External battery pack available for iPhone?

**dre99gsx** · 07-12-2007, 10:46 PM

For those of us who travel and would like a "2nd" battery pack, does anyone make a portable battery pack that can plug into the bottom of the iPhone? That would solve the unreplacable battery issue. Also, being that 400 charge cycles (full cycles, which most of us who charge our phones when we get home from work will probably not induce a full cycle for a long time) only reduces battery life to 80%, I doubt folks will be needing a new battery for the life of the phone.

Eitherway, Belkin should come up with something like this eh?

**dre99gsx** · 07-12-2007, 10:47 PM

Uh, never mind... answered my own question.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...62366?v=glance

**robert1_1** · 07-30-2008, 10:45 AM

Does anyone know if the richardsolo external battery will also charge the iPhone 3G or do you have to keep it on while you're using the iPhone? It looks like the best option to keep extra charge handy, you don't need to carry around the iPhone cable with you, but it would be a little clunky to have to keep on the whole time while you're using it.

Is this the best option for a mobile charge?

**wot_fan** · 07-30-2008, 10:53 AM

I have the RichardSolo battery. It will charge your 3G. As far as the phone is concerned, it is no different than connecting it to any other power source. When I am low on power I use it to charge my 3G, but I remove it when I actually use the phone. As you pointed out, it is kind of bulky to leave on all the time.

I like the fact that it is charged via a standard USB cable. Since I already take a USB cable on the road with me, it allows me to leave the Apple cable at home. Overall, I think it is a good product. I am not sure if there is anything better on the market though.

**robert1_1** · 07-30-2008, 10:59 AM

Thanks for the info. One more question, with the usb cable can you charge from a wall outlet AC or only from a PC?

**wot_fan** · 07-30-2008, 11:08 AM

The USB cable will allow you to charge the external battery using either the included wall charger or a USB port on your computer. It may take longer to charge via the computer's USB port though.

**robert1_1** · 07-30-2008, 11:10 AM

OK, thanks. Sounds like this is the way to go for compact, mobile charge. Ordering one now. No more battery anxiety for me.

**BeyondTheTech** · 07-30-2008, 11:33 AM

As much as I've been a Richard Thalheimer and Sharper Image fan, $50 is way too much.

Brando sells two types in two different colors for up to $25 each and $3 shipping.

800mAh, $22: http://mobile.brando.com.hk/prod_det...93&cat_id=1112

1000mAh, $25: http://mobile.brando.com.hk/prod_det...93&cat_id=1112

I do have a question about the RichardSolo battery, though... does the USB connector also allow for syncing or just charging when connecting to the computer?

**wot_fan** · 07-30-2008, 11:51 AM

I don't think you can sync through the battery. At least my work PC cannot see my iPhone when connected via the RichardSolo USB cable. Too bad, that would have been a really nice feature.

While the RichardSolo Battery is a little pricey, I don't think it is that bad considering it is 1200mAh and includes a wall charger and retracting USB cable. I also like the fact that it works with all iPod & iPhone models. Some of the others that I looked at were sculpted to work only with the iPhone.