[eve6er69]

So I've had the battery for the past few weeks and have been more than impressed with the quality of the product and amount of useage I got out of this battery so here's my official review:

So when you think of seidio you think cases and batteries. Every smart phone I have ever owned I have put an extended battery from seidio on it. From my old treo 755P all the way to the beloved 9900 and let me tell you this battery does not disappoint.

Upon opening the box I did notice that is was a big battery back which from what I'm reading in the forums Is holding some people back from purchasing the battery. Because of the style and size of the oem battery there was no real sleek way to put a bigger battery in. I'm sure if RIM could do it they would have but they wanted to keep a slim profile. In reality its not all that bad, my wife has a torch 9810 with a seidio active case on it and my 9900 with the extended battery sits at the same thickness as that. I actually use the extended battery back as a place for my pinky finger to hold up the phone when using one hand.

I put the battery on the charger all night to test it out the next day. Seidio recommends that you allow 8 hours for initial charge time. Performance will increase after 5-6 full charges. In order to obtain the full capacity of your Seidio battery, they highly recommend that you leave the battery or your phone on the charger for an additional 2-3 hours after the charging indicator turns Green or battery status shows full. The playbook charger will charge this in about an hour and a half while the oem charger takes about two and a half hours.

As far as carrying solutions right now you have the typical in pocket method and you can also try out the seidio spring clip holster which is the combo that I'm currently using and its great. Seidio reps here on the forums and on twitter have responded to some questions by saying that they are making a case solution for the extended battery combo but we will see those hopefully in the near future.

Ok so to what this puppy is all about, usage.

I wanted to put it under the most anybody could ever use in 1 day so I decided to stream media all day. On the road with bluetooth,nfc,wifi on along with many apps running in the background like poynt, blackberry traffic, blackberry maps and a few other gps location grabbing apps and I was streaming nobex radio all day. I started at 9am on wednesday and it wasn't until 3am on thursday when my battery dropped to 10%. that's 18 hours of insane, heavier than normal use.

Ok real world now. I'm not an insane heavy user. I average about 75-100 bbm's a day, 35 or so emails a day, and about 2hrs of phone calls. Put that with the occasional twitter checking (about 8 times an hour) and browsing the web I was constantly seeing 60 hours of use. Last battery test I pulled it off the charger at 1pm on wednesday and didn't put it back on until saturday at 1am where it was at 0%

Like Kevin says around here we are blackberry people and blackberry people are people that "do" this battery is your #1 tool if you want to be a person that can "do" all day long and still have enough juice to get you through a nightlife after work.

I only have 1 gripe about the battery but it more of me just being a little crazy. The battery level will drop at a normal rate for a little bit and then stop at 1 level. Example: The other night I was at 44% for 8 solid hours. I have a funny feeling it is more on the os's side of the phone not being able to read the larger battery.

I've seen many knock off batteries that other members post from amazon and ebay but trust me you get what you pay for. I read posts about it finally helping them get through the day without having to charge. If they just went out and purchased this seidio battery they would get 3X the battery life.

There really isn't a better feeling than knowing you will have enough juice on a long drive home to make an important call or have a phone in case of an emergency after a long day of use. For that reason alone this has been my #1 recommendation as a must have for any 9900/9930 user that enjoys using their phone to its full potential.

As for my device that these tests are being run on. Its an AT&T 9900 running 7.1.0.523.

Please feel free to post comments below to let me know if you have any questions about usage or anything else and ill be sure to answer them for you.

[howarmat]

sounds like a nice purchase if you dont mind the hump. So far i found the 9900 on OEM battery to last about as long as my nexus so no real complaints. That is long enough for me. Options are always good though!

[eve6er69]

Yea the hump doesn't bother me. Thought it would but I find it easier to type on for longer periods of time and also easier to hold against your ear when on a phone call.

[LuVJuGGs]

picssssssssssss!

[eve6er69]

I will take some tomorrow if you like and post them.

Any ones you want in particular?

[RoseBud68]

looks bulky. Can you use the NFC with this battery?

[eve6er69]

Negative. Battery door does not have nfc contacts on it.
I have yet to use nfc in the 9 months I've had it so that feature is not important to me.

[eve6er69]

warning here comes a lot of pics.


if quality is an issue let me know. i took all these pics with the wifes 9810.

if there is any other style or angle you would like to see please let me know and i will post it.

i am awaiting the new seidio active case to fit the extended battery as well and i will of course review that for you as well when i get it in.

[eve6er69]

as you can tell with the belt clip the top most part of the clip is almost as high as the battery so its extremely manageable and not a cumbersome battery.

