Kensington’s $40 Pocket Battery for Smartphones is roughly the length and width of a credit card, with a thickness of just over 1/4 inch.
The battery pack features two-inch mini and micro USB connector cables that snap in flush to either side of the casing. The underside of the battery pack stores a one-inch standard USB connector that can be connected to a computer to charge the internal 1200mAh-capacity battery.
The battery’s capacity ought to be enough to fully recharge most compatible smart phones once before needing to be recharged itself. Kensington claims that the Blackberry Storm, for instance, will fetch an additional 3.5 hours of talk time from the battery pack.
As a travel companion, I found the product to be very pocketable and appreciated not having to deal with tangled cords. The dual USB charging tips, too, work with plenty of devices on the market—most smartphones, the Kindle, portable media players, etc.
There’s a tiny power button on the top of the battery pack that doubles as a battery-life indicator, which is kind of confusing. When you plug a device into one of the connectors, the device will show itself as charging. However, Kensington states, "When you plug a mobile device in to charge, press the battery indicator button to ensure optimal charging – not following this step will result in long charge times." I never really seemed to notice the difference in charge times whether I pressed the power button or not, though.
Aside from that, the pocket battery makes a pretty good addition to any travel bag that contains various USB-powered gadgets. It’s a little on the expensive side after factoring in shipping costs when ordered directly from Kensington, but you can find it from the company’s retail partners for much less.
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