This is the best battery if you’re looking for something that can charge your phone multiple times.
When you first open the box, you find a “Thank you for your purchase” card, the battery itself (which is in a plastic molding while in a plastic sleeve), your “Warranty Card”, your Manual, and many accessories! The accessories include two tangle-free micro USB cables (one 2-foot and one that is a little over 25.5 cm/ 10 in. You also get a Samsung tablet pin-adapter and a mini-USB adapter. Lastly, you get a really nice mesh bag sleeve that is really nice to carry the battery and one or both of the micro USB cables.
First Impressions and Use: The battery arrives with a little less than 75% of a charge. I know this because I charged my phone from 30% to 80% on the first use and it fell to the second light (indicating 50%). The battery has four LED lights which indicate how much power the battery has. When you press the button, all four LED’s light up from right to left and then a certain number of them stay on to show you how much power is left in the battery. It does have an ebony look and feel (like the product description says). One thing this battery has that beats other batteries that I have used is the brightness of its LED light. You hold the button for two seconds to turn it on. I have to say, this is the brightest LED light I have ever seen in any external battery pack. It is very nice and can prove to be extremely useful, especially if you find yourself in the dark in a power outage. Yes, you can charge your device(s) and have the LED light on at the same time. To turn the LED off, simply hold the button down for another two seconds and the LED light will turn off.
After managing to finally kill this huge beast, I charged it up. It took about 3-4 hours while charging at 1.5A (since this is its highest input). Its highest output is 2.1A and 2.4A. The battery has one 2.4A port and one 2.1A port. Both have something RAVPower has invented called iSmart technology. What iSmart technology basically is is something built into their USB ports on their batteries which allow fully maximized compatibility with all devices and enable the device to be charged as fast as it can handle. The battery can charge devices at speeds of up to 4A! It is something I definitely notice while charging my Samsung Galaxy S3. I was able to charge it from 30% to 100% in a little over an hour. I did this twice and I still had a four LED’s on the battery. That is truly amazing!! You don’t have to worry about your device not being able to be charged with this battery. You also don’t have to worry about it charging to slow, because with this battery, your worries on how much battery you have left are gone!
This battery is perfect for students, those that are camping, travelers, people with jobs, basically anyone that owns a device in this day and age that requires charging!
The reason I like this battery the most over the others is its LED and its brightness AND all of the extra accessories that it comes with. Many of the batteries I have had don’t come with extra cables or pin adapters.
Overall, I think this is a REALLY nice battery and it is extremely useful!! You’ll be sorry for not getting one while the price is down and while the battery is in stock!
I have no complaints on this battery. The only thing that could bother people is that the silver part can get scratched if you’re trying to plug in a cable in the dark.
*iPhone users: just because it does not come with Apple cables DOESN’T mean it won’t work with your device! Just plug in the original cable you use to charge your Apple device and you’re good to go. I used it with my Apple iPod Touch 4th Generation and it works great.
I was provided a unit for testing purposes and I promised to provide a completely honest and fair review.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the link to this product on Amazon because posting commercial links is forbidden, but you can find it on Amazon by searching for the product's name that is in the title of this thread. Thanks!
Do you have any photos of the actual device?
refinition said:
Do you have any photos of the actual device?
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Sure, here are some pictures. More pictures are on the Amazon link.
Related
I just picked up a Gum Plus for my Evo. Have not had any issues with the OEM Evo battery, but I saw a video review of one, and it got my interest for long international flights. It commonly takes me 20-28 hours to get back home from a trip, and I like the idea of knowing I won't have to baby the phones battery, any more.
Neat part of this is that it can likely work with any phone or USB powered device you own. They include a USB to mini-USB cable in the box, but I just used the USB to micro-USB that came with the Evo. It also includes an ipod cable or something, but I have no use for that.
The Gum Plus does not include an AC charger, but can be charged by your PC via the included USB cable.
Luckily, I have an AC to mini-USB charger, from my retired HTC Tilt. Worked fine, and took about two hours to charge it, from the half full state it was delivered in. From an empty state, it takes about 5 hours to charge completely. Once fully charged, 5 tiny LEDs turn on. These indicate charge state when in use.