[wxmancanada]

Just curious if you by chance have the desk cradle for it? I'm wondering if the added back weight would cause it to topple over.

[eve6er69]

Just curious if you by chance have the desk cradle for it? I'm wondering if the added back weight would cause it to topple over.

i have the official blackberry charging pod and it sits in it just fine. i can take a picture and show you if you like? or you can just trust me. lol

[grover5]

Thanks for the pics, as was said earlier, I'm also ok with the battery life with the original battery. I'm glad you found something good that works for you though.

[eve6er69]

Thanks for the pics, as was said earlier, I'm also ok with the battery life with the original battery. I'm glad you found something good that works for you though.

honestly i was ok with the normal battery life also. i always said as long as it made it through the day since i am a "charge every night" person. but if after work i was to go out with friends on a fri or sat night and not get home until 2-3am my phone would be dead by 9.

i am outside all day and not near many power sources and the ones i am near are being tied up charging work equipment.

i worried about being on 2-4hr phone calls but with this battery i just spent 7 hours on the phone today between work and people helping us try to buy a house (lawyers, agents and such) and i dont have to worry about trying to cut the calls short.

but like you said the normal works for you, i personally just like the security of knowing no matter what i do ill always have the battery life to make it through the day no matter how heavy i am on my device.

[eve6er69]

Just curious if you by chance have the desk cradle for it? I'm wondering if the added back weight would cause it to topple over.

here is a 360 degree of what it looks like in the oem blackberry desktop cradle.

[wxmancanada]

You rock, thanks for posting these pics!

I currently have two OEM batteries, getting tired of swapping them every day at around 3pm. It's also starting to wear on the battery door. I may just buy one of these knowing that it still works with the OEM dock.

My day to day activity usually involves streaming SiriusXM for 5 or so hours, couple hundred emails, non-stop BBM, 50 or so SMS messages. I think this battery is what I need.

[eve6er69]

without streaming i got 60 hrs of usage out of it. i streamed for 18 hrs before it was down to 10 percent.

you will go home with this battery with your usage with most likely 30-50% left on your battery.

[JC61]

Looks like the case is on its way...

seidioonline.com

[Crisdean]

Brilliant battery. Thanks for the nice review.

[bull_thumper]

I'm on 7.1.0.163 (official Verizon version) and have always seen the battery level reported suddenly drop from 100% to 92% (which I suppose is causing the overnight charge cycles.)

However since I installed the Seidio battery on Monday, the battery levels reported has been dropping erratically. For example I've seen levels from 85% to 50% in minutes or reach 10% in a couple of hours and stay there for majority of the day.

My question is whether the battery level reported will get more accurate over time?

(For reference, I have been using Tiny Meter to monitor battery level.)

The truth is the battery life seems excellent and the levels reported shouldn't be much of a concern as with the stock battery, I would usually make it from morning to night. I'm certain the Seidio extended battery will give me the buffer to ensure that even under difficult conditions that mid-day recharges should not be necessary.

Anyhow, just a curiosity as, regardless, my initial impressions of the Seidio battery are very positive.

Oh, and I rather like the added depth as I, too, find the phone easier to "hold" rather that just cradling it in my hand.

[eve6er69]

Brilliant battery. Thanks for the nice review.

Thank you for the praise.

[eve6er69]

I'm on 7.1.0.163 (official Verizon version) and have always seen the battery level reported suddenly drop from 100% to 92% (which I suppose is causing the overnight charge cycles.)

However since I installed the Seidio battery on Monday, the battery levels reported has been dropping erratically. For example I've seen levels from 85% to 50% in minutes or reach 10% in a couple of hours and stay there for majority of the day.

My question is whether the battery level reported will get more accurate over time?

(For reference, I have been using Tiny Meter to monitor battery level.)

The truth is the battery life seems excellent and the levels reported shouldn't be much of a concern as with the stock battery, I would usually make it from morning to night. I'm certain the Seidio extended battery will give me the buffer to ensure that even under difficult conditions that mid-day recharges should not be necessary.

Anyhow, just a curiosity as, regardless, my initial impressions of the Seidio battery are very positive.

Oh, and I rather like the added depth as I, too, find the phone easier to "hold" rather that just cradling it in my hand.

Did you follow the proper instructions on the initial charge?

I get some funky battery changes. More like normal battery drain and then a hard pause for a long time.

[bull_thumper]

Did you follow the proper instructions on the initial charge?

I get some funky battery changes. More like normal battery drain and then a hard pause for a long time.

Yes, the new battery was charged for about 10 hours and it has been charged 6 to 7 hours each night since.

