Apc Universal Battery, 10WH by APC
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Our Price: $117.99 Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days Buy Used: from $64.99 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Apc Universal Battery, 10WH
Digital camera Review: Buyer Beware
Summary: 3 Stars
Be careful with this. I just bought an APC Mobile Power Pack for $19.95 at Staples. It was on sale -- normally 49.95 -- but significantly less expensive than here, obviously.Digital camera Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
That's right - no cabling, no nothing comes with it. Hard to find cables.Digital camera Review: Does what it says
Summary: 5 Stars
** UPDATE 3/17/2010 **
I continue to love this product, but buyer beware, APC discontinued it. What is available for sale now is old stock, and "old stock" and "batteries" are two things that should never be used in the same sentence. If you buy this product now it likely will not work as expected (ie, won't hold a charge). This was an excellent product, I wish APC still made it.
As with any product from APC, it does exactly as it says it does. I'm using this product with my iPhone 3G to listen to music on long flights. I've yet to drain the battery playing only music, I have not tried it outside of airplane mode for any extended periods. I suspect this product could keep the iPhone 3G playing music while in airplane mode for a day and beyond if the screen is off.
I purchased this from Circuit City's closeout sale. It was supposed to be $11 but it ended up being $0 because the clerk forgot to scan it. Though I got this unintentionally for free, having used it, I'd gladly pay the $50 for it without a second thought. It's one of those things that after you get it and start using it, you begin to wonder how you ever lived without it.
As for the product itself, I was debating on buying it or not. Within the packaging it seemed a tad heavy, but it turned out it was mostly just the packaging itself and the cable/charger that was adding the weight. As for size, I'd compare it with a digital camera; it fits in your pocket nicely.
The only con I've found is, as others have said, it takes some time to charge. I leave it charge overnight, no big deal for me. Those that may need to recharge it several times during the day may find that annoying and/or prohibitive. Some others have said it only charged for so long before needing to be told to start again, mine charged for about 3-4 hours without any such behavior and then shut off (as is the norm stated in the manual). I charge it with the wall charger, as I am low on USB ports.
I see a lot of reviews on amazon playing up products that are indeed good, but the companies offer poor customer support. Keep in mind it's not just the frequency of problems you need to look at, it's how problems are handled when they arise. With any company, expect the occasional flaw. You don't really know a company until you deal with their customer support. APC is a great brand. They have QA testing and friendly, helpful, customer support.
With that being said, if you buy something from APC, expect it to work exactly as stated; and on many occasions, better than stated. APC frequently underrates their own products (well, technically speaking they don't, other manufacturers just overrate their products), so generally specs to specs, an APC product will frequently out preform a competitors product which lists the same or better specs. Keep this in mind when comparing products.
A good example of that is on the packaging; the run time is listed as using your cell phone to talk, or using your iPod to play video, instead of standby or just playing music. Competitors usually list their products in an extreme power saving mode rather than a mode you'd actually use your device in most often.
So, if you are shopping for an external battery, good news! Your search is over. Click buy. You won't be disappointed!
Digital camera Review: Excellent power "safety net" for road warriors
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this product for a few weeks now and I have had a number of occasions to use it since I travel by air frequently. My need was to recharge my iPhone primarily, but also several other USB powered devices from time to time. APC should be commended for a lightweight, elegant battery solution that looks great and works just as well.
Here's how the APC UPB10 stacked up:
PROS:
- Very nice look and feel, looks very executive
- Solid overall construction and nice metal buttons
- Fashionable, 2.5 inch graduated charging LED
- Charges from a USB source itself, including a laptop, so no extra charger to be carried
- Has both mini USB and full size USB connector
- Surprisingly lightweight given the charge capacity (10W I believe)
- Can fast charge an iPhone as good as a wall connection
CONS:
- Charges only when main metal "on" button is pushed, not just by jacking in the plug, a very minor complaint
- Only charges 20 minutes at a time, then needs another goose of the button, though this makes sure you don't waste power but requires occasional attention
- Very slow recharging, can take hours, though this probably will make the battery live a lot longer
Bottom line, I would buy this product again in a heartbeat.
Digital camera Review: GETTING THE EDGE, OR HOW A 58 BUCK CHARGER CAN GET YOU DOWN THE ROAD
Summary: 5 Stars
Garmin Edge 205/305 12 Volt Vehicle Adapter Make that the Garmin 205/305 GPS units.
Garmin for years has maintained its Garmin 305 (the one I'm familiar with) had a 12 hour battery life. If the screams of anguish and pain coming from Garmin and MotionBased forums mostly the instrument has not performed up to rating.
I'd like to digress here and point out that around the time the Garmin hit the streets, Apple came out with their iPod. I guess the proforma assumption from the tech companies is that a battery (Li ion, I believe) will perform as stated. And that is: 12 hours.
That didn't happen. Apple was soon embroiled in lawsuits. Garmin it seemed had buyers who were, hmmm, more sedate? Possibly because a day of bike riding doesn't leave much time for civic action. I think we're more inclined to chuck the instrument (400.00) as we see our data fade to black. So, now the iPod battery (which I recently replaced in Oct.) is rated at around 18 hours. The Garmin, purchased in Nov of this year is still rated at 12 - but I never saw that. Nor apparently has any other user of the 305.
So the solution was to look for a secondary source of power (and not hold Garmin responsible for its claim) which would be small enough to put on the bike and powerful enough to zap the Garmin throughout the duration of a 100 miles, + or even a multiday event where AC power would not be easy to come by.
So, I tried 2 before I hit on the APC UPB10. I not so quickly realized (and I had others who ran into the same problems to turn to)I needed 5 V output.
The APC UPB10 arrived Friday. I brought it up to full charge with the supplied AC plug and USB cable. The instrument has a handy linear gauge which shows the amount of charge.
I disconnected the AC plug, plugged the USB cable into the Garmin and. . .da DA!~! Success. This I thought was a very satisfactory bench test. The real test, on the bike for a 50+ mile ride or so is yet to happen, but I am sure the APC UPB10 will function as rated (55 hours), and as I expect.
Finally a word about what some consider a real problem/defect with the instrument which is that one must push a switch about every 20 minutes else the APC UPB10 goes into a near coma. For me that's not a problem because the charger is in a sense in my lap and the Garmin is on the handlebar so I'm always monitoring the charging cycle.
Yep. Garmin should have thought of this one. GREAT PRODUCT.