Belkin's Battery Backup Pack for the iPod: The PhilMUG Review

[Adel]

One of the perks of the new 4th Generation iPod is the 50% extra battery life – a big jump from the 8 hours of the older 3rd Gen unit to 12 hours in the new one. But 12 hours is still a bit short if you won’t be within jack-in reach of a proper outlet for about a day or so, like on a long flight, or a long hike into the mountains. No need to worry now.

Enter Belkin's Battery Backup Pack for the iPod.

Essentially, it’s what it says it is – a battery pack. It claims to run the iPod on its own for anywhere between 15 to 20 hours using four ordinary AA alkaline batteries in conjunction with the iPod’s internal battery. This is head and shoulders above and beyond whatever juice the internal iPod battery will ordinarily give you. You can pack a couple of extra sets of AAs in your stuff and be good for more than two or more straight days of iPoding away from civilization. And if you need more, just buy some from the store and you can continue listening to your AACs, even if your iPod’s battery is deader than a doorknob.

The build is nice, clean and sturdy. Quality work here. It’s almost Apple-like, in fact.

If you can imagine your iPod to be a scuba diver, the Belkin Pack looks like a futuristic scuba tank attached to its back. It houses the four batteries side-by-side in a white plastic box and it attaches to the metal back of the iPod with two big suction cups with convenient pull-off tabs in case you need to remove them. Just make sure the surface is clean; the rubber ensures no scratching.

There is a short cable with a connector snaking from the bottom. The jack, which looks like the one at the end of the firewire or USB cord that came with your iPod, isn’t the same. There are no restraining latches or buttons to keep it firmly attached; it just slips in and out easy as you please, but luckily not enough to fall off on its own.

There is a vestigial and partially enclosing plastic wing at the back of the pack to make you feel more secure about securing your expensive gadget to an accessory with two mere suction cups, but I guess that’s more for peace of mind than anything else. There is an On/Off switch at the bottom of the pack, and a battery indicator button on top, with four green lights only visible through the white plastic when they are on. More about this later.

An important thing to consider: when connected, the Pack will NOT charge the internal battery. Will NOT. This needs to be made clear because some folk might leave it turned on and think its ok since it will charge the internal battery. It won’t. And its not because of poor design and shortsightedness on the part of Belkin.

Once it’s attached and turned on, the internal battery of the iPod will be switched off (regardless of its internal charge status – if it has juice left, most of it will be available when the Pack’s alkalines are used up), and the unit will function in tandem with the internal battery, hopefully for the full 20 hours advertised (inclusive of the internal battery’s charge). But once the pack is on, the internal battery of the iPod is largely left alone, used only if necessary.

According to some quick research on the net, this limitation is apparently a condition imposed by Apple Computer, who worked together with Belkin to provide them all information and assistance to ensure compatibility with the Pack, but only on the condition that it does not charge up the internal battery. Go figure.



The Pack conveniently has an On/Off switch to ensure that it doesn’t mistakenly discharge its four ordinary batteries without you knowing it. Once it is off, the internal battery takes charge (no pun intended) and powers the iPod as it was meant to. Also convenient is a green four-light charge-level indicator on the unit that activates on pressing a button, not unlike the indicator on Apple’s notebook batteries. Relatively accurate too, although the last light continues on way too longer than the other lights; by my estimate, the last light kept on lighting for over 8 hours, while the previous time was approximately subdivided by the other three lights, which flicked off one by one after about every five hours or so.



Which brings us to most important feature: battery life.

On my fully-charged seven-month-old 3rd Gen 20gb iPod, using four new Gold Eveready Long-Life Alkaline AAs bought from the grocery, and set to randomized play of the full 16gb load, no EQ, no Sound Check, no backlight, 3/4s volume and 50% contrast, it ran with the Belkin Battery Backup Pack for 23 hours and 17 minutes straight.

On a full charge of the internal battery, and one set of 4 AAs, I ran my iPod for almost a full day, a little over two round trips by car from SM Megamall in Ortigas to Session Road in Baguio City. There and back, two times.

Cool.

Of course, mileage may vary depending on the batteries used, and on the average length of the tracks on your iPod (shorter tracks are more economical – I had many long tracks on my iPod for some live concerts and self-ripped audiobooks, some as long as an hour each), and your preferred settings. (I have a feeling I could have squeezed maybe a half-hour more from the batteries if I had shorter tracks on the average.)

