Kindle Review – Kindle Phone Review, Kindle Fire HD Review

A criticism of the Kindle 2 has been the removal of the option to change the battery yourself. This causes problems in two situations -

1. If you want to carry an extra battery for international trips or any other reason. 
2. If your battery dies out.

Well, a solution for 1. is the Duracell Instant Charger. They’re releasing a new model so it’s worth covering what the current and soon-to-arrive duracell chargers do.

Duracell Instant Power Charger for $24.99 (current edition)

Here’s what it looks like -

The Duracell Instant Charger’s price point is pretty convenient and it has some other things going for it -

1. Very small (fits in the palm of your hand, literally) and light (45 grams). 
2. Adds 4 hrs to iPhones, 5 hrs talk time to cell phones and 35 hrs run time to iPods.  Probably means the Kindle gets a few days of run time.
3. They claim that it can be charged up to 600 times using a laptop or any other USB power source and can recharge a USB compatible device up to three times on a single charge.
4. Will work for the Kindle and Kindle 2 (from the Duracell site) -
   

   Powers device and charges the internal battery for iPods, BlackBerries, any mobile phones with Mini or Micro USB port.

5. Just $25.  

Note that when they say it will work with Kindle 2 they do mean that the Kindle 2 USB to micro-USB cable is needed.

Duracell Instant USB Charger for $20 (to be released soon)

Duracell has decided to revamp its instant charger line and will release 3 products -

1. A $20 instant charger which is basically a re-do of the above charger (and looks much better) - 

   DuraCell Instant Charger for Kindle 2

2. A $33 ($50 in some places) Powerhouse USB charger with higher capacity (supposedly 140% more). This is already available at Drugstore.com.
3. A pocket USB charger.

Let’s focus on the $20 Instant Charger -

1. The product description at Amazon clearly states that it works with Apple and Micro USB device cords with USB tips i.e. will work with the Kindle 2′s USB cord.  
2. 3 hours of cell phone power, 50 hrs of music playback. Again, that translates into a few days of Kindle time. 
3. On/Off switch, which is pretty cool.
4. Can be recharged hundreds of times.

Thoughts

It’s a useful device to have around if you’re making an international trip or a trip on which you might run out of Kindle battery life. For a 1 week international trip buying a $20 instant charger would be better than buying an international adapter (not to mention the hassles of finding one).

Its unfortunate that there is no micro-USB support without using the Kindle 2′s USB cord. However, its a good add-on to the Kindle’s battery and a good way to recharge the Kindle in tight spots (where a laptop or power outlet isn’t available).

Filed under: extensions Tagged: | kindle accessories, kindle battery