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Review: Extended battery with door from OnTrion

When it comes to powering our devices we have a lot of choice we can make. Do we carry a spare charger in our pockets? Do we splurge for a portable battery pack? Do we pick up a spare battery and possibly a dock for dual charging, or do you just break down and get an extended battery? While there might be plenty of options and decisions to make and we have tried them all, an extended battery seems to be the best in our opinion. There are a few reasons why.

  1. With an extended battery, you have more power already in your device.
  2. You don’t need to carry around extra cables, charging blocks or battery packs.
  3. You won’t have to worry about misplacing or loosing your accessories.

That is all there is too it. I used to be against extended batteries for the longest time. I hated the bulk that it would add to my device. On the other hand, I hated having to charge my phone halfway through a work day. After I snagged a Trident case with an extended battery included and gave it a whirl, I was hooked.  Ultimately though I missed my slim Vibrant and seeing all of the device. Thankfully we ran into a company named OnTrion while at CES. What they had to offer and show us was just outstanding.

There might be a lot of companies out there offering spare batteries and extended batteries, OnTrion is the first company, that we feel, knows what they are doing. Anyone that has purchased a low-cost battery replacement or extended battery with case can agree that they were less than satisfied with the product they received. I know I have snagged up a few different batteries in the past that performed worse than my stock battery. None of the were OEM batteries of course. With OnTrion you will get a high quality battery that will easily out perform your current stock battery with ease.

We aren’t here to talk about a battery replacement though, even though OnTrion offers that. We are here to talk about the extended battery with door. They currently have 50 device models available, from the Blackberry 8520, HTC HD2, Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Desire. They cover LG, Samsung, Blackberry Huawei and others. Chances are they have an extended battery and door for you, unless your battery is built-in of course. With some models, they are even universal with other devices. Each device has a different sized battery packaged with it. For instance, the Vibrant has a 2300mAh battery while the Atrix 4G receives a 2600 mAh battery. We assume the mAh is proportionate to the battery compartment size and the design to keep the door as slim as possible.

 
As you can see, in my case it didn’t add a huge amount of thickness to my Vibrant. Just about the thickness of a BIC lighter. The battery door in my case is a soft, semi rubbery feeling back. Of course it fits snug and has the appropriate cut outs for the camera, speaker, headphone jack, power and volume rocker.

OnTrion only uses the highest quality Lithium Ion cells with PCM technology. PCM is essentially the circuitry that regulates the battery voltage, keeps it from discharging to quickly and also keeps it from blowing up. It is a must have. By using higher quality cells, you get better performance and better power.

All batteries provided by OnTrion, be it a stock replacement or and extended, are all approved by the FCC for use in our devices. None of this shady packaging with a free-floating battery in bubble wrap from some guy in Michigan. The battery and door come in an attractive 100% recycled packaging too. That isn’t the selling point though. They have developed and tested these batteries extensively with high-end computers to get the right mix and build to offer the best SOH (State of Health). To really put themselves out there, they “guarantee that Ontrionâ„¢ will serve better than any other low-end aftermarket battery available in the market.” Pretty bold statement, but one that is true.

After having used the battery through multiple cycles, when possible, I can confirm that these batteries kick butt. I previously had a 2800mAh battery with my last case, but this 2300 mAh battery that ships for the Vibrant has out last it. To put a percentage behind it, I would guess it lasted about 25% to 35% longer. I get a lot of emails, texts, calls and play a fair amount of Sims Freeplay. I am also on an Ice Cream Sandwich build. I have been off the charger for 8 hours and I am still at 77% life. I have a hard time killing my battery to say the least.

The Yay’s

  • Slim battery door replacement
  • High-quality testing and battery
  • Great fit and feels nice, not cheap
  • Amazing selection
  • 100% guarantee of satisfaction
  • Amazing customer support

The Nay’s

  • Offer only a stock battery or extended battery in one mAh per device

Overall

It was a struggle to think of something to put under the nay’s section. Even though you have the choice of stock or extended, it would be nice to see varying extended sizes to choose from. In the long run though, you really don’t need more than what they offer you for your device. For the price, the product and the long-term benefits, you just can’t go wrong with their batteries. You can cruise through their selection by manufacturer or carrier at OnTrion.com. From cruising around myself, you won’t spend over $35 for an extended version and no more than $25 for a stock battery. If you are looking to save a little bit more, there are a few select versions also for sale on Amazon, but a very small fraction of the device coverage they actually provide.

Be sure to stay tuned for a full comparison between various extended batteries on stock and custom ROMs for 2 different devices in the future. The results may just surprise you.