Pending eventual longevity and durability of the iPod’s other internal components, the Pack indefinitely extends the useful lifetime of everyone’s favorite musical white-and-chrome soap bar. Have batteries, will iPod.

Good deal, although a little expensive at about P3500/$70.

There are some niggling points:

It’s big and bulky, and effectively makes every third-party case or sleeve useless. And forget about putting the whole thing in your pocket.

It’s heavy. With the thing piggybacking on the iPod, the svelte form factor is svelte no more. In your hand it feels like you’re carrying a big rock. You’d need a belt bag, rucksack or something to carry it around.

It connects with two suction cups. While the cups are of good quality, they are still suction cups. If for some reason they come loose, that iPod is going to crash to the floor (and since you took off your rubber protective iSkin to put on the battery pack, you’re outta luck). The unsecured jack is no help either. Ka-blag!

Also, the rubber cups will eventually wear out and not stick, and in this uncertain stage, your iPod will be in constant danger of falling off of the pack. I guess this is why Belkin thoughtfully included an extra pair of cups in the bubble packaging (along with a starter set of 4 alkaline penlight batteries – a good thing, since ‘batteries included’ doesn’t happen often).

The little ‘manual’, a tiny piece of folded paper printed in several languages, is next to useless, but there really isn’t much material to go over anyway. It’s a plug-and-play, practically idiot-proof gadget. What it does fail to mention though is how much trickled power loss will occur if the iPod is left off but the ‘on’ switch of the pack is left on. It’s designed for the 3rd Gen iPods, but I imagine it’ll work on the new 4gb clickwheels, since the port and the form factor are basically the same. Caveat: This does NOT work with the iPod Mini.

For those who are on the road or travel a lot, or are afraid of getting an expensive paperweight after the iPod’s internal battery gives up the ghost and are too cheap to spring for a battery replacement kit, Belkin’s Battery Back-Up Pack for the iPod is a good buy.



Four out of five stars.Belkin Battery Backup Pack for the iPod.

[dominiquejames]

Excellent product review Adel. If I may just add one small matter: The surface of the Belkin Battery Backup Pack for the iPod easily gets scratched. To maintain its prestine quality, owners might wish to consider storing or lugging it around (both when in use and not in use) in a pouch or a case or a plastic/fabric casing. And it's a good idea to make it lie on or wrap in a protective cloth to avoid abrasive contact with potentially damaging surfaces. I don't know of a case designed to store this battery pack; owners might consider using whatever protective casing may be readily or practically available. Do not store this battery backup pack with the bare batteries, and just to make sure, not even with its extra suction cups, together in a pouch or case as these can and will scratch its surface. Other than this, Belkin's outstanding backup battery pack is an excellent and useful and practical buy. I find myself using this a lot of times, particularly in extremely long photo sessions in the studio or on location. I particularly appreciate its power management. You'll be able to get a lot of plays with this neat toy.

[Edited on 8-4-2004 by dominiquejames]

[Henjie]

Great review Adel! Bilib talaga ako sa writing mo. :-)


~Henjie

[elbert]

Great review Adel.

This may just come in handy: Tips on Using Suction Cups

[El CaMOTe]

Great review Adel,

Hmmm, I wonder how long it would run with NiMH batts ???

:beer:

[sinch]

I have this device and so far I'm very satisfied with it. :-)

[Adel]

Originally posted by Henjie
Great review Adel! Bilib talaga ako sa writing mo. :-)


~Henjie

Ikaw naman! Let's set up a mutual admiration society, Mac Guru.

Originally posted by El CaMOTe
Hmmm, I wonder how long it would run with NiMH batts ???

Mang Tomas, looking into your NiMH question. Am charging up a set of them and will run a longevity test this weekend to answer your question.

[El CaMOTe]

Domo Adelsan !!!:lol: hope I got that correct !! Boy that Panda works :lol::lol:

Hai,...Neeker Metar Hidlried, 1,000 mirri Amps at reast prease !?

[Adel]

Originally posted by El CaMOTe
Hai,...Neeker Metar Hidlried, 1,000 mirri Amps at reast prease !?

19 hrs and 15 mins, Tom. NiMH 1800 mAh.

[bagwis]

Originally posted by Adel

19 hrs and 15 mins, Tom. NiMH 1800 mAh.

WOW! Worthy investment, if I may add.