- Ideal for long flights, outdoor activities, anytime anywhere iPod devices might run out of power
- High capacity Li-ion battery cell increases iPod play time approximately 6-8 hours
- Compact and sleek design
- Standard USB port
- Plug iPod shuffle directly, and use existing 30-pin USB sync cable (not included) for other iPod devices
****This review is mainly for those who has iPhone 3G or similar gadgets that have a battery capacity of 1,200mAh or more. If you have a device with less, this review may still be suitable for you but you can also consider other external battery chargers.****
I did tons of research trying to find the best external battery charger for my new iPhone 3G. I got say this, I love the Macally JBox. Seriously! I believe it is the best external battery charger on the market right now for it's size, weight, design, output, capacity and ability to check battery status.
I'm a power user because I spend most of my day browsing safari, listening to music and watching movies but 75~85% of the time making phone calls. Since voice call drains the most amount of juice, extra battery(ies) is a must for a business person like me. I had a Samsung Blackjack i607 before the iPhone 3G and I had 4 extra batteries in order to keep the phone running by the end of the day. Now the battery in the iPhone cannot be replaced easily so that's where external battery charger comes in handy.
Now which battery should I buy? I was wondering. Definitely not big or heavy ones that might give me a burden. I need something small and light so I can carry it in my pocket and charge my iPhone 3G at the same time on the go. Anything 2.5"x4"x0.6" and 10 oz or less would be perfect. How about let's try eBay since most stuff are cheap? *BUZZ* That's a big NO NO!! Most of eBay external battery chargers that have 9,600~20,000mAh are fake due to their small size and light weight. I did a little research by contacting at least 25+ people who purchased those products on eBay and most of their answers are the same. Those batteries are fake and have at most 1,200mAh. Cheap quality for cheap product.
Now how about ? The TY460 has an impressive 4,600mAh capacity, which is 1,200mAh more than Macally JBox. However, I don't trust the capacity of the iMaxPower due to it's identical size and weight as the JBox. Does eBay chargers ring a bell? Their small size and light weight yet mislabeled capacity? Now, let's just assume the capacity is 4,600mAh since I don't have one so I can't confirm it but take look at the output, 600mA. 600mA? That will take more than double the time to charge a cellphone/PDA than JBox. The phone controls the current delivery to the battery. If the battery can take the current the phone will allow what ever the charger can deliver. Anything lower and the phone will limit the supply to the battery. If the charger can't deliver the battery requirements then the worst that can happen is that it takes longer to charge! This is only valid for Li-Ion batteries. Because the current delivery is variable depending on the battery's state so a 600mAh charger won't take 2 hours to charge a 1200mAh battery. It WILL take approximately 3 hours!! My iPhone 3G has 1400mAh battery. iMaxPower TY460 will take more than 2 hours to charge the phone while JBox will take a little over an hour. The TY460 has identity size and weight as JBox but the design, color and quality did not catch my eye. In another word it's ugly and cheap. Also the "To Device" port is on the side as oppose to from the top of JBox. For those people like me who charges the phone on the go(I'm not talking about sitting on an airplane or train but walking around mostly) The "To Device" port has to be on top of the charger or your pants pocket will be tight and bulky unless you have a big pocket. Don't even think about the TY250, it's 350mA will take 4 hours to charge my iPhone 3G and probably will not even be able to sustain the phone if I make a long phone call.
Now how about ? Let's take look at the model 33396. Not the one that sticks into bottom of the iPhone but the one that's identical to the JBox. It has the same slick design as JBox. The output of 1.50A or 1,500mAh is impressive. It will fully charge my iPhone 3G in less than an hour. However, the unimpressive capacity of only 1800mAh really turned me down. A little over an hour charging the iPhone 3G it will be dead. Not to mention the price is $69.99 as oppose to $39.99 for the JBox.
