(Edit: 14/4/2011 Added some extra ‘buying guide’ details at the end of the article and cleared some confusion regarding the power cut off while charging)
This is my package of the Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Boosters, similar to the Energizer’s Energy To Go. For those who don’t really know what this product is, it’s a mobile battery pack which you carry around with you that provides you with extra charging juice to all your mobile / tablet devices on the go.
I am holding on the 2nd generation model which provides 1A output, as compared to the older model which output only 500ma. This model works with the iPad and most of the upcoming tablets.
The estimated retail price for the product is about 40 pounds / $80SGD
The product will look like this when its opened.
Sanyo is quite generous in what they provide in the package. COming from the clockwise direction, they provide their very own eneloop battery pack – I will provide more close up’s on that later. An AC adapter to charge your device, A Sanyo battery pack manual, which contains all the necessary information – Don’t expose your battery to heat and what not. A MiniUSB power output cable to compatible devices (Mostly Android devices) and they included the MiniUSB to MicroUSB adapter as well for the later phone models which use that for a charging port.
Yes, you could plug your iPhone cable / other cables into the battery pack, and you are not restricted to the given bundles only.
Pretty generous.
The charger also provides a status indicator which provides you the current status of the battery, charging status, current power usage status, all in the power of a single LED light. Risky, if it spoils.
Alright. This is the back of the charger itself. It provides a lanyard slot to hang it around your neck – Which might cause some strain as it is a bit too heavy, slightly heavier than a mobile phone definitely.
The battery life of this device is quite good, I could get up to 2 to 3 charges on my HTC device, and probably 4 to 5 on my iPhone device. Sanyo promised a charge time from 7 to 14 hours. So, this device did hit their promised target, although above 10 hours might not be too realistic though.
Final Say: The device provides good and battery boast in times of need. There need to be a better indicator regarding the battery remaining in the device. The 2 USB power output slots definitely helped me when I am on the move. Although, don’t expect to charge high powered devices in parallel, such as an iPad and a phone together. During the test, the Eneloop battery pack shut down after a few minutes during the parallel charge.
( A reader asked me to clarify the above statement as it was lack of some key details, what I was trying to say is: The Eneloop battery was charging both my iPad and HTC phone, given that iPad is a power demanding product – the Eneloop battery charger actually switched off automatically after a few minutes probably due to the heavy power load, being put on by both devices.)
The Eneloop line of products is known for the long life cycles of the battery (Being able to charge / discharge numerous times as compared to competitors products). A decent buy I should say, if you are always heavy on the batteries and need the extra heavy battery juice on your media products, if not you should probably go for the cheaper mobile boaster which is about half the price and half the battery capacity.
J.
Related posts:
- Jeremy’s Weblog Mobile
- HTC HD2 Review
- Review: Philips GoGear Ariaz (8GB)
- Outlook of Mobile Apps Platforms Q1 2011
- Toshiba Folio 100 Review (Android Tablet)
Jeremy Goh
Jeremy is a friendly geek with a passion for Social Media and all things Technology/Design. When he is not obsessed with anything tech related, you can catch him emceeing, speaking in public or at Toastmasters, playing a quick game and coming out with some killer ideas! And yes, I offer Social Media Consultancy and Branding services. (more..)
Hey, what did you actually mean by :
“During the test, the Eneloop battery pack shut down after a few minutes during the parallel charge.”
That one sounded a bit strange, it’s like you are saying it won’t charge parallel -ly?
It was charging my iPad and HTC phone, as it was charging both devices at the same time, which iPad is very power demanding product – the Eneloop battery charger actually switched off probably due to the heavy power load.
Hi, can it charge HTC desire?
Yes of course, I am using a HTC Desire HD and its running fine.
Thanks for the clarification, just ordered one, should be getting it today! I’ll be wanting to charge my Desire and my wife’s iphone (parallel-ly) during trips, so I hope this will be sufficient! lol…
Hi, did you/can you test on the capacity of this device with the HTC Desire HD?
1) From a full charge, how many times can this device charge a Desire HD from 0% -> 100%?
2) How many hours for it to charge a Desire HD from 0% -> 100%?
You did mention you can get 2 to 3 charges on your HTC device in your article, just not sure if it’s Desire HD that you meant.
Thanks in advance!
About twice to thrice. It is hard to estimate.
Its about the same from the charger, about 2 hours?
Yes, and I am using a Desire HD.
can it charge nokia n8 through the microUSB port?
Not sure, if your Nokia supports computer to phone charging, it should be fine.
On my HTC Desire, it took about 4 – 5 hours to for a full charge. That’s slower than charging through the PC’s USB port, it usually takes about 3 – 4 hours charging through USB port.
I haven’t really read the manual, could it be that one of the USB charging port can charge at a high current? I know the charger from Zagg is like that…
hi, i want to know how to discharge this product ?.
because i always discharge this kind of battery such as A2 battery, before i charge….
thank you
It does NOT work on an N8. I have one and I tried.
Correction to that, it does not work on the Nokia N8 unless you use the converter given by them. That’s an absolute chore and my converter has decided to stop working with the N8 unless I place it at specific angles.
What are its competitive models? And the price mention is the same anywhere in Sgp?
To Jay: There’s Sony CP-A2L you can check out although there’s some online reviews regarding a humming sound whilst charging.
Both items are sold at Challenger in Sg. You may be able to buy it cheaper online at Gmarket etc.
Jeremy, I need a copy of the operating instruction manual. Would you be kind enough to email me a copy at qjake1@yahoo.com.sg? Thank you.
Hi, i’m using desire hd too..
Can this eneloop charge the dhd, while its running location (with voice and turn by turn on)…???
can it be used on Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 / 10.1 or Ipad? Any idea?
Thank you for your assistance.
I need a copy of the operating instruction manual as well. Got mine from G market. Not sure if the indicator light is suppose to be off when charging ordo i press the button to turn it on?
Nice review. I’ve been using mine for over half a year and have taken it on several international flights. This is when it really shines. On a transpacific flight from Japan to the USA I made sure I charged it the day before for over 8 hours (by wall socket, not by computer USB, which would take twice as long). I charged my wife’s and my iPhones and my wife’s iPad. All devices lasted for the full trip with pretty heavy use. Due to the length of time it takes to fully charge the battery, it is most useful for long flights. It can be used as a power backup in your briefcase, backpack, or purse, so long as you remember to fully charge it the night before and check the power indicator light if you’ve been carrying it around charged, but unused for a long time.
My one complaint, however, is the poor documentation. For others who asked above you can get it here: http://www.eneloop.info/fileadmin/EDITORS/ENELOOP/MANUALS/BOOSTERS/KBC-L2S_GB.pdf
You can also see an explanation of the indicator lights, on-line, here: http://us.sanyo.com/eneloop-mobile-booster/eneloop-Mobile-Booster-KBC-L2
For example, I am not getting the abnormal charging indicator and have no idea what that means or what I should do about it. Also, it used to charge up my iPhone very quickly, now the charge seems to be much weaker.
I found the following forum to be helpful: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1567212/all
But I shouldn’t have to scour the net to find such basic answers. Sanyo’s support customer support site is disappointing.