I have been using the Igo charger for several weeks now, primarily to charge my phone when I am not near an electrical outlet. In general, I have found that it works reasonably well, but you can get higher capacity chargers that are more compact for a much better price.
Here are the pros and cons I observed during use:
PROS:
Attractive: The Igo charger has a diamond pattern on the top, making is snazzier than most chargers that I have seen.
Easy to use: To recharge the charger, just flip the built-in plug out and plug the charger into the wall. To charge a phone or other device, plug in a USB cable into the single Igo port, plug in the device, then press the button on the top.
Comes with a cable for Apple devices: I didn't test it with any Apple devices, but the charger worked fine with my Android phone.
LEDS indicate remaining charge: Four blue LEDs indicate the amount of battery capacity left in the charger during use.
CONS:
Larger than most chargers. The overall height and width are about the same as many other chargers, but the Igo is much thicker than most other chargers: about 2x the thickness at 24 mm (almost an inch).
Only 3400 mAh: This is one of the smaller capacity chargers you will find. I have seen them that go up to 12000 mAh. The larger the mAh rating, the more charges the charger will provide to your devices.
Relatively expensive: For the mAh rating, this device is pretty expensive, currently offered at about over 1/2 a c-note. The makes the price per mAh about 1.6 cents. Amazon sells other well-rated chargers for as little as .4 cents per mAh. Huge difference in price there.
Bottom Line:
During use, I was typically able to recharge my Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone about 1.2 times from one full charge of the Igo charger. Recharging the Igo charger took about 4.5 hours average. While the charger performed well enough, I find it to be overpriced and oversized for a somewhat anemic total capacity. I recommend that you keep shopping for a better value.
I live mostly off the grid, and sometimes completely away from electrical power, so I appreciate any tool that makes my life easier. The iGo is a fine device for my purposes.
The charger arrived with an approximately 35% charge right out of the box. You can roughly tell how much of a charge you have in the unit by how many blue indicator lights glow. I had three light up. I was able to start charging my own iPhone directly from that with the included USB iPhone cable.
I then unplugged my phone from the iGo. I put the iGo directly into a wall outlet (two prongs) to bring it to a full charge (the prongs fold out from the device's body on the 'belly' end). Red indicator lights show when the battery pack part is charging, and then go off automatically at a full charge. From that time, the iGO is ready to be a portable USB charging device.
From the charge my product arrived with, it took less than two hours to bring the unit to a full charge, with no load. You can also simultaneously charge a USB device AND the battery pack, however.
The iPhone/iPad/iPod port is on the underside, on the short end of the body. The cable to use with this port is included in the box.
There is also a mini-USB port on the right, long side of the body, for charging other items. I really appreciate this kind of thoughtfulness, even though the mini-USB cord is not included. It is very nice to have the option.
One thing I would have liked to see included would be a small cloth bag for the charger and cord, for traveling. I have so many little devices now that I am learning how to sew my own.
The iGo body itself is a little shorter than an iPhone, but twice as thick, and decently weighty for the size (it IS a battery, after all). The front has a black plastic diamond 'quilting' design, and there is a single on/off switch to depress.
HOW I USE IT:
I keep the charger pack in a Ziplock bag in my purse for iPhone charging when out and about. I tend to be a heavy user of my phone, taking and texting a ton of photos, using apps and the internet, and usually draining my phone over the course of a day. This device gives me a little leeway for extra use time when the evening rolls around, and a lot of peace of mind that I won't accidentally be dead in the water. I just plug in the iPhone at a 10% charge and continue what I was doing.
For day hiking and camping, having this thing around gives me a feeling of security too. Since it's not water-resistant, I would need to use a dry bag for this on paddling trips.
RECOMMENDATION:
For ipods, phones and pads, this is a plug and play tool. It's both a wall unit and a portable charger. It's solid and user friendly. You don't even need to read the little instructions sheet that comes with it.
For non-Apple USB devices, the iGo is incredibly versatile. I've charged up my emergency Trac phone, my Flip camera and my Kindle so far, using my own cables.
I'd recommend the iGo for heavy USB device users who are out and about a lot. If you spend most of your time at home or in an office, this really isn't necessary, except as an emergency charging device in your car, backpack or Go Bag. Just remember to make sure to top off the charger's unit if you hide it away for long periods of time, so you will have that emergency power when you need it.
Altogether, I highly recommend this useful, versatile device.
Buy iGo Charge Anywhere for iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other USB Devices Now
This is one of those items that's really straight forward. As the title says, it's a Power Brick. However it also includes power indicator to show you how much power is left in it.
With anything that charges, there are only so many times you can charge it until it begins to hold less and less charges. So unless you know you need a full Charge, it's best to let it go down as low as possible.
It comes with an adapter for Apple products.
HOWEVER you can purchase or use any USB adapters for droids, tablets, etc,
I use it to charge my Droid. The USB adapter I remove from the AC charger and plug it into the iGo. Charging my phone takes over three hours.
I've gotten almost three full charges for my Droid. Then it needs recharging. Recharging from one bar takes just about six hours. I've never been there to get an exact time. Plugs into any standard AC outlet. Two prong.
The bars change colors from when it needs a charge to when it's full and the bars go from one to full.
It's a good product. But know the limitations. When you have no power you will get a a good two charges (and some more) until the "brick" itself need charging. It goes not charge through sunlight or crank.
This is great for a hiking trip or to keep in a bag for an extra phone charge.
Read Best Reviews of iGo Charge Anywhere for iPod, iPhone, iPad, and other USB Devices Here
I bought this to use with my Nexus 4 Phone and Nexus 10 Tablet while on the go. Has worked well. It is convenient to not need to find a wall outlet yet great that it can charge my devices from the wall when I have easy access to an outlet.
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iGo is one of the trusted names in travel electronic accessories and when they launch something new, most people in the travel electronics industry pays attention. This product fulfills a number of "wants" and deals with a number of "dislikes" of those who are frequent travelers. However as everyone has different needs, it is ultimately quite subjective. I've listed a few pros and cons below to help you decide if this is what you need.
Pros:
+ Less to forget. It's your power brick and your spare battery
+ Folding plug. Nothing will get scratched in your bag by pokey plugs, and plugs won;t get bent out of shape during transit.
+ Holds enough juice for 2 full charges of an Iphone 4, 4s and Iphone 5.
+ 4 indicator LED lights show how much power is left in the battery, how much it is charging etc.
+ Button next to the LED indicator lights to turn the indicator lights on.
Cons:
Large for how much power it actually stores, but that may be due to the folding plug.
It's fat (wide) so it takes up the space next to it. Assuming you've plugged it in on the end of your power strip.
You need an easily accessible socket or you'll really be crawling behind and moving furniture to find somewhere to plug this in.
If it's behind furniture, it'll easily be forgotten = you've just lost both your spare battery and your power brick.
There are similarly sized backup batteries widely available that can store more power.
Overall whether this is the backup battery for you depends on whether you value:
a) less bits and bobs so fewer things get lost
b) How much power you need
c) How forgetful you are.
d) folding prongs.
e) if you have easy access to a socket when you need to charge this thing.
Over the past few months, I've used this traveling by air, by boat and by train internationally. It was always easy for my traveling companion(s) to find what they needed out of my electronics bag as there was less to dig through. I did have to use international plug adapters, but not voltage adapters as this is dual voltage. There were a few instances where we had to move some furniture to get to a wall socket but overall it served us well over the course of our 5-month trip.
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