- Dock simultaneously charges your iPhone (including iPhone 4) or iPod and Mini Battery Pack
- Included rechargeable Mini Battery Pack adds hours of power when on the go
- Includes detachable USB charging and syncing cable
- Compact and convenient for recharging in the home or office
- Charges your iPhone or iPod even when in a case
As a charger, this dock is attractive and reliable. It comes with two inserts, one for the iPhone 3 and one for the iPhone 4. I use the iPhone 4 insert, and my Verizon phone fits into the dock nice and snugly. I do need to slip off the bottom part of my Splash Cruiser case to make the phone fit; this is not a problem for me as I find this very easy to do. If I take out the insert, then the phone fits into the dock and charges while still in the case; however, I do not like to do this as it feels as though accidentally knocking the phone while in this position might cause the connector to bend. I have a wooden charging station that has 3 positions on the top for me to place 3 of these Kensington docks, one for each iPhone owner in my family. This allows the black power supplies to be hidden in the body of the charging station and is quite an elegant solution. We quickly got into the habit of placing our phones on the dock to charge each night.
The mini battery pack fits onto the dock behind the phone. As some other reviewers have mentioned, it is a little fiddly to place the battery on the dock, especially with one hand, but I use the battery infrequently enough that this does not concern me. The battery has 3 blue LEDs and one green one; the blue ones illuminate to indicate the state of charge of the battery, and the green one lights when it is fully charged. So normally you will have a green LED permanently glowing on the battery on your dock. I don't mind it as it is not particularly bright and fairly subtle.
I have now owned my iPhone about 2 months and have only needed to use the mini battery pack about 3 times. I have been pleasantly surprised by the life of the iPhone battery. My battery has only ever fully discharged when I have spent hours playing Scrabble on my phone, or using the Kindle reader, or surfing on the web. On these occasions it has been extremely handy to plug the mini battery pack into my phone and continue using it. After fully discharging the phone's main battery, it takes about 5 minutes after plugging in the mini battery pack before the phone can be used. The red battery icon appears, just as though you have plugged the phone into a real charger, as the main iPhone battery starts to recharge. After the 5 minutes or so I find I have at least two or three hours of use from the phone with the mini battery pack attached (I have never exhausted the mini battery pack the times I have used it). I do need to slide off the bottom part of my Splash Cruiser case in order to properly attach the mini battery pack to the phone, which is not a big deal for me.
My teenage son tends to forget to charge his phone more often than I do, and the battery pack has been more useful for him. Also, my daughters have iPod Touches (3G) and the mini battery works fine with these devices too, which is great when my 5 year old daughter wants to play Doodle Jump but her iPod Touch is out of power.
In retrospect buying 3 docks with mini batteries was probably overdoing it, as we have never needed all 3 batteries at the same time. We would certainly have been fine with two of these mini battery docks and one normal dock. But I would definitely recommend having at least one of these docks in your home for iPhone owners.i bought this for my bf and have seen what it can do. this product is great for its price. we recently put it to the test last night while waiting 4 hours in line for tron legacy at imax. his cell was down to about 65% and he had brought his fully charged charger, this product i'm reviewing, and while waiting on line, and still using his iphone for downloading updates, playing games, checking emails and such, he was able to get almost an additional 40% charge off this lil charger i got him. that was perfect! so if he was just using it to charge it could well be above 40% charge. the dock holds both the iphone 4 and battery nice and sturdy, it even provides a small connect base so all the weight of the iphone isnt on the prongs of the charger. its very easy to hookup. i'd recommend this item to anyone who uses their iphone all day and find themselves with very lil left by the end of their night, and still are out and about in the city or just away from home for that extra boost of power.This product does what its supposed to do charges your phone and give you a battery pack. However, I find that placing either the phone or the battery on the dock requires such a precise placement that it can be pretty annoying. I put mine on the nightstand, and there is no way to put the battery back on the charger with using both hands and having a clear view of the full dock and, even then, it can be difficult to line up. The phone is easier, but something about it seems a little tight, such that it can feel like it might break or scratch your phone when placing it on the dock. Also, you have to press down on the phone pretty hard. If you don't, you may find that sometime in the night it decided it wasn't connected well enough and didn't charge your phone. Overall, it is just too picky to be a convenient dock.Charges phone conveniently as expected. The extra battery charger is invaluable for those situations when you are low on juice and don't have the time or a place to charge. Quality look and feel. I recommend this product.
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I now own three of these, one for my home office, and two for each side of the bed (my husband and I both have iPhones). I love the way the phone sits in it, tilted slightly up. It's easy to read messages if I'm working at my desk. And the backup battery is a wonderful bonus! I paid over $40 each for the first two, so this price is an amazing bargin.The negative review states that it's difficult to get the phone in the cradle, even after lots of use. I agree, it does surprise me that I still have to pay attention each time. It doesn't help that the iPhone's connector isn't centered at the bottom. But that's a pretty minor issue for me. It's still a great charger and a great bargin.
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