Review of knockoff Chinese back up batteries for Samsung Galaxy
The battery life of my stock Samsung battery for my Samsung Fascinate does not meet all of my needs. I've tried my best to follow most of the "easy" advice on the message board in terms of managing my applications and settings, but haven't had much success extending my battery life through trickeration.
I decided to spend a little money and gave these batteries a try.
2x 1500mah BATTERY + CHARGER FOR Samsung FASCINATE I500 - eBay (item 190472568155 end time Jan-14-11 19:44:12 PST)
You can buy two batteries plus a plug in the wall charger for $8, including shipping. I spend $16 and bought 4 batteries and two chargers. I spent the last two weeks running a series of informal tests using different applications, pitting the Samsung authorized battery against the knockoffs.
The result? The knockoffs are clearly inferior batteries. My estimate is that on average they are about 30% less powerful than the Samsung battery.
Nonetheless, I'm happy with my purchase and feel the knockoffs solve my battery problem. They may not suit everyone's usage pattern, but they are perfect for my needs.
I have two goals when it comes to battery power:
1 - I don't want to have to worry about running out of power in the middle of the day.
2 - I want to make full use of all the features of my phone. For me the biggest power drain is internet radio. I use this application more than any other and it drains 20% per hour on the Samsung battery and 27% per hour on the knockoffs.
Carrying one or two knockoff batteries allows me to accomplish both of these goals. No, I can't have the radio running all day, but I only use it for 2 or 3 hours when I'm out anyway.
Two things allow this strategy to work:
1 - The batteries are very small. Two can easily fit in my pants pocket and not crowd things too much. If that's a problem, they easily slip into my back left pocket and are not uncomfortable to sit on.
2 - Kudos to the Samsung engineers, who have made switching batteries a snap. The Fascinates back pops right off with the flick of a fingernail and pops right back on. I've fiddled with alot of battery cases for electronic devices over the years. This is the easiest I've ever used.
(Also, one minor note. I left one knockoff on a shelf for one week after charging it to 100%. It lost 9% of its power. I plan to leave two of my batteries in my car. This means I only have to bring them inside to re-charge them once a month or so.)
Now you don't have to buy Chinese batteries to implement this strategy. Verizon sells a back up stock battery with charger for $39.99, but I believe you can get it for $29.99 elsewhere.
Oh yeah, a drawback to the knockoffs is that they don't charge inside the phone. When you connect a USB cable to the phone when the knockoff battery is in, the phone tells you that you have no battery and the battery does not charge. You have to charge them up in the external charger.
So, there are two reasons to go with a stock backup battery instead of a knockoff.
1 - It is 30% more powerful than the knockoff
2 - It will charge in the phone when connected to a USB cable.
However, the knockoffs have the advantage of being much, much cheaper. $8 for two batteries with charger vs. $29.99 for one stock battery with a charger.
I think I made the right choice for my needs by buying four knockoffs with two chargers for $16. This has relieved a lot of stress in my life. My last business trip I found myself sitting on the floor of an airport terminal, fighting for an outlet with one of the airport custodians.
Also, I don't have to worry about turning off my push Gmail and live wallpapers when I'm away from an outlet. In other words, I can actually use all the amazing features of the phone.
Best off all, though, I love changing batteries because I feel like I'm getting over on Apple. Who wants to kneel down and kiss Steve Jobs feet every time your battery runs low?
The battery life of my stock Samsung battery for my Samsung Fascinate does not meet all of my needs. I've tried my best to follow most of the "easy" advice on the message board in terms of managing my applications and settings, but haven't had much success extending my battery life through trickeration.
I decided to spend a little money and gave these batteries a try.
2x 1500mah BATTERY + CHARGER FOR Samsung FASCINATE I500 - eBay (item 190472568155 end time Jan-14-11 19:44:12 PST)
You can buy two batteries plus a plug in the wall charger for $8, including shipping. I spend $16 and bought 4 batteries and two chargers. I spent the last two weeks running a series of informal tests using different applications, pitting the Samsung authorized battery against the knockoffs.
The result? The knockoffs are clearly inferior batteries. My estimate is that on average they are about 30% less powerful than the Samsung battery.
Nonetheless, I'm happy with my purchase and feel the knockoffs solve my battery problem. They may not suit everyone's usage pattern, but they are perfect for my needs.
I have two goals when it comes to battery power:
1 - I don't want to have to worry about running out of power in the middle of the day.
2 - I want to make full use of all the features of my phone. For me the biggest power drain is internet radio. I use this application more than any other and it drains 20% per hour on the Samsung battery and 27% per hour on the knockoffs.
Carrying one or two knockoff batteries allows me to accomplish both of these goals. No, I can't have the radio running all day, but I only use it for 2 or 3 hours when I'm out anyway.
Two things allow this strategy to work:
1 - The batteries are very small. Two can easily fit in my pants pocket and not crowd things too much. If that's a problem, they easily slip into my back left pocket and are not uncomfortable to sit on.
2 - Kudos to the Samsung engineers, who have made switching batteries a snap. The Fascinates back pops right off with the flick of a fingernail and pops right back on. I've fiddled with alot of battery cases for electronic devices over the years. This is the easiest I've ever used.
(Also, one minor note. I left one knockoff on a shelf for one week after charging it to 100%. It lost 9% of its power. I plan to leave two of my batteries in my car. This means I only have to bring them inside to re-charge them once a month or so.)
Now you don't have to buy Chinese batteries to implement this strategy. Verizon sells a back up stock battery with charger for $39.99, but I believe you can get it for $29.99 elsewhere.
Oh yeah, a drawback to the knockoffs is that they don't charge inside the phone. When you connect a USB cable to the phone when the knockoff battery is in, the phone tells you that you have no battery and the battery does not charge. You have to charge them up in the external charger.
So, there are two reasons to go with a stock backup battery instead of a knockoff.
1 - It is 30% more powerful than the knockoff
2 - It will charge in the phone when connected to a USB cable.
However, the knockoffs have the advantage of being much, much cheaper. $8 for two batteries with charger vs. $29.99 for one stock battery with a charger.
I think I made the right choice for my needs by buying four knockoffs with two chargers for $16. This has relieved a lot of stress in my life. My last business trip I found myself sitting on the floor of an airport terminal, fighting for an outlet with one of the airport custodians.
Also, I don't have to worry about turning off my push Gmail and live wallpapers when I'm away from an outlet. In other words, I can actually use all the amazing features of the phone.
Best off all, though, I love changing batteries because I feel like I'm getting over on Apple. Who wants to kneel down and kiss Steve Jobs feet every time your battery runs low?
