Macally PowerLink Emergency Battery Pack with 2 GB Pen Drive for iPod and iPhone (Black)
by Macally
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Macally PowerLink Emergency Battery Pack with 2 GB Pen Drive for iPod and iPhone (Black)
Customer Review: Nice solution for iPod/iPhone
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This little box is a nice tool to have with you all of the time if you are an owner of an iPod. I do not have an iPhone so I wont be able to discuss that product directly. I do have several iPods though and tried them all with this.
FLASH DRIVE:
First off it is a 2GB flash drive. I transferred several thousand mp3 files back and forth from my mac to my pc with this (took a few trips).
BACKUP BATTERY:
I then tried it out as a battery on my Apple iPod nano 8 GB Purple (4th Generation). On my ipod the battery was very low. As soon as I plugged this in the battery indicator changed to the charge mode. After a while I took it off and my battery had gained quite a bit more charge.
DATA TRANSFER:
Plugging this in one side to the iPod and the other side to the USB plug on my computer allowed me to sync it to iTunes. I tried this on both my ASUS G50Vt-A1 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) and my Apple MacBook Pro MB133LL/A 15.4-inch Laptop (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) and with both it did what it said. It allowed for song transfers to and from iTunes.
One thing I did not try was to use my iPod as a file storage device while connected to this. I suppose it will work but I did not test this.
Pros:
>> Great all in one pocket device for iPod/iPhone owners
>> Flash Drive 2gb
>> Battery backup for iPhone/iPod
>> Replaces white iPod cable.
Cons:
<< Got very hot while initially charging in my USB port.
<< Came without a charge on it.
Other than those small inconveniences this is one really great all-in-one solution for owners of iPods and iPhones.
Thank you for reading my review.
Customer Review: Good concept, execution is questionable
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The idea underlying Macally is cool: combine a iPod/iPhone sync cable with a flash drive and emergency power pack. Unfortunately the execution here isn't all that could be hoped for.
First, there are four components to worry about. The main unit itself, the sync cable and two removable end caps. No carrying case, no pouch. The end caps, I bet, will be lost quickly. The unit is useless without the cable, so you'd better round up a pouch and try not to lose the cable.
The main unit has a 2GB flash drive and a relatively small battery. It measures about 2 x 1 x .5 inches.
The idea is as good one. An emergency power supply that will supposedly power an iPhone for an hour. The manufacturer doesn't say how long an iPod would be powered and that, of course, would depend on whether you were playing video or audio. Connecting to my iPod seemed to quickly drain the Macally battery.
But the killer here is that Macally simply powers the device: it does not recharge the device's battery. There are other external power sources that do and I prefer them. The Macally has three diodes which light when the device is connected to a PC, but not when the Macally is powering your i-device. It appears that the battery bar on the i-device does reflect remaining power. But what if your i-device battery isn't fully discharged? You have even less an indication of remaining time than you would otherwise.
Charging the battery on a USB port takes three hours or more.
A 2GB flash drive is - well - a 2GB flash drive. There was a time when 2GB would have been impressive, but that was long ago - maybe two years or so. For the price, it would seem that there should be an 8GB flash drive at least. For a few dollars more, you could buy a 16GB flash drive and an external AA battery power supply, supplying your own sync cable.
The underlying idea is good. It would be nice to have an iPod/iPhone "emergency" kit, but it should be more convenient and better integrated than this "bring your own pouch" solution.
Jerry
Customer Review: Great concept but the battery is much too small
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I really like the idea of this device and it works well at what it says it will do.
Pros:
Built in flash memory
Ability to use to sync/charge iPhone when connected to computer
Indicator lights showing the charge level
Caps covering connectors
It just works
Things I would like to see added that would move my rating to five stars:
Higher capacity battery. It is supposed to last for one hour but there was a sticker over the instructions and the time the sticker was covering was significantly lower.
Higher capacity flash drive. If I'm really going to carry around one device to do all of these tasks I would like to be able to store more than 2GB of data.
This device is pretty darn small so I would have no problem with them increasing the size a bit in order to accommodate the changes I'm suggesting.
