AAUG Reviews

by Mike Baranowski ,AAUG Member

This small unit is a rechargeable battery pack. It looks like an iPod Touch or iPhone, and can offer up to an additional 55 hours of audio and 14 hour of additional video! It is easily charged and is perfect for travel. Safe to use on airplanes so you can enjoy additional play time, talk time, charge time, browse or email time anywhere – no hassles, no outlets. You can use it to power other devices (all USB devices, PDAs, cell phones, or PSPs) because it works with Kensington’s USB Power Tip pack with retractable USB cable. You can buy these additional connections at their website (all around $14.99). Since I was focused on using it to power my iPod I could use the standard iPod cable (USB/30 pin) from Apple at no additional charge. The battery pack sports a great charge gauge indicator. It shows how full the battery charge is at the press of a button on a five light system (all five being lit designating full). The button should be recessed to prevent it accidentally being depressed while in storage. Nice AC plug adaptor with flip down prongs for easy travel and USB receiver. It is compact and you can use any USB charger for iPods. This allows you to have them in multiple locations. Finally it comes with a USB cable (standard USB to 5 pin Mini USB) so you can charge it off your laptop or a wall outlet. When the unit is charging (off the wall out or any powered USB port) the battery gauge flashes one light to five lights. When the unit is fully charged all five lights stay lit.

Living in Alaska I always look for a lithium battery because a normal battery cell will be dead if left in the car during the winter. I ran a fast test by leaving the pack fully charged in the car for 8 hours at an average temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Without even warming it up I hit the button and had not lost a single light on the indicator. I own a Altec Lansing inMotion speaker system and it allows a standard 30 pin connector so I run that unit off this pack and the station plays while it charges my iPod. There is no case or sleeve provided with the purchase. If the unit were 0.2″ wider (see dimension data below) it could fit in every iPod Touch and iPhone case.
Rechargeable Pack Dimensions: 4.0″ x 2.2″ x 0.37″, Weight – 3.5 oz
iPhone Dimensions: 4.5″ x 2.4″ x 0.46″, Weight – 4.8 oz
iPod Touch Dimensions: 4.3″ x 2.4″ x 0.31″, Weight – 4.2 oz
In its current form factor it will fall out of these easily accessible well-made cases.

Packaging was clear so you could tell at first glance that it was an external rechargeable battery pack and could tell the rough size thru the package. The back clearly shows a bar graph depicting the remarkable 55 hours of additional audio time on the ipod. There was not much to learn about the unit but I still read the manual. It was a little more difficult to get thru quickly then I would have hoped because it was written in so many languages in the same section like this: “Contents / Contenu / Inhalt / Inhould / Contenuto / Contenido / Tartalomjegyzek / Obsah / Zawartosc opakowania / Conteudo” – you get the idea, it is a lot to look over for the word “Contents”. It is a 32 page manual and in English (the version of the product I am reviewing) the user section could have been all together and done in less then 3 pages. This is a minor point and it covered everything I needed to know including a 2 year limited warranty – The Kensington Promise.

I am glad to have this unit and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy their material for a long time without access to a power source (USB or wall outlet).