From a completely dead Evo phone (turned off during charge), it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to go to full charge (green light on phone).
I completed 2 full charges in this manner (phone battery fails boot, to full green light), and 1 partial charge where the battery was taken from 45% to 72% (phone was off while charging). For the partial charge, I waited for the phone to indicate it was not being charged (orange light to no light). This partial charge took 39 minutes.
Regarding the weight of the unit, I used a kitchen scale to measure it out to .125 kilograms. This equals 4.4 ounces. If you are like me, 4.4 ounces has no real world meaning, so I stacked US quarter coins on the scale, until it hit the exact same spot. I stacked 22 quarters ($5.50) before it hit the same weight. It so happens that 22*0.200003364 (weight in ounces of a modern quarter) equals 4.4 ounces, so it looks like the scale is properly calibrated. In short, want to know how heavy it is? Put 22 quarters in your hand. I find it very light, especially as it will be going in my back pack.
This costs $10 more than its cousin, the Gum Pro, but the Gum Pro seems to suffer from a wonky switch that likes to turn itself on when kicking around in a bag (according to a bunch of reviews on Amazon). I really don't think this unit can have that issue, as the power switch is slightly recessed.
So far, I rate this a 5 out of 5. Does exactly what I expected, and I hope to get a few years out of it. I really like that when I upgrade my phone next year, the Gum Plus will continue to add value.
Here is the product page:
http://www.xtand.net/products/show/productid/9
I picked one up here:
http://www.mygearstore.com/Products...for-iPhone-3G-3GS-iPod-and-USB-Devices-Silver
Lists for $70 + free fedex ground shipping. By using "buymeaniphone" as a coupon code, they knocked $7 off, for a total of $63. That is just 3 bucks more than the wonky Gum Pro.
I hope someone finds this product as useful as I have.
Thanks for the initial impressions. Please continue to update this if you make any further findings. Also, any comments on the weight of the external battery? Heavier or lighter than you expected?
Berner said:
Thanks for the initial impressions. Please continue to update this if you make any further findings. Also, any comments on the weight of the external battery? Heavier or lighter than you expected?
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Berner, added final info on number of total charges, and the weight of the unit. Funny, but when I was looking for information prior to my purchase, I could not find any weight info for it (only the Gum Pro). Thanks to the "quarter" test, I can strongly say the Gum Plus is 4.4 ounces.
I think I might be interested in one of these things. Can you take a few pictures of it next to your Evo?
ShadoX said:
I think I might be interested in one of these things. Can you take a few pictures of it next to your Evo?
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My camera is in the car. I will post some pictures by noon, on Tuesday.
Can't find the link right now but theres an 8800 mah one for about the same price...not sure about the size cuz i have no idea how big this one here is to compare
Photos added.
GumboChief said:
I just picked up a Gum Plus for my Evo. Have not had any issues with the OEM Evo battery, but I saw a video review of one, and it got my interest for long international flights. It commonly takes me 20-28 hours to get back home from a trip, and I like the idea of knowing I won't have to baby the phones battery, any more.
Neat part of this is that it can likely work with any phone or USB powered device you own. They include a USB to mini-USB cable in the box, but I just used the USB to micro-USB that came with the Evo. It also includes an ipod cable or something, but I have no use for that.
The Gum Plus does not include an AC charger, but can be charged by your PC via the included USB cable.
Luckily, I have an AC to mini-USB charger, from my retired HTC Tilt. Worked fine, and took about two hours to charge it, from the half full state it was delivered in. From an empty state, it takes about 5 hours to charge completely. Once fully charged, 5 tiny LEDs turn on. These indicate charge state when in use.
From a completely dead Evo phone (turned off during charge), it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to go to full charge (green light on phone).
I completed 2 full charges in this manner (phone battery fails boot, to full green light), and 1 partial charge where the battery was taken from 45% to 72% (phone was off while charging). For the partial charge, I waited for the phone to indicate it was not being charged (orange light to no light). This partial charge took 39 minutes.
