre handles power consumption, there's still plenty of questions to be answered. And hey, you could keep a spare around, right?

Update: Jenn at Pocketables tells us that the battery is 1200mAh as told to her by a Palm rep at CES.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Nokia admits some N73 batteries have put on a little weight

by Laura June posted Jan 10th 2009 @ 7:21AM

Nokia's fessed up to the fact that "a limited number" BP-6M batteries used in the N73 have, over time, swollen up -- apparently in some cases to about three-times their original size. The worst of these cases have resulted in handsets with a battery cover that won't close at the back -- rendering the phone totally not cool. It's a fairly common lithium-ion battery occurence after a few years, but don't worry -- it's not dangerous, just annoying. Look at this this way: at least the batteries aren't exploding.

Seidio adds 400mAh to your G1 without a new cover

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 1st 2009 @ 4:55PM

We've been hearing intermittent reports that T-Mobile may or may not be sending new, better batteries for owners of juice-deprived G1s in the field, but in the meantime, Seidio has a solution of its own. This 1400mAh battery is rated a full 400mAh higher than the OEM unit, presumably giving you an extra hour or two of Android-powered bliss between charges -- and even better, it fits in the same space with no replacement cover needed. $42.95 sounds steep, but then again, it's hard to put a price on talk time.

Student's tech promises 12x the battery life in your iPhone, BlackBerry

by Laura June posted Dec 19th 2008 @ 8:12AM

Feeling the hurt of endlessly dying batteries on your BlackBerry (or iPhone, if that's what you're into)? Atif Shamim, a PhD student at Canada's Carleton University might have the medicine for that pain of yours. He's cleverly hacked such devices, removing all the wires that connect the electrical circuits to the antenna, and developed a module for the connection to operate wirelessly. The result, he estimates, is that his modified devices use almost 12 times less power than they normally do -- which of course means longer battery life. A paper about the device has won an award at the European Wireless Technology Conference, and Shamin has filed for a patent in both the US and Canada. There's no indication of when we might start to see tech like this on actual commercial devices, but we're pretty sure plenty of companies are going to want to get a hold of this technology like, yesterday.

mophie's iPhone 3G Juice Pack unboxed and tested: high marks all around

by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 @ 9:49AM

Curious to know if your Benjamin will be well spent on mophie's iPhone 3G Juice Pack? TestFreaks is out to make sure you have an accurate answer to that, and judging by their report after two solid weeks of usage, the response is an emphatic "yes." Not only was the device sleek enough to not be incredibly cumbersome, but it actually performed as advertised. Reviewers were able to get their iPhone 3G from near-death to fully charged (twice!) on a single mophie charge, leading them to conclude that it "basically doubles the run time of the iPhone 3G" in a worse case scenario. Granted, even they couldn't overlook the particularly large price tag, but if you've been running bone dry with any level of frequency, we suspect the asking price won't matter nearly as much.

[Thanks, Kristofer]