Macally PowerLink 3-in-1 iPhone / iPod Battery Pack Review

First Impressions
The PowerLink by Macally, a 3-in-1 battery pack/data sync/flash drive for iPod and iPhone, is a rather compact accessory for those who often run the risk of fully discharging their iPhone battery during the day. Housed in a glossy black plastic enclosure, it is part power source and part USB flash drive with dock and USB 2.0 connectors on opposing ends. Shaped much like a fat flash drive, it breaks absolutely no new design ground, and as such, strikes us as a bit pedestrian - especially when connected to the ubiquitous and sleek iPhone or iPod touch. End caps protect the connectors from damage when not in use, however these caps are loose pieces that are easily lost or misplaced. While keyed to only fit in one orientation, I really wonder how long the friction fit will stay snug before caps easily drop off themselves and get lost.

The top of the unit presents a minimal set of functions to the user: just a sliding switch to enable or disable the powering function of the battery pack and 4 red indicator LEDs. One wonders whether a more elegant solution is possible for enabling the powering function, as the switch is both hard to slide and the product markings don't convey terribly well which position is on and which is off.

(Left) Here's the sliding switch that activate or deactivate the battery pack for the iPhone.

Three LEDs indicate the charge state of the internal battery: 3 LEDs for a full or near-full charge, down to one and eventually no LEDs when charge is close to depletion. The 4th LED indicates data activity (blinking when USB traffic is present) and on when simply connected via USB. Perhaps users won't notice, but the diagram on the back of the box incorrectly labels the LEDs. Not a big deal, but a small detail that is easily caught if Macally folks were really checking and not rushing the product to market.

Design and Operation
As a USB sync cable replacement, the Macally works very well. Transfer speeds were indistinguishable from the Apple USB cable that comes bundled with iPod and iPhone. For those with MacBooks or MacBook Pros, I found the PowerLink could be directly connected to the laptop and the iPhone connected on the other end without fear of bending any connection or stressing any components excessively.

However, when using the PowerLink as a sync connection with other computers, the USB extension cable really must be used, as it is far too risky to balance the whole setup on the end of a USB port without fear of damage. The whole setup is just too long to depend on the connectors to hold everything straight. This issue is rather unavoidable considering the length and heft of the iPod touch and iPhone. It does make one wonder how useful of a function the cable replacement synchronization feature is when you still need to carry a USB extension cable around. That being said, most laptops have their USB ports accessible in such a way as to probably allow connection without the extension cord...if you don't mind blocking adjacent ports.

The Macally PowerLink can replace your stock USB iPhone cable during sync.

Emergency Power Only
As a battery life extender, the PowerLink was able to provide a useful runtime boost from its 270mAh Li-Ion battery. Not being able to come up with a battery drain test that both was repeatable and realistically simulates real world operation, I just spent time on our iPhone surfing the internet via Wi-Fi until all juice was drained from the PowerLink. I got about 45 minutes of run time before the iPhone seamlessly switched over to internal powering. I did the same test by yacking away on our phone during "free airtime" evenings and got just over 50 minutes on a full charge.

PowerLink isn't capable of charging your iPhone battery; all it does is supply reserve power to the phone.

It's important to note that in no way is the PowerLink capable of charging your iPhone battery. All it does is supply reserve power; when connected, the iPhone first draws from the PowerLink until depletion, then switches back over to the internal battery. During use when the PowerLink is connected, the internal battery will show its current charge level, but add the little plug icon to indicate power is originating from an external source. There is no "lightning bolt" superimposed on the battery icon, indicating there is no charge activity underway.

Our biggest beef about the battery extension use was not with the battery life at all, but with the visual aesthetic of holding a beautiful iPhone to your head with this blocky, cancerous growth hanging down. It's not pretty, and poses a physical threat to the integrity of your docking connector should the PowerLink get jostled or bumped when attached. It's also very difficult to hold the iPhone in landscape position to play games or watch videos with the PowerLink sticking out the side. Not to mention you look like quite the dork with the PowerLink attached, no matter what you're trying to do with it.

Competitive Environment
Macally is not alone in the marketplace - in fact there are several alternatives out there to extend iPhone runtime, and some competitors' products can recharge your iPhone rather than just provide supplementary power. These competitive products are, in no particular order:

• Kensington Mini Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone and iPod - the little product with the huge boring name, this $49 USD device features 1000 mAh capacity and the ability to recharge an iPhone. This can extend your talk time for a claimed 3 hours. It is a bit larger than PowerLink, with a squarer, stubbier shape that matches the width of iPhone. Unlike the PowerLink, it does not include 2GB of flash memory and cannot replace the iPhone USB sync cable, but does include a tiny, retractable cable for USB charging.
• PowerStick by Ecosol (link to it on the everythingusb.com site) - appears to be a more flexible recharging solution for many portable devices on the market. Utilizing 9 different adapters to achieve compatibility, it is shaped like a USB flash drive and offers 750 mAh of capacity.
• Mophie Juice Pack Air - half case, half booster battery, the Mophie Juice Pack encases nearly all of the back, and more than half the side, of your iPhone. Apple certified to work with iPhone, it more than doubles the talk time and provides a non-slip, soft grip case for your phone while attached. 1800 mAh capacity for $99 USD.

Flash Drive Performance or Lack Thereof
Performance as a flash drive was rather poor, especially when compared to one of the latest high performance sticks, such as the Patriot XT 8GB. Read speeds were generally worse than half the speed and write speeds were a mere fraction of those obtained by the Patriot. Somewhat concerning, but perhaps not an issue in everyday tasks, was the fact that our benchmarking software was unable to get any sort of measurement when doing the 256MB block write tests.

This may be the absolute slowest flash drive I've ever tested, especially in the write department. It achieves approximately USB 1.1 write speeds. Not impressive at all. If you're in a hurry to back up your files at the office before dashing off into rush hour traffic, you're in big trouble. Or perhaps not, as your 2GB of data would write so slowly you'd probably arrive home at the same time because rush hour would have ended.

These tests were performed using SI Soft Sandra on Windows XP Professional (32-bit) but are representative for any platform.

Recap
If you've managed to read this far into the review, the Macally PowerLink is probably for you. The extra 45+ minutes you can eek out of your iPhone (45 min if surfing via Wi-Fi) may be worth the cost and added bulk if you need the extra peace of mind having a bit of extra juice available brings. The USB sync capabilities and 2GB flash drive are certainly not reasons to buy this product, but come in handy in making the PowerLink more of a useful gadget to tote around.

Being the picky and snobbish techno freaks that I am, I just couldn't help but think that an added dose of refinement would serve to elevate this product to "recommended" status. Whether that involves improving the power on switch, enhancing the overall enclosure design, improving the flash drive performance, or finding a way to integrate or eliminate the protective end caps altogether, I am certain there's room for PowerLink Mark II to knock our socks off. For now, I remain mildly impressed, preferring to conserve power in the interests of social responsibility and longer iPhone runtime from the built-in battery.