Regarding the weight of the unit, I used a kitchen scale to measure it out to .125 kilograms. This equals 4.4 ounces. If you are like me, 4.4 ounces has no real world meaning, so I stacked US quarter coins on the scale, until it hit the exact same spot. I stacked 22 quarters ($5.50) before it hit the same weight. It so happens that 22*0.200003364 (weight in ounces of a modern quarter) equals 4.4 ounces, so it looks like the scale is properly calibrated. In short, want to know how heavy it is? Put 22 quarters in your hand. I find it very light, especially as it will be going in my back pack.
This costs $10 more than its cousin, the Gum Pro, but the Gum Pro seems to suffer from a wonky switch that likes to turn itself on when kicking around in a bag (according to a bunch of reviews on Amazon). I really don't think this unit can have that issue, as the power switch is slightly recessed.
So far, I rate this a 5 out of 5. Does exactly what I expected, and I hope to get a few years out of it. I really like that when I upgrade my phone next year, the Gum Plus will continue to add value.
Here is the product page:
http://www.xtand.net/products/show/productid/9
I picked one up here:
http://www.mygearstore.com/Products...for-iPhone-3G-3GS-iPod-and-USB-Devices-Silver
Lists for $70 + free fedex ground shipping. By using "buymeaniphone" as a coupon code, they knocked $7 off, for a total of $63. That is just 3 bucks more than the wonky Gum Pro.
I hope someone finds this product as useful as I have.
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Just check the site and there's now a 6000 mAH version of the Gum Pro... 79.99
http://www.usbfever.com/index_eproduct_view.php?products_id=2607
faslane said:
Just check the site and there's now a 6000 mAH version of the Gum Pro... 79.99
http://www.usbfever.com/index_eproduct_view.php?products_id=2607
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Probably because that was 2 years ago .... gravedigger There's also some 10k mAH for around the same price from other places.
Just got it in the mail - had pre-ordered it from Mobile Fun about two weeks ago.
Someone else posted pics already, but couldn't find the thread - here are my own.
Note, the case acts as a battery charger, and starts delivery electricity as soon as you put the phone in. There is no switch on it. I'll have to see in the coming days, but it looks like it's necessary to only put the pack on when you need it.
Things I fear but may be unfounded:
it won't be practical to leave the case on at all times
need an extra charger to charge them seperatly and efficiently
I hope I'm wrong, and hope I can just keep it on at all times, and charge both the battery and phone at the same time using one charger.
Thanks to Eiraku posting in this thread, I was able to find the original thread for this battery pack:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1110441
Mods please feel free to merge subjects.
Here are more pics
Isnt it a bit harmful to always have the battery at 100% charge level and even have trickle charge, they should have implemented a switch or at least some control mechanism to have it start charging only at around 50-80%
I think you're right, and indeed, the case start charging the phone even if the phone's battery is full.
From the manual:
"When not in use, remove your phone from the power pack."
Kinda of a let down. But I'm still happy to have it for my asian trip at the end of the week - electricity will sometimes be a luxury.
The purpose of this case is kinda moot if it does not have a switch and cant be kept in use.
Thanxs for the pics...I ordered this case from expansys a month ago and am still waiting on it to ship. Looks great.
So what is the purpose of this button
wiaza100 said:
So what is the purpose of this button
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There IS no such button. Only the battery tester button (which is useless).
Cost cutting, Samsung? You delayed the battery pack to remove that freaking power toggle?
Personally I can't wait for PowerSkin to come up with something better (OR that urban legend official 2000mah internal extended battery with new cover to come out). But as of rite now, I'll take what I can get.
To OP: thanks for the nice pics. They're much better than mine anyway. And welcome to the club!
There is indeed a button as indicated on the pic you have there, but on mine, it doesn't quite look like that. There is no marking on it or next to it - it's a simple push button which function is to indicate battery level. When you push it, the battery indicator will light up green, blue or red according to its energy level.
The pic you have may be a prototype or maybe a different version other people are going to get?
Without power toggle
I will cancel the order
Guys,
Surely just because there is more power available behind the standard battery, doesn't mean the phone will suddenly start drawing more power from it?. A car doesn't consume more petrol when the tank is full... how would this be any different to putting a ...say 2000 mAH battery (if it becomes available) instead of the original OEM battery??..
