We all struggle with battery life. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard my friends ask if I have a charger on me (they think my bag holds everything gadget related). With the amount of social networking and texting we do; it would be a miracle if our batteries lasted throughout the day. How many times has a special moment been ruined because your phone was nearly dead and wasn’t operating correctly? I for one; have resorted to buying an extra charger to carry around. Yes it is that serious!
Do You Really Need An Extra Battery Pack?
Let me break down my case. I rarely carry a small bag. I really can’t do it. I carry two phones, a tablet, and a media player. Sometimes I have over the ear headphones, or in ear buds that also require extra space. I am usually out of the house for 12+ hours. While carrying my charger can help in certain situations; having my phone connected to the wall doesn’t leave me much room to be mobile. And of course the scariest situation for any gadgeteer; what if there isn’t a place to plug in your charger? It really does feel like the end of the world!
iPhone users have seen a solution to this problem for a while now. There are many cases with an extra battery pack or a battery that connects to the iPhone’s charging port. For Android however; it wasn’t so easy. All the phones don’t have the same battery and until recently did they all start using microUSB charging ports.
Enter the mycharge Voyage 1000. It’s looking to be your solution for that time of the day where you need to recharge your phone/tablet/e-reader and you need to remain mobile. I used it multiple times in the last couple of weeks. I think it’s a great addition to my bag; it’s a great addition to any gadgeteers bag.
It’s very small and portable. It charges through USB port and has a microUSB connector attached to charge your devices. The battery is 1000 mAh. I wouldn’t rely it on completely; but it definitely is a welcome help
When I see that my battery is low or approaching the 40% mark I take measures to prevent my phone from dying. First I do the simple steps; make sure Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS are all off. Then I lower the brightness. Lastly, I log out of all social networks.
Experience and Testing
I tested the mycharge Voyage 1000 with different things on different days. With it, I had the extra help I needed till I was able to plug in my wall charger. I plugged in the myCharge Voyage when my battery reached 40%. It lasted plugged in for 5 hours, and was able to stay logged in to my social networks and have the W-Fi on with heavy twitter activity, and texting. On day two of testing I used Samsung Music Hub and left it on for 6 hours along with heavy texting. On day 3 of testing I had Wi-Fi and GPS on. I also stayed logged into my social networks. The Voyage 1000 came through again and my phone stayed powered on for about 4.5 hours.
Is the mycharge Voyage 1000 a Worthy Addition?
At $39.99 each, it’s not a bad idea to grab one. You’ll never know when you can make it to your next wall charger. You can charge it overnight with the rest of your devices or charge it from your laptop or a USB wall charger. If your tablet charges through microUSB connector as well; it’s even more beneficial. The mycharge Voyage is smaller than my phone and not at all heavy. It even gives tone notifications (which can be silenced) and has an LED battery life indicator. Mycharge also has the iPhone version; the Sojourn 1000. I always say it’s better to be safe than sorry. Now there’s another device charging at my gadget station.
