Review: Monoprice iPhone External Battery (2200mAh)

Let’s be frank: the iPhone 3G has the worst battery life out of all the iPhones. Add to that the fact that I use my iPhone like a laptop and the battery can die in less than one day. The Monoprice backup battery is only $15 from Monoprice.com and does the job very well. The battery pack should work with all iPods too.

Let’s take a look…

Form

The battery comes in black to match the black iPhones. It has a standard iPod port so just use your iPod or iPhone cable to recharge the pack.

The battery is thicker than the iPhone.

Its width is about the same as the iPhone but it’s quite a bit thicker so you won’t be able to put it flatly down on a table. The actual dimensions, if you are interested, are 6.2cm x 6.8cm x 1.6cm and it weighs 68g.

The raised plug.

The plug is slightly raised from the battery so it can be plugged in even if there is a case on the phone. The downside to this design is that when the battery is plugged in, there is a gap between the battery and the bottom of the phone. The battery’s plug doesn’t feel very secure and it seems like it can snap off but I haven’t had any real issues with it. The top is almost level with the phone’s screen, but the battery is slightly higher.

Charging

The lights flash when charging.

You can check the charge level of the battery by pressing the small, hidden area just to the right of the LEDs. When it’s plugged into your phone or being charged, its LEDs light up but if you’re like me who finds it annoying, just press the hidden button to turn the LEDs off. On a full charge, it can charge my iPhone 3G about 1.5 times so it’ll definitely be your iPhone’s best friend.

Charging the battery takes some time – about 3.5 hours according to Monoprice. Charging the phone is about as fast as charging via your computer or wall adapter.

In conclusion, this battery is simple, it works, is of high capacity, and it’s very inexpensive. Typically, backup batteries like this cost around $30 or more so $15 is a great deal. I’d recommend it to anyone who frequently has a dead iPhone or iPod. If this battery is too bulky, Monoprice also has a smaller (1900mAh) version in black, white, and red.