Seidio Palm Pre battery adds more staying power, retains slim figure

Admit it, your 1150mAh stock Palm Pre battery is far less than stellar -- it's okay, we won't tell anyone. In fact, you can pick up an even larger, 1350mAh battery from Seidio that manages to keep the same physical proportions as its predecessor, meaning no dead giveaway / gaudy bulge the back of the phone. Ideally, that'd get ya an almost twenty percent bump in usage, but we doubt it pans out so nicely in field testing. Feel free to find out for yourself, it's on sale now for a cool $45.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

[Martin @ Jul 9th 2009 2:58AM]

plam? engadget better work on their spelling

[Toolman @ Jul 9th 2009 3:00AM]

Too many late night cocktails I guess.

[kojo87 @ Jul 9th 2009 3:01AM]

i think they are lysdexic

[mikethevee @ Jul 9th 2009 3:10AM]

apparently you are dyslexic too XD

[Shinigami @ Jul 9th 2009 3:55AM]

Can 17mm being called slim be considered a typing mistake? I always thought "slim" meant 13mm and less...

[EGOvoruhk @ Jul 9th 2009 5:17AM]

PLAM!

[Mike Cerm @ Jul 9th 2009 3:01AM]

You can get Centro batteries at a lot of places for $15, and they work just fine in the Pre. Sure, they're only 1150 mAh, but for $45 you can buy 3 of them. Seems like a better deal to me.

[bakachu7 @ Jul 9th 2009 3:26AM]

Have you personally used them? I'd like to get me 1, or 3, if they do really work. I know they have the same form factor but I wanted to make sure functionality was the same.

[Mike Cerm @ Jul 9th 2009 3:47AM]

Yes, I'm using one right now. I swap back and forth with the original Pre battery, and a Centro battery that I got from Meritline. The battery life is just the same, there's no overheating or anything like that. There's absolutely no difference. (I only mentioned where I got it because I'm sure that some places could conceivably sell crappier knock-offs that don't work as well, and I can only vouch for the battery that I have.)

[JayCanuck @ Jul 9th 2009 5:00AM]

The Centro batteries don't have the internal power saving chip that the Pre batteries does have. So in all likelihood, Ceentro batteries will work, but you'll find they drain faster

[Mike Cerm @ Jul 9th 2009 12:46PM]

I've heard about the "power saving chip" and, even if it does exist, it certainly doesn't make a noticeable difference in battery-life. Were it to exist, it would only effect standby times, which are pretty meaningless in "normal" usage. It's not like the authentic Pre battery goes all day long and the Centro battery only get you through lunch. Each lasts about a day.

Without a doubt, if you need more power and you're going to spend $45, three Centro batteries will last a whole longer than just one of these extended batteries, or the official battery from Palm (which retails for $40).

[B3astofthe3ast @ Jul 9th 2009 3:01AM]

$45 is alot for a battery...

[Mike Cerm @ Jul 9th 2009 4:04AM]

If you think $45 is a lot, you should see what Apple charges for battery replacement. (Spoiler Alert: it's $86 +tax!) Also, since it's not user-replaceable you have to be without your phone for a week.

$45 is in-line with what your typical name-brand battery goes for. However, you can usually find off-brand batteries that are much cheaper, especially for common models. Sure, the phone company will warn you that unapproved batteries could blow up in your face (literally), but in reality they're probably made in the same Chinese factory that made the one that shipped with your phone. Also, it's not like OEM batteries are disaster-proof. (Remember all those exploding laptops and swollen MacBooks?)

[loosely_coupled @ Jul 9th 2009 5:00AM]

@Mike Cerm

Only lazy idiots send their phones to Apple. The battery on the iPhone is only two screws away, and you can pick up cheap batteries for it online.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jul 9th 2009 5:24AM]

Don't think of it as $45 for a battery, think of it as $244 for a Pre.

[Magnus @ Jul 9th 2009 3:02AM]

I'm buying this for my Pre. I'm tired of it dying on me all the time :\

[glenskey @ Jul 9th 2009 3:03AM]

sadio sounds shady-oh

[glenskey @ Jul 9th 2009 3:04AM]

*cough* seidio *cough* *cough*

[Alex McKee @ Jul 9th 2009 3:12AM]

Damn, I saw this in the twitterfeed and I was hoping it was some sort of Pre KIRF. Oh well.

[roach @ Jul 9th 2009 3:13AM]

Ahhh...replaceable battery. There is no other way!

[cpljwlusmc @ Jul 9th 2009 3:19AM]

Plam Erp, one of Paple iPheon's main competitors, along with Balckberry Strom.

[Miles @ Jul 9th 2009 4:00AM]

Hahaha oh wow.
I guess you're paying a PREmium price for a project still in PRErelease!
I'll be enjoying my iPod Touch and iPhone 3GS

[Brown Robott @ Jul 9th 2009 4:22AM]

Yeah right. Replaceable batteries are good. I have an iPod Touch and an iPhone. The battery on my iPod is almost dying. It can only last up to 20 minutes in idle mode. How I wish I could personally replace it's batteries but just can't because it wasn't designed to. Just wait till your batteries are worn an you'll be wishing for replaceable batteries too. And obviously you are one obvious trolling fanboy.

[Zorque @ Jul 9th 2009 6:22AM]

Dumb post, anime avatar... wow, you're a cool bro!

[maveric101 @ Jul 9th 2009 6:29PM]

why the fuck would you buy both an ipod touch and an iphone 3GS?

