Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

Battery Pack for iPhone

One of my complaints about the iPhone is that the batteries tend to run out quickly if you are using it intensively for work. And as we all know, the batteries are built-in so you cannot carry around a spare. On my first walkabout at the Red Shirt protest site the battery run out after less than four hours. Admittedly, I was using it extensively to take pictures, edit photos and send them out onto the Internet via Twitter. I was also writing moblogs and uploading videos. On my second visit I turned off a number of options that helped make the battery last longer. I will talk about tips for making your battery last longer another time. Today I want to introduce you to this portable battery pack that I picked up the other day at MBK in Bangkok.

The battery pack weighs only 54 grams and plugs into the bottom of your iPhone as you can see here. It then starts to charge your iPhone straight away. The sales staff said it can take your battery from 10% to a full 100%. You have to charge the battery pack first by plugging in your normal USB at the bottom. The four blue LED lights tell you that you have a full charge. It doesn't take long. Incidentally, the capacity of this battery pack is 1900 mAh. During my test, the iPhone had about 20% left on the battery when I plugged the battery pack into the bottom. The above picture was taken 90 minutes later. As you can see, there are still two lights showing on the battery pack meaning I could do another charge later. At this moment, I cannot tell you how long the battery pack will keep the charge, but at least with the LED lights you will be able to keep an eye on it.

I bought this battery pack for the iPhone at MBK which has easy access from the sky train station at BTS National Stadium. I have also seen them at Fortune Tower which has easy access from the underground station at MRT Rama 9. There seems to be two or three versions including one with solar panels. The prices varied from 450 baht to 795 baht. You need to shop around to get a good price. I got mine for 500 baht which is about US$15. Another vendor said 796 baht for the same battery pack. You need to look at the capacity. I saw one less than mine and another at 2000 mAh. You might find one higher but as I said, 1900 mAh managed to do the job. You also need one that has LED lights so you can see how much charge is left. A more expensive version of mine had adaptors for different mobile phones. Alternatively, go to the Apple store and pick one up for 1,600 baht!