More mAH added by the sleeve should give extra run time...
Riz
I'm no electrician, but I like the full tank analogy.
Imagine the tank is full, but let's say I keep pouring fuel in the tank while the engine is running ... kinda of a waste as the extra fuel will spill - not to mention the danger.
So the question here, if the energy or extra energy delivered by the battery isn't being consumed, is it wasted? Is there danger if there is "spillage" in the form of heat? This phone can already get incredibly hot it you use it as a GPS for an extended period of time.
I'm still concerned about what the manual says about removing the pack when unused.
Actually, I have all confidence that this is a "smart" charger, in the sense that it will only top up the internal battery as necessary.
Using it as an "extender", I have no issues getting 3-4h extra on really heavy, constant screen on 3g surfing. It didn't even get hot at all, so power was NOT needlessly drained.
As a "charger", I got from 6% to about 42% from a fully charged extpack. In this config, the case did get quite warm, which indicated that it was quickly expending its reserves to charge the SGS2.
For a 1300-ish mah pack, this is more then consistant performance in my book, from my experinces from owning multiple iPhone 4 batt cases.
Only issue is with the lack of power toggle, there's much less flexibility allowed. You can't choose to keep the extpack as an emergency reserve UNLESS you take it out.
Also, it only takes in 700ma (the Samsung charger is rated at 750) and gives out 650ma, which means that in the event that you are charging a fully depleted extpack and say a 50% power left SGS2, the charging of the extpack will take FOREVER (phone first, then case).
But charging the SGS2 takes forever to begin with, so...
I'm no electrician myself...
But... about the car engine.... there are fuel governor controllers which only allow enough fuel as is needed to enter the combustion chamber...
but.... we talk of batteries... the way electrons work.... my understanding is...
flow of electrons is decided by the potential differnece available for them to travel across.. the higher the potential difference... the more electrons would flow...
So, lets say... the SGS2 has a power consumption of 100 milli-amps (based on whatver the volgtae rating is).... a 100 mah battery would run it for 1 hour... a 500 mah battery would run it for 5 and so on....
Adding a battery in parallel.... would not increase the power consumption from the original spec'd power requirement of 100 milli-amps... it'll just increase the total amperes available to run the device... so.... more ampere-hours available... hence longer hours available to run the phone
Quite simply, it is similar to leaving your phone connected to the charger... I'm sure most of do this every night for the duration of the night....
leave the phone connected to the charger... i.e.
Ars Technica has a good article on batteries. It basically says this thing should have a power button!
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...-is-the-best-way-to-use-an-li-ion-battery.ars
"On the other end of the spectrum, keeping a Li-ion battery fully charged is not good for it either. This isn't because Li-ion batteries can get "overcharged" (something that people used to worry about in The Olden Days of portable computers), but a Li-ion battery that doesn't get used will suffer from capacity loss, meaning that it won't be able to hold as much charge and power your gadgets for as long. Extremely shallow discharges of only a couple percent are also not enough to keep a Li-ion battery in practice, so if you're going to pull the plug, let the battery run down for a little bit. "
I believe that the phone, like the iphone, and most laptops, don't fully throttle their devices on battery. So maybe when it's plugged in it would use more power thinking that it's tethered into the wall. I had that issue with my iPhone 4. I had a battery case for it. The phone itself could last me say, 6 hours on its 1400 mah battery. When I put the 2000 mah battery back on it, before the battery pack died, was only 5 hours. So my phone consumed 2000 mah in 5 hours, while on the internal (smaller battery) it consumed it within 6 hours. Hmm... That's not right. So, then I investigated it and while plugged in the phone went into "performance mode"
Is that at all possible on THIS phone as well? hehe.