[Gi @ Jul 9th 2009 4:04AM]

about 3 weeks late engadget

[Burt Reynolds @ Jul 9th 2009 6:55AM]

I hate to be one of "those" guys too, but yeah, a little late to the party fella's. It's been out for awhile.

[ddub @ Jul 9th 2009 4:09AM]

why is this a story now. the battery has been out for a month already. It's not like they just released it.

and that other gadget site has it too. are they copying each other's month late story/

[junglistbuddha @ Jul 9th 2009 4:15AM]

I just saw the tweet about this, i was hoping to catch the site before they fixed it from "Plam" lol

[Dave @ Jul 9th 2009 7:22AM]

Problem is removing the back cover is a beast to get to the battery.
It is possible, but not quick.
Wouldn't want to have to do it daily, even once a week would be too much in my opinion.

[sweet greggo @ Jul 9th 2009 7:30AM]

???

I have ZERO problems removing the cover on the Pre. Just push in the tab and run your finger nail in between the gap. Takes all of 1 second.

[Rick @ Jul 9th 2009 12:34PM]

Not sure what the problem is, push the button then slide a fingernail around the edge. I can get mine of in less than 2 seconds. Once a week, heck I would not have a problem with doing it once a day.

Rick

[sweet greggo @ Jul 9th 2009 7:32AM]

A heads up to Pre owners: there are people that have reported problems using this battery. Search around and read some reviews before buying.

[Gi @ Jul 9th 2009 8:56AM]

yeah its a 3rd party, I wouldn't trust it just search around for the centro batteries like Mike^ said

[NeoteriX @ Jul 9th 2009 9:36AM]

Apparently those who have reported problems are getting sent new ones!

[agg @ Jul 9th 2009 8:25AM]

I wouldn't trust a Seidio Battery. I bought a "longer lasting" one for my Touch Diamond a few months back that was complete crap. It barely lasted half as long as the original battery fully charged, if it lasted that long.

[webterractive @ Jul 9th 2009 8:29AM]

I'm eagerly awiting the Pre's arrival in Canada via Bell, for people who have one is it worth the switch? My current wireless device is a Blackberry 8900 on Rogers AT&T, Bell is CDMA/EVDO and my current phone is on GSM/EDGE.

[Tom @ Jul 9th 2009 8:32AM]

dumb question - is it compatible with touchstone?

[Gi @ Jul 9th 2009 8:56AM]

NO! I wouldn't even try it

[NeoteriX @ Jul 9th 2009 9:35AM]

I'm not sure where the prior replier is coming from, but I own the Seidio battery and it works fine with the touchstone.

[Nick Catalano @ Jul 9th 2009 10:26AM]

It doesn't, and there is no reason it wouldn't as it is the same exact size as the old battery and acts just like the old one (except for a few extra minutes of use)

[Nick Catalano @ Jul 9th 2009 10:28AM]

err... I meant is IS compatible..

I thought you asked the question opposite the way you actually did :)

[Tony @ Jul 9th 2009 9:23AM]

I am not sure what the problem is with most people and there Pre battery I am sure people are just remembering when it first came out. Two OS updates and my standard battery is fine

It runs all day with average use from 6:30 am till 10:00 pm and still has a good 30-40 percent left. I am not sure why people think there is a problem? maybe its there service area I am in Orange county, CA I might have good sprint coverage. I always get a good signal
maybe the first few days of a new toy people cant put it down and there using it 14 hours a day I know i was like that :)

things are so much better now, has anyone else noticed this?

[Hooterman @ Jul 9th 2009 10:28AM]

I still kill mine in a standard 8am-5pm workday. A lot of days I leave work with less than 20% battery.

If I get to worried about it I just bring my usb cord with me and charge it once during the day, problem solved.

[Jonyah @ Jul 9th 2009 9:41AM]

I got one of these three weeks ago. What's with the slow post?

[Halo @ Jul 9th 2009 9:56AM]

$45? No thanks!

[Ryan @ Jul 9th 2009 11:31AM]

I actually have this battery and the extra capacity has made a noticeable difference in the past few days. When I got home from work last night at about 12:30am and having taken the phone off the charger at 9:30am, I had nearly 15% of battery left. Normally I would have basically zilch.

[Brian K. White @ Sep 2nd 2009 4:50AM]

I have purchased several seidio products in the past_ starting with palm treo 600 700p and centro_ extended batteries, ziplinq cords, docking stations gps adapters, head phone adapters... Basically every single thing has turned out to be crap. I boaght these things because the IDEA was right-on in each case, and no one else was making it, but the IMPLIMENTATION always ended up sucking. Cords that break, gps car dock that lied about serial connectivity, pins/clips that fail and recede into the plastic of the palm connector so they no longer grab the palm and makes the cable useless,

And topical to this thread, extended batteries that work ok for a few weeks or so, and then fail completely. My most recent centro battery did that. Previously I had the older style extended centro battery that was double thickness. That one did work pretty wel, but the necessary replacement cover they supply with it crapped out and wouldn't stay snapped on after a couple months.

Don't claim this battery is any good until it gets to be at least 6 months old and it still good.

Until then, you can only go by past performance. Which is why I report all of the above.

Buy Seidio because there is no othe option and because its cheap so that the object in question turns out to be crap, you didn't lose too much. Do not buy Seidio thinking you will get a quality product. With this particular item being slightly on the high side , the cheap argument loses weight.