It’s always a pleasure to find a piece of gear that not only performs well, but does it with style. And that’s the case with the RichardSolo 1800 Smart Backup Battery for the iPhone and iPod.
It’s made for those times when you might be away from a power plug for awhile—on a long international flight or out camping. Or, with the unusual weather we’ve seen in the U.S. recently, it could also come in very handy if you’re stranded at an airport all day.
The RichardSolo 1800 is a rechargeable battery that can be used to charge or top off an iPhone (2G, 3G or 3GS) or any model of iPod, except the Shuffle. The 1800 mAh is enough to provide a full charge for an iPhone with power left over. A full charge takes about 90 minutes.
The backup battery can be charged from an AC outlet, car plug, or from your computer with a USB cable. LED lights show the charging status.
The RichardSolo 1800 includes all the cables and plugs you’ll need for charging—an AC wall charger that will accept 120V or 240V, making it ideal for international travel; an auto plug with two USB ports; and a retractable (nice touch) USB cable.
But here’s another trick. The RichardSolo 1800 can replace your standard iPhone or iPod charger to free up some room in the bag. You can even connect the battery and the iPod or iPhone, plug them in overnight and, in the morning, both will be fully charged.
And, as they say on the shopping channels, “Wait! There’s more!” The backup battery also includes an LED flashlight—always handy for travelers—and a laser pointer for presentations.
I also appreciate the snug connection to my iPod and the included support brace. For my use, the RichardSolo unit it provides a much more secure connection than the iGo PowerXtender I reviewed earlier.
The RichardSolo Smart Backup Battery retails for $69.95 and is available direct from the manufacturer or at Amazon. RichardSolo also offers a similar model for the BlackBerry and other smartphones that use mini- or micro-USB ports for charging.
I’ve carried a different brand of backup battery for years on just about every trip. But after checking out the RichardSolo 1800, it’s my new preference because of the flexible design, included cables and plugs and the extra features, such as the flashlight and laser pointer.
If you depend on a smartphone or iPod when traveling, the RichardSolo 1800 Smart Backup Battery will keep you talking (or listening) longer.
#1 by Adam - March 22nd, 2010 at 06:18
I arrived in New Zealand for 2 months of flashpacking and realised immediately that I had left my wall charger attached to the wall (funnily enough) so my option was waste money on a wall charger, or get a spare battery. I was chewing up heaps of power using google maps and 3G all day and the only way I could charge it was when I turned my laptop on, so I bought this device from eBay in Australia and got a friend to send it to me.
As you said, the great thing is that it comes with a wall charger and a great USB cable. In fact, the USB cable solved a problem for me as I have a universal external battery ( http://www.dvhardware.net/review120_acryan_mobilit.html) for my UMPC tablet but it will not charge iPhones as they draw power from USB data pins. With the Richard Solo USB cable I can now charge both my iphone and the solo from that bigger battery, and theoretically go weeks without seeing a power point.
I am about to go flashpacking for another 12 months and having the Richard Solo means I never have to question myself if I should really turn up the brightness higher, or play that game for an hour which will kill my battery, or reach 8pm at night and worry my battery is too low.
#2 by Buzz - March 22nd, 2010 at 06:53
Have you checked out either the Fueltank Uno or Fueltank Duo made by Callpod? They can charge almost any “smaller” device–ipod, iphone, cellphones, digital cameras, etc. I can get 2-3 charges for my Ipod Touch with the Fueltank Uno.
#3 by JohnG - March 22nd, 2010 at 08:08
@ Buzz: My colleague, Tim, did review one of the Callpod models, the Fueltank, here.