D8 iWallet 2000mAh External Battery Review

Power, power and power and I hate writing intros to reviews, especially when I’ve reviewed a lot of the same product over and over again. Yes they are all different, they’re all by different companies and have different specifications, but yet the base product is still the same and it does the same thing. Really how many ways can you say the same thing? So today for review I’ve got a battery, specifically a 2000mAH external battery called the iWallet from a rather new company called D8.  The iWallet is very small and portable and it comes with three different tips for charging various devices, but bet of all it has a regular USB port for charging so you don’t even need any tips. So read on…

 

Price: $14.80 (from Amazon at time of review)

Overall Rating: 5/5

 

Specs/Features:

 

iWallet D8-1203

The iWallet external battery is an Apple certified external battery pack. This external battery pack will power any device that charges via USB, including Apple brand products. “Made for iPhone” means that this battery has been designed to safely connect to iPhones, and has been certified by Apple to meet Apple’s performance standards. It has successfully passed FCC, CE and ROHS testing.

The D8 iWallet 2000mAh External Battery pack delivers 8 hours of extra talk time to your iPhone or other mobile phone. This equates to 46 hours of MP3 playback. The D8 2000mAh External Battery Pack is perfect for using when traveling or outdoor activities.

The D8 iWallet external battery is designed to get you powered up, without getting in the way. With it’s slim, compact design you can easily slip the D8 iWallet into your jeans or purse.

The iWallet charges your device via usb port making it extremely versatile. Whether you need to charge your smartphone, iPhone, iPad, PSP or any other USB connected device, the iWallet will meet your needs.

Product Specification:
Capacity: 3.7V/2000mAh
Cycle life: >800
Charging time: 3 hours
MICRO USB INPUT: 5VCD/1A
USB OUTPUT: 5V/2.1A
Size: 89.5*52.5*13mm
Weight: 62g

 

What’s in the Box?

 

The box isn’t exactly amazing looking, it’s rather plain but then again it’s what’s inside that counts right? On the front is a picture of the product inside and then on the back, some basic specs and info.

 

Once you unpack the box you’ll find the battery pack and accessories in a plastic tray and the user guide over on the side.

 

Once you get everything unpacked you’ll find a coiled style USB cable, standard USB cable, zip style bag with tips and the battery itself.

 

The coiled cable is used for charging your devices with the battery pack and the regular USB cable is used for charging the battery. They can be interchanged though as the battery does charge via microUSB and there’s a tip included.

 

Only three common tips are included, Apple, miniUSB and microUSB and they fit into the end of the coiled cable so you can use whatever fits. I know for me that’s more than enough as most of my device use microUSB or the Apple connector.

 

The battery is called the iWallet and it’s small with dimensions of 89.5 x 52.5 x 13mm or about 3.5” x 2.1” x .5”, so yes it’s small and very portable. The weight is only about 62 grams which is only a little over two ounces so it won’t add much weight to your daily carry at all. Sure it’s plastic, but everything is these days and for what it is it seems well made.

 

On the top is a small loop that can be used for securing it to your bag or wherever else that’s appropriate.

 

On the front at the bottom in the center us a strip of LEDs to indicate power, charging and the battery level.

 

On the right side is a small black button which is the power button to turn it on to start the charging process and it’s also used to check the battery status. One quick tap displays the battery status while a long press turns it on, and the same thing to turn it off but it also has an auto off or sleep mode if you’re not using it for more than a minute.

 

On the front edge is a regular USB port and a microUSB port.  The microUSB port is used to charge the battery and the standard USB port is for charging your devices. The iWallet has a standard USB port so you can use your own USB cable for whichever device you want to charge. You don’t have to use the included USB cable and tips, as long as you have the cable for your device you can charge it.

 

The back just has an ID label on it, not much special, like the back of most electronics today.

 

 

Impressions / Review:

 

The first thing you’ll need to do before actually using the iWallet is to charge it and that’s done with the included USB cable. When you plug it in the LEDs will light up and start to blink, there are four of them that indicate 25% charge each and when they fill up and they’re solid it’s done charging.

Charging time depends on how much battery is left, and when I got it it was three-fourths full so it didn’t take long at all. According to the specs it should take about three hours to charge fully though. Once charged the battery should provide an extra 8 hours of talk time or an extra 46 hours of music time or an extra 11 hours of game time. I’d say that’s not bad at all for a little 2000mAH battery.

 

For testing I tried a couple things, the first was my iPod Touch and I used the included tip and cable. The iPod charged with no problems, you just plug it in and push the button on the iWallet to start charging.

 

I then switched tips to the microUSB one and charged my HTC One which worked just fine as well.

 

Some people say that a small external battery isn’t really worth it and I disagree. The iWallet is only 2000mAh yes, but it’s very small making it very portable. I also own a 14,000mAh battery (Ravpower) which is huge in both capacity and physical size and it’s rather heavy. If you need to travel light I don’t think something like that 14k battery would be what you would want, sure it’s great as it’s huge and you can charge everything from it multiple times but it’s not something you can just slip into your pocket. Batteries come in different sizes for a reason as you might not want or need a large battery for everyday use. The iWallet is something that you could slip into your pant pocket or a pocket in your bag and you wouldn’t even really notice you had it until you needed it. The Ravpower 14k battery is one that you would not put in your pocket, it probably wouldn’t fit for one and really you don’t need all that power everyday. Personally I’d take the Ravpower if I was going away for the weekend like camping or anyplace that I knew there would be no power or limited access to it. The iWallet is something you could carry everyday with you as like an emergency power source, or even just toss it in your car so it will be there when you need it.

In the following two pictures you can see the iWallet and the Ravpower.

 

To give you an idea of really how small the iWallet is, here it is with a tube of Carmex, the battery isn’t much larger at all.

 

The charging times vary on the device you’re using and how much battery capacity is left on the device, so your experience will vary. From my time with it, the iWallet charges devices at about the same speed as it would be using the regular USB connection on your computer. It’s not a fast charger, it’s not supposed to be, I don’t even think there are any fast chargers out there, at least I haven’t run across any.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

 

The D8 iWallet is what it is and it’s tiny portable external battery that you can take anywhere with you to make sure you’ve always got power when you need it most.

The iWallet comes with three common tips for charging or you don’t even have to use them as it has a regular USB port so as long as you’ve got the cable you’ll be able to charge your devices.

Yes it’s only 2000mAh but that’s more than enough to give you about an extra eight hours of talk time on your phone, and it only take about three hours to charge it over a regular USB connection.

I think the iWallet would be great to take with you everyday as a ‘just in case’ type of thing. It’s small enough that you can even fit it in your pocket if you want to really travel light.

 

 

Pros:
+Has standard USB port for charging
+Very small and portable
+Comes with common tips
+Well made

 

Cons:
-None really

 

 

Disclosure: This product was given to me for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review; I do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products.