I'm not big on the whole battery switch, so, I'm skipping this case. I wrote power skin and let's see if they release one for the SGSII. I'd love it if they did
zkyevolved said:
I believe that the phone, like the iphone, and most laptops, don't fully throttle their devices on battery. So maybe when it's plugged in it would use more power thinking that it's tethered into the wall. I had that issue with my iPhone 4. I had a battery case for it. The phone itself could last me say, 6 hours on its 1400 mah battery. When I put the 2000 mah battery back on it, before the battery pack died, was only 5 hours. So my phone consumed 2000 mah in 5 hours, while on the internal (smaller battery) it consumed it within 6 hours. Hmm... That's not right. So, then I investigated it and while plugged in the phone went into "performance mode"
Is that at all possible on THIS phone as well? hehe.
I'm not big on the whole battery switch, so, I'm skipping this case. I wrote power skin and let's see if they release one for the SGSII. I'd love it if they did
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There's also the fact that a battery directly wired to the device will always perform better per mah vs an externally mounted battery. Heat loss through the external connector, yada yada.
If you're afraid of "performance mode" (which I also think some phones have), just use SetCPU to override it, like I do.
I'm hoping PowerSkin comes up with something soon too - as a case, the ExtPack has really crappy all round protection, especially on the front (getting the SGP Glas protector because of this).
i'd go for the case only without the battery.... it looks quite dangerous...
If you’re looking for a battery that’ll keep charging your phone and will last for a LONG time, this is the battery for you!
When you open the packaging, you pull out a plastic molding and you find the battery and a micro-USB cable. Under the battery, you’ll find a “We’d love to hear from you!” card and an Instruction Manual.
First Impressions and Use: The battery arrives with about 75% remaining (three of the four LED lights). They recommend that you fully charge the battery before using it. After charging the battery up fully, I plugged the provided cable into the port with two lightning symbols and charged my Samsung Galaxy S3 from 30% to 95% in a little over an hour! The battery does feel heavy, but it has a whopping 20000mAh! Of course it’s going to be heavy! It has a nice blue color and it feels great! You can really get a good grip on the battery with its smooth, plastic texture. Don’t get me wrong, it may be plastic, but it still feels high quality.
After using the battery for some time, I figured out that you can turn on the flashlight by holding down the button for two seconds. Holding it for two seconds again will turn on the flashlight. If you just press the button, the LED lights will light up, indicating the amount of juice the battery has left. There are two ports, one with one lightning symbol and another with two lightning symbols. The port with two lightning symbols outputs at 2.1A. The port with one lightning symbol outputs at 1A. If you plug your device into the port with two lightning symbols, you don’t have to worry about slow charging speeds. If you have to share with your friend, you can let them use the less superior one-symbol port and they won’t even know the difference. In the end, both devices will get charged up.
I throw this into my backpack and into my car wherever I go. It has become an item required for survival (like my phone). I honestly can’t see myself going on a long trip without this. This will be great for students, people that work, people that are traveling, and people that can’t find at outlet in time. I have had this for about a week and I still have three LED’s light up when I push the button.
This battery is nothing short from great. I just don’t know how else I can say it really is amazing. The only complaint I have is that it does not have a carrying pouch like some competitors have with certain batteries of theirs, but that is not a huge issue. Other than that, this product is truly incredible! I highly recommend this! For the price you’re paying and for the size of a battery you’re getting, Poweradd is beating all of its competitors!
I was provided a unit for testing purposes and I promised to provide a completely honest and fair review.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the link to this product on Amazon because posting commercial links is forbidden, but you can find it on Amazon by searching for the product's name that is in the title of this thread. Thanks!
how long does it take to charge the pack with a 2.1A charger? received mine with 3 light charge and after 12 hours it still shows 2 steady lights and one blinking!
This is a remarkable battery and has to easily be one of RAVPower’s best products!
When you open the fancy packaging, you find the battery lying in a trey-type box that lifts out of the whole thing. Looking at the pictures I have posted will help you see what I am talking about. There is a thin sheet of plastic on glossy finish of the battery which is on its back. When you lift out the trey, you find an AC Adapter with the plug for your country that hooks onto it. You also find these things:
-Two USB charging cables (you plug in the tip you desire to charge the certain device)
-Four USB charging tips (Samsung Tablet, micro-USB, etc.)
-One DC Charging Cable
-Ten laptop tips for various types of laptops (Dell, HP, etc.)