Now, finally, here comes the biggest competitor(s), JAVOedge/Lenmar. I'm not sure which one is the original manufacture and which one is the reseller since they both have the exact same design, weight, size, capacity and output except the logo. Anyway, JAVOedge/Lenmar and JBox has the identical size(3.9"x2.4"x0.6" for JAVOedge/Lenmar and 4"x2.4"x0.6" for JBox), weight(4.2oz. for both) and capacity(3,400mAh for both) but outputs are different. JAVOedge/Lenmar has 700mA while JBox has 1,000mA. I bought the JAVOedge before I saw JBox. Everything worked fine on JAVOedge, the output and capacity were tested and showed satisfying result. Though it does not have battery status light but as least it shows green light when fully charged as oppose to the non-existence status of fully charge on JBox. Then I found out the biggest flaw on JAVOedge! It IS UNABLE TO CHARGE MY DEAD iPhone 3G!! When I say dead I mean the phone is completely out of juice. I sent an email to the company to report this problem and they have taken the product off their iPhone 3G category ever since and offered me a full refund including original shipping and return shipping if I were to return the product. Macally JBox, on the other hand, has no problem to charge my dead iPhone 3G. That's my biggest concern since I cannot afford to have a dead phone in the middle of the day and many times I find myself too busy to keep tracking the battery status. I do hope the JBox can have a little more capacity tho. Additional 400~600mAh would be perfect since I came home with a 10% battery on iPhone 3G and a dead JBox last night. Maybe I'll considering getting a JBoxmini but I dislike the idea to carry too much stuff in my pocket. I guess I'll have to find a space in my already packed suitcase for it.
All the good talks are done. Now let's move onto some imperfections JBox has. The battery status of JBox showed full 3 bars after only 30 minutes of charge from empty juice. However, if I stop charging the JBox after 30 minutes and use it to charge my iPhone the battery status immediately changed from 3 lights to 1 light. So I conclude the battery status does not show the right level while the JBox is being charged unless you calibrate it by charging it with something else. Another imperfection is the lack of ability to show whether if it's fully charged or not. Unlike JAVOedge which will show steady green light when the battery is fully charged and red when it's low, JBox however will always show green light as soon as it's been charged. The only time it will show red is when the battery is low. This creates a problem because we can't tell when the battery is fully charged or not. After several email to tech support Tom from Macally, he explained the green light will flash for 2 seconds once fully charged but how can one tell unless he keeps staring at the light for hours? Once you miss it it won't flash again. Then he explained further saying that after 2 seconds of flashing green the light will be turned off. I find that's not the case for my JBox. Either my JBox is defective on that small part or that information is simply not true.
Some additional information and misc. I collected from Tech Support Tom. The JBox will take 2.5 hours to be fully charged from empty and it has a protection circuitry inside to prevent overcharge. Some information on the box or specification sheet in the package is incorrect. The correct specification is listed below:
Macally Jbox IP-A481
Capacity: 3400mAh ( does not show the capacity but the package does)
Output Current: 1000mA max. (1200mA max. in the package label is wrong) Unit Weight: 4.2oz (JBox weights 4.2oz, entire package weights 5.0oz, the 11.3oz on the product info page is wrong, maybe they calculated the shipping box in?)
Buy MACALLY External Battery for all iPods Now
This is a great product. I used it on my trip to Germany with my kids and our new iPod touch. They were using it for a lot of video and I used it for web browsing in wi fi hotspots along the way. Unlike some of the less expensive options this actually charges your device. I did recharge the backup battery when I could, but I think I could have gone all week just using this to recharge. It has 3 lights that tell you the status of the battery life just by pushing a button which is really nice. It comes with a cord to plug into a USB port or USB wall charger to recharge the battery, even a simple case to hold the battery and cord. Very light and does not get hot when you use it. Simple to use, but powerful where it counts, battery life. Well worth it.
Read Best Reviews of MACALLY External Battery for all iPods Here
I bought this to use with my iPod touch. And it works great. It completely recharges the Touch from a single charge. I can charge the device by using the standard USB brick from Apple or the USB port of my computer. I just took a long flight 6 hours of flight time plus two hours between flights. I watched a two hour plus movie and two TV shows in addition to an hour or so of music and an hour or so of Internet browsing. Plugged into the charger when the touch got to 20% warning. Now it's fully charged again. Never had to fumble with the power cords or computer. Its small too, not much bigger than the Touch itself. Definately worth it and no batteries to throw away like those other chargers. Now we just need to see how long it lasts.
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Love it! So nice to throw it in my brief case before a trip and not have to worry about how long my iPhone or iPod Nano is going to last. Easy to use, nice construction....I wouldn't hesitate to suggest it to others.
I bought this to have on hand in case my iPhone battery ran out while I was traveling. It works perfectly with iPhones as well as with iPods. I was even able to continue taking pictures using the battery. I plugged it in as soon as my iPhone warned me that the battery was in the "very low" range and it switched to the battery without a problem. The battery also has an "on/off" switch so you can avoid draining the battery when not in use. Also has a USB cord for charging and a small carry pouch. I just leave it in my purse now for those times when I run out of time . . .
