RichardSolo Battery, Case Keep Your iPhone Charged, Covered
RichardSolo (and no, that’s not a typo), makes and distributes a few interesting lines of products, from cellphone accessories to neat gadgets made by Dexim, one of which we’ve looked at before. We recently had the chance to check out their flagship product, a backup battery for iPhone 2G, 3G, 3Gs or any iPod, as well as the free case that automatically ships with the purchase of the battery.
The RichardSolo RS001 1800 mAh looks kind of like a smaller iPhone, with nice matte silver accents and a sleek black matte body. It clips onto the end of your device, and thus covers the docking port, preventing you from using some other accessories at the same time. That was our only real issue with it though; the 1800 mAh that it can hold are enough to charge the iPhone completely and then some. It takes a while to charge, like any other external battery pack, and does work best when you don’t connect it until the battery is running low. The casing is sturdy, and the support braces (optional) are intended for when you are trying to use the iPhone while charging. The case they include works nicely with the braces as well.
Better than any others we’ve tried, included in the box you get a nice wall charger, a dual-USB car charger, as well as a great retractable USB cable. The warranty lasts a year, and at $70, it’s higher than some others but is definitely feature packed. For instance, they even included a red laser pointer and an LED flashlight built into the battery, with a sleek on/off button. And, unlike some others we’ve seen, colored lights display charging status so you can easily tell when the battery is full, etc. One note: on some iPod models, the headphone port will be blocked when using the RS001 directly connected.
The RichardSolo Custom Case for iPhone 3G comes free (as of publication) with the purchase of the RS001 battery. It has a good gripping texture, and is of the two-piece solid plastic variety. That means it adds a bit more weight and heft, but more durability than others. It probably wouldn’t be worth the $25 they normally ask, but as a free inclusion, it’s fantastic. The best part is that it works perfectly with the battery, though you will have to slide off the bottom part for docking.