Despite the level indication, performance has been very good. For example, this morning, I pulled it off the charger at about 6:15 AM, had an active hot spot for my tablet plus used it normally all day. This afternoon I played over 2 hours of video at full brightness and streamed audio for about 4 hours. Interesting, it has shown 10% for well over an hour and truly have no idea where it is at.

The one clue I might have is that last night it charged fully in about an hour using the PlayBook charger. I would guess that means 1,800 mAH from the charger less what the phone consumes going into the battery (estimating 120 mAH) less the general efficiency of charging a battery. I think a guess of 1,650 to 1,700 mAH reaching the battery and at, say 85% efficiency, guessing 1,400 to 1,450 mAH actually being stored indicating the original charge state was about half the rated capacity.

With that bit of logic, I would expect the PlayBook charger to take about two hours to charge the battery from a discharged state.

Actually, the math works out well because it takes about 45 minutes to fully charge the standard 1,230 mAH JM-1 battery.

Anyhow, I'm going to let this battery see a lower charge state and see how long it takes to charge.

Regardless of the charge level indication, and this is the bottom line, that I agree with your assessment emphasizing that the Seidio 3,000 mAH battery is excellent and delivering the power it promises.

While I had ordered the battery on the 3rd during the CrackBerry.com sale, your review is spot on and made me 'feel good' about my purchase.

[eve6er69]

Yes, the new battery was charged for about 10 hours and it has been charged 6 to 7 hours each night since.



Despite the level indication, performance has been very good. For example, this morning, I pulled it off the charger at about 6:15 AM, had an active hot spot for my tablet plus used it normally all day. This afternoon I played over 2 hours of video at full brightness and streamed audio for about 4 hours. Interesting, it has shown 10% for well over an hour and truly have no idea where it is at.



The one clue I might have is that last night it charged fully in about an hour using the PlayBook charger. I would guess that means 1,800 mAH from the charger less what the phone consumes going into the battery (estimating 120 mAH) less the general efficiency of charging a battery. I think a guess of 1,650 to 1,700 mAH reaching the battery and at, say 85% efficiency, guessing 1,400 to 1,450 mAH actually being stored indicating the original charge state was about half the rated capacity.



With that bit of logic, I would expect the PlayBook charger to take about two hours to charge the battery from a discharged state.



Actually, the math works out well because it takes about 45 minutes to fully charge the standard 1,230 mAH JM-1 battery.



Anyhow, I'm going to let this battery see a lower charge state and see how long it takes to charge.



Regardless of the charge level indication, and this is the bottom line, that I agree with your assessment emphasizing that the Seidio 3,000 mAH battery is excellent and delivering the power it promises.



While I had ordered the battery on the 3rd during the CrackBerry.com sale, your review is spot on and made me 'feel good' about my purchase.

I'm certainly glad I can make you feel better about purchasing the battery. This thing allows you to use your smartphone the way it was intended. Brightness high and everything running that you want.

[bull_thumper]

I'm certainly glad I can make you feel better about purchasing the battery. This thing allows you to use your smartphone the way it was intended. Brightness high and everything running that you want.

Actually, that's the funny part. While the 9930's battery life certainly isn't as good as my previous Bold, it has more processing power, memory, screen real estate and so forth and yet, in the end, saying battery life was "okay" is sufficient approbation with 10 to 16 hours of average life. That said, I do have high power chargers everywhere and do top off the battery when convenient.

I suspect that in my daily use where I charge every night, I should never run out juice even during reasonably high-usage days, even if I do not have an opportunity to give it a top off charge.

Also, I've ordered a second battery. Not necessary for daily use as I will keep it charged but I plan to keep my 9930 for quite some time. Despite the hoopla surrounding BB10, I am extremely satisfied with current device and plan to stay with it for a reasonable future.

Cheerios!

[eve6er69]

Actually, that's the funny part. While the 9930's battery life certainly isn't as good as my previous Bold, it has more processing power, memory, screen real estate and so forth and yet, in the end, saying battery life was "okay" is sufficient approbation with 10 to 16 hours of average life. That said, I do have high power chargers everywhere and do top off the battery when convenient.

I suspect that in my daily use where I charge every night, I should never run out juice even during reasonably high-usage days, even if I do not have an opportunity to give it a top off charge.

Also, I've ordered a second battery. Not necessary for daily use as I will keep it charged but I plan to keep my 9930 for quite some time. Despite the hoopla surrounding BB10, I am extremely satisfied with current device and plan to stay with it for a reasonable future.

Cheerios!

yeah i have had this bold since feb and am not up for an upgrade until a year and a half from now.

i have no problems with this phone. does everything i need it to do and more.

im in the same boat my friend.