-A Grey Carrying Pouch
-An Instruction Manual
First Impressions: The packaging blew me away! They’ve packaged it as if it is a phone or tablet. This is truly high-end. The battery itself has a really nice aluminum-type finish on the front and a smooth, glossy finish on the back. The back has a thin sheet of plastic covering it that you peel off. The LCD screen also has a thin sheet of plastic. The black colors along with the brilliant RAVPower logo compliment the battery quite nicely. Pressing the power button illuminates the brilliant LCD screen which has a battery icon, capacity (exact), USB output indicator, Power Icon, and Output Voltage. The battery feels really nice and already feels like it is worth what it is sold for. The battery does feel heavy, but be realistic. This can charge your laptop and cellular devices simultaneously! Also, it’s 23000mAh!! Of course it’ll have some weight. The battery comes partially charged.
After charging the battery up to 100%, I decided to run a test. I was watching a show on Hulu and my laptop’s battery was at 48%. I plugged in the external battery and started charging my HP Pavilion dv6-3257cl Entertainment Notebook. I also plugged in my Samsung Galaxy S3 while it was at 8%. I left these devices plugged in for fifty minutes and I continued watching the show on Hulu the whole time. The laptop went from 48% all the way to 84%. My phone went from 8% to 67%. The external battery went from 100% to 45%. Keep in mind that I was heavily using my laptop while it was being charged, so that is why the battery went down fairly quickly. From these results, you can see that the battery did pretty good! If you were to charge your laptop with the external battery when you weren’t using it, you would have more juice left in the external battery when you finish. I HIGHLY recommend using the cables that came with the product to charge your cellular devices for best results in both efficiency and charge time. Having the external battery charge only my phone makes it charge it really fast! This is a really well-built and high-quality battery!
This would be great for students, people that work on laptops, and people that travel. Just about anyone who owns a laptop needs to have this battery. It can truly be a life-saver while you are on a plane, or a train, or even in the car. Let’s say you have to type an essay or type up something for your boss and your laptop dies. This battery will save you and your device’s life.
Overall, this battery is amazing! I will definitely be using this frequently. I can’t imagine how I have survived without this. I would have to carry my long charger for my laptop with its power brick and everything. Comparing this to other batteries, RAVPower has them beat in both quality and price. Having the nice carrying pouch is also a huge bonus. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like except for having to use the cables that came with the battery to charge my phone. This isn’t a huge deal. Other, than that, this battery is pretty nice and I highly recommend it!
I was supplied a unit for testing purposes and I promised to provide a completely honest and fair review.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the link to this product on Amazon because posting commercial links is forbidden, but you can find it on Amazon by searching for the product's name that is in the title of this thread. Thanks!
This is a great battery that can easily keep you going throughout your day!
In the box you get the battery itself, a micro-USB cable, a carrying case, and an instruction manual.
First Impressions: Whoa, this is small! You can easily carry this with you in your pocket everywhere you go. I have had a good amount of lipstick batteries, but never one shaped in a triangular prism. This is definitely something unique that I have not seen. When o received the battery, I had to charge it before using it because it arrived dead.
After using this for a while, I can definitely say that this is a great battery! While you are charging it, a red light will shine within the USB port. When it is done charging, the light will turn blue. When you want to charge you phone, you simply plug the micro-USB to your phone and the USB into the battery. The device will start charging. My only complaint is that the battery will not light up or anything, so you don't know the remaining capacity and you have to look at your phone and see if it is charging. However, the battery's performance outshines its small problems, and it is great! I don't know what else to say, this is a great battery that works and gets the job done. The pouch that the battery comes with is nice, durable, soft, and a nice bonus.
I would recommend this to someone who wants an extremely affordable battery that is still high-quality and will excel in its job. Also, someone who wants a battery that is small, lightweight, and easy to carry.
Overall, this is a nice product and I highly recommend it.
I was provided a unit for testing purposes and I promised to provide a completely honest and fair review.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the link to this product on Amazon because posting commercial links is forbidden, but you can find it on Amazon by searching for the product's name that is in the title of this thread. Thanks!