# External battery: a first look at New Trent's IMP500 for iPhone and iPad



## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

The new iPhone 4 has amazing battery life when compared to it's predecessors, but i've found that when you go a little camera crazy with it, your battery life tends to drop a lot faster...especially when you max out the brightness of the screen so you can see it in full sun. As we're about to take off on a week long trip, I figured it was time to think about possible external power sources. But if I was doing that, I wanted something beyond the little booster battery packs I had for our original iPhones, the kind that will give you a few extra hours usage and that's all. I wanted a power pack good for more than one charge, and that worked with any device that could charge via USB--our Bluetooth headsets, the Kindle, and of course, the iPads.

After some research, I ordered this through Amazon:

NewTrent IMP500

The NewTrent IMP battery packs seem to have some of the best review ratings I've seen on any product, and they seem to be remarkably consistent in product quality. Mentions of interactions with customer service also appear to be overwhelmingly positive. I was lucky enough to catch one of these while they were still in stock direct from Amazon, but shipping from NewTrent is free, and they are US based according to some reviews, so there shouldn't be any long delays related to overseas shipping from Asia.

I went with the NewTrent IMP500 over the newer model IMP880 based strictly on price. Through Amazon, it's around $40. The IMP500 is about $25 or so cheaper than the new version, and is good for three full charges of an iPhone, while its larger cousin is good for 5 charges. The IMP500 is also good for a 50% capacity charge of an iPad, which of course has two batteries and a much higher capacity than an iPhone. For me, 50% of the iPad battery life gives me at least another 5 hours of usage--add that onto my typical 10+ hours I get per charge, and I'm not likely to run out of juice on anything short of an intercontinental jaunt. But for those who do that sort of thing regularly, you may want a bigger battery pack, or multiples.

The IMP500 is a little bigger than my iPhone, about the size and weight of a deck of cards, so it should be easily portable. I used a regular iPhone/ iPad cable to test it out with those devices. The iPhone 4 immediately accepted it and started sucking down power, charging quickly even while in use. The iPad, as I expected, pitched a mini fit when plugged in, putting up the "not charging" icon next to the battery indicator. While plugged into the battery and briefly in use, however, the battery charge level did not drop, and as with USB charging via computer, when I put the device to sleep and came back 10 minutes later, it had in fact added two percentage points of charge. So the IMP500 can in fact charge an iPad, as advertised.

I'm doing a good deal of video with the iPhone this weekend, and as I said, we're traveling next week, so I'll add to this review with some longer term usage in the future. But at first glance, I'm pleased with this particular purchase.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

This looks like exactly what I need to take with me on the 3-Day walk. I've been wondering how I was going to manage to keep a charge on my iPhone. 

Thanks! Can't wait to hear how it works for you.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Woot has an offer today (8/11) for a similar product from Energizer for a large discount (I've ordered one).  I have a lower-energy version (2000 mA for mine vs. 8000 mA for the one at Woot) and it works great for my android phone.  The larger version is claimed by Woot to work for the iPad and will surely work for the iphone or iPod.  See Woot.com for details.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Woot has an offer today (8/11) for a similar product from Energizer for a large discount (I've ordered one). I have a lower-energy version (2000 mA for mine vs. 8000 mA for the one at Woot) and it works great for my android phone. The larger version is claimed by Woot to work for the iPad and will surely work for the iphone or iPod. See Woot.com for details.


Good price (around $40)--the same unit on Amazon is over $80. I've had bad luck with rated capacity and overall lifespan with Energizer's rechargeable AA batteries, so I'd personally be hesitant to use this, but I know others have done fine with their products. And an 8000 mAh battery should be good for around 5 charges of an iPhone.

Heather, my iPhone shows it's good for about 40 hours of audio only without a charge. You may not even need a pack the size of what I bought if that's all you'll use it for on the three day. If you're using the camera function, then yeah, you're going to want something along!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

VictoriaP said:


> I've had bad luck with rated capacity and overall lifespan with Energizer's rechargeable AA batteries, so I'd personally be hesitant to use this, but I know others have done fine with their products. And an 8000 mAh battery should be good for around 5 charges of an iPhone.


I use Everready lithium ion rechargables in my camera flashes, and have found them to work fine (neither better nor worse) than no-name lithium ions....I have only had my "XP2000" smaller version of this a couple of weeks, so can't speak to the lifespan.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

I used the Evereadys in my camera flashes for a time when I shot professionally.  Same listed mAh as others I tried, but they never lasted as many hours in actual use, and overall lifespan--well, I stopped shooting at that level two years ago.  The Maha PowerEx and Eneloops are still going strong four years after purchase.  Heck, even a set of four cheapie Sanyos still works.  The Eveready ones stopped functioning altogether long enough ago that I couldn't say exactly when it happened.  And the charger that came with them overheated within the first six months.

Again, maybe it was a bad batch.  Other people seem to do fine with them.  I had one of those experiences though that turn you off of a brand, and I can't recommend them to others because it was THAT bad.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Question: How long does it then take to recharge the IMP?  And can you recharge it in your car?  I'm assuming you can, but thought I better ask.
deb


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## corkyb (Apr 25, 2009)

I just wooted.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

drenee said:


> Question: How long does it then take to recharge the IMP? And can you recharge it in your car? I'm assuming you can, but thought I better ask.
> deb


It comes with a retractable USB cable that has a DC metal tip on one end; the wall charger has a USB socket. I'd guess it could be plugged into a USB car charger to charge the battery pack; but the manual says only to use the wall adapter that comes with it, which is pretty standard CYA wording for any rechargeable device. (I have a Motorola speakerphone that says the same thing and didn't come with a wall charger--I use a Kindle cable and an iPhone wall adapter to charge it and it does beautifully, but you CAN fry some devices like that if you aren't careful.) I'd say if it was important to you to be able to use a car charger, you'd need to contact the manufacturer to confirm. The manual says a recharge takes approximately 7 hours--I'd assume that's with a wall charger though, as in my experience car chargers seem to work more slowly.


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