Energenie ChargeGenie Review

Energenie ChargeGenie Review

As we seem to depend more and more on our smartphones, running out of battery is becoming less and less an acceptable outcome. Carrying an external power bank gives peace-of-mind, but they do tend to get in the way when you want to continue using your phone. Energenie have come up with a solution intended to let you keep using your phone as normal while charging.

chargegenie_box

The ChargeGenie consists of an oval-shaped 2000mAh battery with a couple of gel pads for sticking to the back of your phone. These have been developed to remain firmly in place during use, but be easy to remove and clean once charging has finished.

The unit also has an integrated microUSB cable which is long enough to reach your charging port regardless of where it’s located, but short enough as to not get in the way.

chargegenie_contents

One side of the power pack has a standard microUSB port for charging, while on the other is a small button. Once this button is pressed the battery begins supplying power and a green LED remains lit. It also illuminates the battery level indication represented by 4 blue leds. You can also turn the battery off and stop charging by holding down this button for 3 seconds – a feature missing from some other external batteries that can impact their standby time.

chargegenie

The ChargeGenie has a nice pebble-shaped design and seems well made. The matt black plastic body is sturdy and the LEDs are nicely hidden within the body of the unit, making them only visible when lit.

It’s fairly easy to remove the transparent pad cover, plug the cable into your phone and stick the charger to the back of your phone. The cover can be attached over the ChargeGenie while in use so as not to lose it and there’s even an integrated kick-stand allowing you to prop up your phone.

chargegenie_insides

Once attached the battery remained in place and the shape fitted well in the hand allowing comfortable use of my phone. It also added very little weight, meaning that even though you’re carrying around an extra battery your arm won’t end up aching. I did find the cable can tend to get disconnected from the phone while in my pocket , but with careful positioning this wasn’t a problem.

With a full charge, the 1A output of the ChargeGenie was able to boost my phone’s 2600mAh battery by about an additional 50% while the phone was in use. Obviously this isn’t intended to keep you going for days, but should be enough to bail you out if your phone starts dying before the end of the day.

chargegenie_stand_feat

When you’re finished charging, the pads peeled off easily and it then takes around 3 hours to recharge the battery when fully depleted.

Currently priced at £24.99 on Amazon UK or around $57 on Amazon US, the ChargeGenie is a little pricey for a 2000mAh battery. However what you’re really paying for is the convenience of being able to stick this to the back of your phone and continue as normal.

chargegenie_charging

Overall the price and functionality of the ChargeGenie is similar to some of the battery cases we’ve reviewed in the past.  With ChargeGenie you don’t get a case, but this has advantages.  The extra bulk can be easily removed when charging is complete and you should be able to use this in conjunction with your favourite case.  You’ll also be able to keep using it with your next phone, which you wouldn’t be able to do with a battery case.

You’ll find higher capacity batteries costing less, but the advantage is the innovative design which only adds a little bulk to your phone and allows you to continue using it. Therefore if you regularly need an extra bit of juice on the move or want something to keep you covered in an emergency then the ChargeGenie comes recommended.

Check the link for full details from the Energenie website..

 

Energenie

 

Associate Editor and part of the team of gadget reviewers at DroidHorizon. Also been known to dabble in software development to pay the bills.

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