REVIEW: Apple iPhone iWalk Emergency Battery

Introduction The iPhone has been a product of major interest ever since it burst on to the scene in its 1st Generation form, but one thing it has in common with other mobile devices is battery longevity... By that I mean if you are like me, with heavy use, the iPhone won't make it through an entire day without some help! GPSforLess have come to the rescue with a solution to that very problem. Does the solution live up to expectations? Read on to find out!

For your delectation some photographs are thumbnails which may be clicked on to load a larger image.
Thanks go out to our new friends at GPSforLess for providing us with a review sample.
For more information on the Apple iPhone iWalk emergency battery, click here to visit the product page at the GPSForLess website.

Fast Facts
Rechargeable lithium ion battery
Ultra small & simple Power
Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and all other iPod devices except Shuffle
Small and lightweight for pocket, purse or briefcase
Begins to charge your Apple device immediately
Insert the charger, and the indicator light turns to red.
When the battery is fully charged the indicator light turns to Blue.
Charge the Smart Backup Battery and iPhone / iPod together (the iPhone / iPod will charge first and then the backup battery — the next morning both are completely charged)
Smart, automatic on/off charging technology protects the battery from overcharging
Powerful and safe Battery Cell
Rechargeable for over 500 Cycles
2 Light LED Battery Status Indicator
Full one year warranty
Charge using adapter that comes with iphone/ipod

Specifications
Model No	CM608
Model Name	iWALK
Battery Type	Lithium ion
Capacity	800mAh
Input Voltage	DC 5.0V
Output Voltage	DC 5.0V 0.25V
Size	6.1x3.15x1.75cm
Weight	35g
Working Time For iPhone
Standby Time	Up To 112 Hours
Audio Playback	Up To 11Hours
Talk Time	Up To 3.5 Hours
Video Playback	Up To 3 Hours
Internet Use	Up To 2.5 Hours
Working Time For iPods	Unit: Hrs
IPOD	Audio	Video	Internet
iPOD Nano 2nd Gen	58
iPOD Nano 3rd Gen	58	12
iPOD Classic 80GB	47	8
iPOD Classic 160GB	47	8
iPOD Photo	26	7
iPOD Video 5th GEN 30GB	30.5	6.5
iPOD Video 5th GEN 60GB	30.5	11
iPOD Video 5th GEN 80GB	30.5	11
iPOD Touch	10	3
iPhone 3G	12.5	3.5	3

Aesthetics I was quite surprised when I opened the packaging of the iWalk emergency battery charger for the Apple iPhone from GPSforLess. I was expecting the battery to be a bit of a beast, but to my surprise, it is perfectly pocketable, which means carrying it around hasn't been a major issue for me, since I don't carry a manbag or anything like that! .

Front The device itself is quite straightforward, much as you would expect from an external battery. At front left, there are three LED lights, the first two being indicating charge left when connected to the iPhone, the third indicating the status of the battery as it is charging. The only other marking on the front is the iWalk branding. Simple and functional to my mind.

Back There's not really much to say about the back of the iWalk. Oh wait, yes there is, the back actually houses the all important charging socket... We'd definitely be lost without it. The charging socket is designed to accomodate the iPhone cable socket, which is proprietary to Apple. As mentioned, the pleasing thing is that, as Apple supply a USB charger, you can charge the iWalk via the mains adapter or a USB socket. So best of both worlds.

Top The top of the iWalk quite plainly houses the iPhone connector. Unlike the actual iPhone charge cable, the iWalk doesn't have the squeezable side tabs that release the two prongs that hold the cable in place, therefore it just pushes into place. I have managed to dislodge the iWalk a couple of times by moving the iPhone while it is charging but, on the whole, plugging the iWalk into your iPhone is a pretty stable affair and I've suffered no real issues with it.

Attached to iPhone I've included this photo to show you what the iWalk looks like when attached to the iPhone. It does add a bit of bulk to the device, but it is still perfectly usable both as a phone and a PDA. I had no issues in using the iPhone with the battery attached. The iWalk physical connection to the iPhone is reasonably sturdy but I would still treat it with care as excessive pressure could see it snap.

Charging Charging the iWalk is a piece of cake. Simply take your iPhone charger and plug it in to the socket on the back. Fear not, those of you who prefer not to carry the bulky plug adapter, the iWalk can also be charged directly from a USB port as well! Bearing in mind there's not much more to be said about charging a battery, I decided to perform a few tests to give you a little more insight into the iWalk. Charging from fully depleted using the iPhone mains charger took approximately 2 hours. To be a bit more scientific and confirm the findings I performed the test a few times, and on each occasion it took approximately 2 hours. So on the whole, not a bad charging performance. The next bit is a little less scientific as I just could not find an application for the iPhone that would give you a percentage reading on battery charge, so I settled for a little guess work! With the iPhone's battery depleted to roughly 25% (I did say it was a guess!!), I plugged the iWalk Emergency battery in and let it get to work. When charging your device two red LEDs light up to indicate charging is in progress. After a full hour the iWalk emergency battery was fully depleted. Using my same guesstimating technique, I would describe the iPhone's battery to be restored to 75% of capacity, which would indicate that the iWalk had boosted the iPhone's battery by 50%. Whilst it didn't charge the iPhone to 100%, it would definitely get you out of a fix and give you at least 50% more capacity until you can find a power source.

Pros

&Cons

Svelte size	Connector doesn't lock in place
Attractive design
Quick to charge

Overall Conclusion
To conclude, the iWalk has been a very welcome addition to my iPhone. As I am a very heavy phone user, and also do lots of email and listen to podcasts when I get the chance, most of my devices are usually running out of power near the end of the working day. With the iWalk in my pocket, I am able to get a welcome extra boost to carry me on into the evening at which point I am usually not very far from a power outlet!

All that remains to be said is that I would recommend the iWalk as a good addition to any iPhone users kit...