UPDATE 10-24-2009
Each time I try to use this product it becomes more and more obvious that the battery capacity is much too small. In fact, it has such limited capacity that when I plug it into my iPhone and continue to use the iPhone this product only has enough power to not let my iPhone battery level drop any lower until the product runs out of power. So, while this would be useful in the case of an emergency, you really can't depend on it to recharge your iPhone or to significantly extend the battery life of your iPhone.
I recently purchased the JUST MOBILE GUM PRO POWER PACK HIGH CAPACITY 4400 MAH USB external battery and it is FAR superior to this product as a backup battery. Note that it does not have the other features that this product has (flash memory and the ability to sync your device) but as a battery it is able to not only recharge my iPhone but it actually has enough capacity to recharge it 3 times before needing to be recharged itself. As a comparison the Macally PowerLink has a 270mAh capacity while the Gum Pro has a 4400mAh capacity.
Customer Review: Purchase primarily for the battery backup capabilities: A Macally PowerLink Emergency Battery Pack review
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
As an IT professional, I have an interest in gadgets like the Macally PowerLink Emergency Battery Pack. On the surface, this seems like a cool accessory to own, and offers more versatility than just a plain flash drive.
As a flash drive, 2GB is small by today's standards. A decently rated Kingston 2GB flash drive is priced below $10. I couldn't find a way to transfer data from the flash drive to the Apple device either. The much higher price of this item makes the flash capabilities a secondary benefit. Adding more storage space would unquestionably add value.
As a data sync the PowerLink acts as an adapter between the Apple device and the PC. This too is a secondary benefit, as using the supplied Apple dock connector takes less space for travel and is simple to use. However the PowerLink is a worthy alternative.
As a battery pack, this unit takes about 3 hours to fully charge using a USB port. We were able to use the battery power for over two hours on the iPod. The battery strength is indicated on the PowerLink using three indicator lights, while the Apple device indicates a charging mode. This function is the primary reason to own the Macally PowerLink.
The PowerLink does what it claims and comes with a 1 year manufacturer's warranty. For the price, the flash drive capability is small; increasing the storage amount would definitely add value. The data sync is a nice to have. The primary reason to purchase the PowerLink lies with the battery backup capabilities. If you often run low on power, consider the PowerLink as a solution. Also consider the less versatile Kensington Mini Battery Extender.
PROS:
Versatile 3 in 1 device
1 year manufacturer's warranty
CONS:
Small 2GB flash drive size
Customer Review: Good only for short emergency use
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was excited to receive the PowerLink by Macally to extend the battery life of my iPhone while out and about, but was somewhat disappointed with it when it arrived. The unit is small and comes with no documentation other than what is printed on the outside of the box, which is very limited. It doesn't give any information on the amount of extra running time it will give to an iPod or iPhone. The only way to test it is to completely discharge your iPod or iPhone, then plug in the PowerLink and see what you get. Some type of information on this should definitely be provided, unless the manufacturer actually knows that it doesn't provide much time, and purposely left it off the package.
The PowerLink measures 2 5/8" x 1" x 1/2" and is made of black plastic. The build quality is mediocre. It has 2 plastic caps, one at each end to cover the USB and iPod connectors, however, since these aren't connected to the unit it will be very easy to misplace them or lose them in a bag. The connectors aren't centered in the body of the PowerLink, so you have to make sure to put the caps on the right way around, which is a minor annoyance and could have been corrected easily by simply designing the unit so that the connectors were dead center at each end of the unit. Over all it gives the impression of a product rushed to market by an overseas manufacturer wanting to capitalize on the iPod boom, and not a thoroughly thought-out product.
The PowerLink also contains a 2GB USB Flash drive, which may be nice for those who need to carry relatively small amounts of data with them, and it adds a bit of value to the product for those that need this feature.
I was looking for more from this product. When I'm out of the office and not able to charge my iPhone, I want a battery backup that will give me about an hour more of talk time. I haven't given the PowerLink a full test, but it's very interesting that the box (and lack of documentation) don't say anything about this, leading me to believe this is a not a serious power backup product, and is only good for emergencies.