Slashdot Mirror
User Review of N-Charge II Laptop Battery
First and foremost, the battery simply does not last as long as the first-generation battery did. I used both batteries on flights to Japan from the west coast of the U.S. -- that's about a 10-hour flight. The first-gen battery lasted close to seven hours, and was consistent in showing me the strength of its remaining charge through the whole flight. The second-generation battery lasted more like five and a half hours, and the battery went from showing moderate charge (two lights) to dying completely in less than an hour. That is not at all what I expected from a display.
Secondly, and only slightly less important, are the changes in the shape. The first-gen battery was the perfect shape and size to fit under my laptop, even when I used it with laptops with a slightly different footprint; the battery was large enough (length & width) that even larger laptops were still stable resting on it. It was also thin enough that having a footprint mismatch wasn't a big problem (either in terms of ergonomics or in terms of stability for the laptop). The second-gen battery is a horrible form factor. Just plain and simple, it doesn't appear to have been designed to take into account how people will use it. It's too tall to fit nicely under a laptop with a different footprint and the small size (length & width) ensure that any laptop resting on top of it will be completely off-balance.
I don't know what the company's use cases were for the device, but the most common times I use the external battery are either when I am sitting somewhere with no desk or power (and hence all my devices need to be on my lap or on the floor, but I have space to spread them out), or when I am on an airplane and have the same power scenario as the first case, but also am severely cramped for space in general.
If I have space (but no desk) then I need a long enough cord to get from my power supply to my laptop. That means that either the battery has to fit under the laptop (in which case it can have a short cord) or it needs to have a nice long cord (much longer than the short non-extendable one provided). N-Charge has failed to provide for either of these options.
If I'm on an airplane, the battery needs to fit under the laptop. Period. I might be willing to place it in the seat-back pocket, but the second-gen battery is too thick to fit well there. I might be willing to have it in my backpack on the floor in front of me (though that is so awkward that it is almost certainly dangerous if I have an emergency) but the cord is far too short for that.
I think the change to three charge lights (instead of 5 in the first version) was pointless, and that more information is better than less -- but I can accept it, so long as they are accurate. Unfortunately, they aren't. They don't seem to represent 1/3 of the charge each, more like 1/6, 1/3 and 1/2 respectively.
The new power adapter tips are easier to lose and don't fit my laptop port as well as the first-gen plugs. This has caused my laptop to end up being disconnected from the battery spontaneously and it appears to be slowly damaging the socket in my laptop, possibly due to wiggling.
At this point, I am planning on trying to return the second-gen battery and go find someone who will sell me one of the first-gen batteries on e-Bay. I'm tremendously disappointed and hope that N-Charge's third generation shows better design.
Thanks to Occams Razor for the review; Slashdot's new Hardware section could use your reviews, too.
Newer laptop batteries are making these sort of gadgets not-so-nifty.
I always felt that my batteries did better after a couple of charges. Maybe the new one was too new?
yeah, airport security sometimes look at you when you have a battery pack you soldered together yourself, but no one has stopped me yet.
Sometimes you just need the right technology for the job at hand.
http://www.planetnz.com/palmheads/tandy.php
-- John.
Of course there's not much else I can do - it's hard to argue with a "review" that's basically just a long rant about why the reviewer doesn't like the form factor. It doesn't even make any sense to complain about it; the form factor is just about the easiest thing to find out about *before* you buy the product - even if you bought it online.
Here's a second opinion, for what it's worth: I've owned the N-Charge II for several months now, and I'm extremely happy with it. I can't comment on the differences in battery life, since I never owned the first version, but I get ten hours total of productive time from the internal battery of my Vaio X505 plus both parts of the N-Charge II.
Which brings up what's probably the most important difference in this new version, oddly enough not even mentioned in the "review": The N-Charge II splits in two, letting you carry just half of it around if you only need half the battery life. This is perfect for me, since the total of 6 hours which I get with just one part is enough for most flights I'm on, and the smaller bulk avoids the silly feeling of carrying around a battery that's heavier and bigger than the ultraportable I paid dearly to get so light and tiny.
As for the form factor, I just slip it into the seatback pocket when on a plane, and otherwise I keep it in my bag. I got the extension cord so I can keep the bag on the floor while working on a desk or on my lap. But of course, if you absolutely must keep your external battery directly under your laptop, by all means get one of the competing products. Maybe next time you should read the specifications before ordering something.
-- If no truths are spoken then no lies can hide --
if airlines would put electrical outlets along the aisles for people to plug their laptops in.
Most empower adapters also double as a car charger as well.
Unfortunately, Li-Ion Batteries degenerate with time, from the date of manufacture, regardless if they are used or not. A Li-Ion battery will only perform well for a 2-3 years.
See: www.batteryuniversity.com for more information. There is also great advice for dealing with "Battery Gauges" (They calibrate on a full discharge)
The store link posted earlier contains CLEAR descriptions of each of the units, the first generation unit is available in BOTH 5 hour or 10 hour versions. The second generation unit provides 5 hours or a total of 10 WITH EXPANSION UNIT. I'm assuming the author had the old 10 hour version, about 300$, and purchased the new second generation base unit (rated to run for 5 hours), which is about $150. To get the same duration as the $300 (10hr) first generation unit, you would have to buy the $150 second generation unit, and add on to it the expander which is another $150. Store with info: http://store.yahoo.com/valencetech-store/
Most passenger aircraft now have power recepticals under the seats and it would seem to me to be better than lugging an extra battery around. AFAIK these are DC (12V or whatever the plane uses) to AC (110V).
First class flying bastard. Most of us geeks that fly for work have to take coach, which almost never has power receptacles.
BTW, it's silly to go from DC to AC back to DC. Just get a DC/DC converter. Targus sells one that works with most laptops, and can be used in either a plane or a car.
We have a user here that has one of the originals. If I remember reading the materials on the original, you were NOT supposed to use a laptop resting on the unit. The heat coming out of the bottom of a laptop could damage the unit. That's probably when they changed the form factor was to prevent people from using it exactly the way you've described. The original was designed with that form factor to easily slide into a laptop bag, not sit under the laptop while in use.
The only reason you should fully discharge a battery is to calibrate the battery meter. Full discharges have a negative effect on battery life. http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm