My kingdom for a dead-ass simple way to squeeze a little more juice out of my iPod Touch while I’m gallivanting across the globe living the life of a high-profile technology blogger. I need all the battery life I can get while I’m flying in fancy airplanes to conventions in such exotic locales as Las Vegas, Las Vegas and, of course, Las Vegas.
So does the Richard Solo (made by Sharper Image founder Richard Thalheimer) make for an easy-to-use, no nonsense backup battery? In my best impression of Marv Albert to date; “YESSS!!!”
Overview and Features
The Richard Solo is a rechargeable lithium ion battery that comes with a retractable USB zip cord and a wall plug. You can charge the battery via the wall or your computer. What’s more, you can plug the battery into the bottom of your iPod and charge BOTH devices at the same time (see below). The iPod will fully charge first, then the battery.
The battery works with any iPod with a 30-pin connector (basically everything but the Shuffle) and provides “up to double the battery time,” according to the manufacturer.
Pros
This thing is great. I especially like it because my iPod Touch didn’t come with a wall charger so this thing basically provides me with that functionality PLUS it works well as an external backup battery. It’s solidly built, too. It’s made of really hard plastic (I think). It almost feels metallic.
It takes maybe an hour or so to charge the Richard Solo battery, and then once hooked up to a completely-drained Touch, it replenishes the device’s battery in about an hour and a half. Plus, you can use the Touch while it’s being recharged so it’s almost like having an instant second battery with you at all times. This thing is PERFECT for weekend trips. You don’t have to bring your laptop and iPod cable to recharge your device. Just snap this little guy on and you’re good to go.
Cons
It adds a little bulk, of course, and the $50 price point might seem a little high depending upon what kind of iPod you have. If I had an iPhone, though, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’d have one of these in the car (if I had a car) and one of them in the office (if I had an office). This thing would make for a killer phone charger.
See what I’ve done? I turned the cons section back into pros. It’s that good.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the best way to pretty much double the life of your iPod and the $50 price tag doesn’t scare you off, I can wholeheartedly recommend that you buy one of these. If you’re an iPhone owner, you should have one of these no matter what.
Richard Solo Smart Backup Battery for iPod [Product Page]
The RichardSolo backup battery is the one true accessory any iPhone owner needs. I have a car charger, but if you are out and about during the day, the RichardSolo backup battery is an absolute “must.” Any iPhone owner who reads this is aware of the short battery life of the iPhone, which won’t last throughout the day without a charge. So, this little handy dandy back-up is the absolute solution. Recently, I was the “navigator” of a friends car during an all day road rally, and if I had not had the back up battery, I would have had a dead iPhone. I cannot recommend this little dandy enough. A real life (aka battery) saver. Run, don’t walk to get one asap. SS
gatdamn that thing is ugly.
LOVE this battery! Fits the new 3G as well as the original iPhone and… even my iPod (but not Shuffle I read). I highly recommend this RichardSolo Backup Battery as the #1 iPhone accessory. I did the research. I read the reviews on all that is out there. This one has lived up to the high ratings it has earned. Plus—EXCELLENT customer support. I had a question and received a reply in less than an hour. Amazing attention to customers that is nearly unheard of. I’ll be buying these for gifts around the holidays.
I think its beautiful.
whoa that is an ugly thing but looks useful. this site ipodjuice.com has chargers and kits for ipod batteries if you don’t want a portable solution.
I would buy this pack, but I am afraid of uglying my ipod.
form over function? c’mon… not in this case (get it?). who cares? if you need extra juice and cannot get to a power plug, this sounds perfect.
i found a battery backup pack on ebay for under 16 bucks. it has a 2100mah battery in it . it charges not only ipod/iphone but any other device that will charge from a usb port..the only draw back is that you would need the deticated usb cord with you..it’s smaller than the ipod touch it’s charging..and with the cord instead of another thing hanging off of the ipod it looks much betterand you dont have to worry about pushing or putting pressure on the ipod connector.i’ve used to charge a cell phone , ipods for the kids on trips..and has more use than just charging an ipod..plus the price is teriffic.. i bought 3 ..christmas is comming…lol the only drawback is that it needs a usb connection to recharge it..but there usb adapters and car plugs w/ usb connectors in them..i just dont have one yet.