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: Added 3+ hours of battery life to my 5.5G
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was pleasantly surprised by the Macally BatteryPack with 2 GB jump drive. After reading other reviews I was expecting to gain only a little bit of time on my 5.5 generation iPod.
I just drained the iPod down to almost zero and plugged the Maccally into the bottom and then let the iPod play until the Macally battery went dead. Give or take 15 minutes or so, I'm getting about 3 hours of extra time.
With that in mind, if you use an iPod (vs. an iphone which uses more power) this might be used for more than just emergencies. If you're on a long road trip and don't have any way to recharge the battery this could be used on a regular basis. (I'm not sure why some think iPod users wouldn't need a battery - people listen to books, NPR podcasts, etc. and these are perfect for long road trips.)
Macally is basically charging what you'd normally pay for both a battery backup and a 2gig jump drive. This isn't a rip off and it's not a great savings - it's just an all-in-one. With the Macally you just have to carry one item instead of two.
From the sound of other reviews this probably isn't that great a deal for power iPhone users. But if you own an iPod and find yourself without a way to recharge on long trips this will come in very handy.
My only major complaint is that the Macally isn't well protected. There's no way to hang it on your keyring, on your belt or on a chain around your neck. I wouldn't even trust putting it in my pants pocket. It looks a little fragile and I can't see any other spot for it other than a protected pocket on a backpack or other bag.
Customer Review: Just a little extra juice when you need it
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I tested it with my iPod and got a little over 2 1/2 hours--but my 4th Gen Nano gets horrible battery life to begin with, so this was fine. I had been joking with my sister that this will really save my hide in my next life-threatening iPod emergency ("oh no! My battery's dying and I'm only halfway through Dark Side of the Moon! YOU CAN'T BREAK UP DARK SIDE OF THE MOON! Quick, where's that thing?") But all joking aside, sitting on the train on the way to work and losing battery power in the middle of that podcast you've been dying to get a chance to listen to could be frustrating, and I'm sure I'll be happy to have that extra couple of hours.
I don't have an iPhone (YET, but soon), but I do think that even the limited talk time afforded by this device would be useful. Most of us who have experienced a dying phone when we most needed to make or receive a call would have been happy with that extra 10-20 minutes. Yes, charging ability/higher capacity would be nice, but *it is what it is*: an emergency battery. Not a charger. Not a replacement battery. The limited 2GB size of the flash drive doesn't bother me either; it's just an extra feature, and I'd rarely need to carry around more data than that on a daily basis anyway... if I do, I have larger-capacity drives that would be no big deal to grab instead.
I think for me, the most pressing issues on a going-forward basis will be to remember to keep it regularly charged (as opposed to leaving it in the bottom of my bag until I need it, then finding it half-dead), remember the cable, and to remember to properly toggle the on/off switch.
Customer Review: Good thought but can only go so far
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I really liked the idea behind this: get a flash drive, a battery and a power adapter in one. It's excellent for travel and a wonderful concept, but there are a number of shortcomings with this product.
If you're on a PC, perhaps this isn't such a terrible thing but on a Mac you have to eject drives before you unplug them. When this is connected you have two things to disconnect: your iPod/iPhone and the flash drive, which can take some time to eject if the either are in use.
Also, connecting the iPod/iPhone directly to your computer with this device doesn't work so well without the extension cable, even with a laptop. It basically has to float. They give you an extension cable to get around this problem but that means you have one more thing to carry around. One of the great parts about this device is that it's so portable, but it a flexible extension cable built into the device (a retractable cord) would've made all the difference.
While it's a small emergency battery, it's a life saver if you are low on power and just need some more time with the call. I'm pretty good at charging my iPhone so I haven't run into a situation, yet, where I needed the emergency battery but it seemed to be powering the phone through a call during my half an hour commute.
Overall I like the product and I think it's a goof effort, but a retractable cable and the option to activate or deactivate the flash drive, would make it far more compelling for me. I also wouldn't mind more than 2GB of storage. 2GB only really gives you enough for some general files.
Customer Review: Does what it needs to do; could be better
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I really had only two questions about this device:
Will it bring my iPhone back from the dead?
Can it hold a charge?
The answer in both cases is yes.
After I received and charged the Macally PowerLink Emergency BatteryPack, I let my iPhone run until it shut down from lack of power.
It took a few minutes, but battery pack did bring the phone back to life long enough to make a few calls.
I then recharged the battery pack and left it on my desk. After almost three weeks, it still shows a full charge.
I'm taking a point off owing to design issues. As other reviewers have noted, it does not seem well-designed for the real world.
As someone who was a tech support road warrior long enough to go from floppy discs to flash drives, I have some opinions about carry-along devices. If someone carries this device on a regular basis, they will loose one or both caps fairly quickly. There is no way to attached it to an ID badge lanyard (the location of choice for those who do a lot of work in telecom closets, server rooms, and other people's offices) or anything else. Black is the worst choice of color for small carry-along devices like flash drives; it makes it more likely the item will be lost or left behind. You want something that is going to stand out in the bottom of your carry-on, on the floor of a rental car, under the desk in a hotel room, or anywhere in a dimly-lit telecom/server closet.
The Macally PowerLink Emergency BatteryPack does what it need to do, but it could be better.
Customer Review: Emergency Power with a Plus
Summary: 3 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Exactly as stated in its name, the "Macally PowerLink Emergency Battery Pack" is meant to be primarily used in EMERGENCY situations in which a user has misjudged the available charge in an iPhone or iPod. When a few more minutes of battery power will make all the difference in the world (something near an hour, actually) the PowerLink will be a blessing.
Additionally, this little gadget also functions as a 2 gig flash drive, plenty of space to store numerous spreadsheets, documents and pictures. The PowerLink is only slightly longer, but a good bit "thicker," than the 2 gig flash drive that I carry in my pocket all the time, and this one will be thrown into my travel bag whenever I'm on the road.
As advertised, it took about three hours for me to charge the unit up via a USB port on my laptop. I should note that I did have to use the USB extender cord provided in order to connect to my laptop because the thickness of the PowerLink made it otherwise impossible to connect it at the same time my mouse was connected. But that's no big problem.
I have an old iPod that no longer will hold a charge and I was able to power it up with the PowerLink. Although I'm not sure how long the iPod would work this way, this is, I think, a good way to add some new life to what I've considered to be a dead device for some time now.
All in all, this unit delivers exactly what it advertises to deliver. Users expecting it to be more than an emergency battery will probably be disappointed. But others will appreciate what it offers.