Are you always on the move, to the extent that you don't have time to charge your beloved Nokia phone? Or are you, being the power user that you are, always depleting the batteries of your N82 / N95? Or do you simply find the short battery life on the N82 / N95 really annoying? In all these cases, there's a quick and cheap solution to this - a mobile charger for your Nokia smart phone powered by AA batteries.


Although there are many options, this one from Energizer is rather eyecatching - it's going for a retail price of HK$168 (14 Euros, GBP 11, US$22) at large electronics retail outlets around Hong Kong (Fortress, Broadway...the likes of Dixons in the UK). What makes this better than Nokia's DC-8 is that an adapter cable at the top of the unit allows one to charge virtually all phones. Included as part of the pack include an adapter cable for Samsung and Old Nokia phones; a separate pack includes cables for Sony Ericssons, LG's, and Motorolas.



It's also great for travellers and backpackers, who don't have easy access to power plugs in the midst of their adventure. All they need to do is stock up on AA battery cells which can be easily obtained in all parts of the world. And if everyone in your party uses a different brand, all you need are different adapter cables - no need for individual chargers for everyone.

Don't expect it to charge your phone as fast as it does with a normal charger connected to a power socket - it's much slower. While I can probably get a full charge on my N82 in roughly just over an hour, it takes at least twice the time using this gadget; but at least you can still charge your phone while you're backpacking.

The unit gets slightly hot while the charging takes place; no, not scalding hot, but just nice and warm on a cold winter's day. Just ensure that you're not baking the charger under the sun and everything should be fine.

It's available on Amazon for all interested readers.

For those N82 users who insist that the given Nokia battery provides poor performance, this battery may be what you're looking for...


It's a 2000mAh BP-6MT Lithium-ion Battery (as opposed to Nokia's 1050mAh BP-6MT), which basically means it's roughly twice as durable as the Nokia one. Notice that it's also physically twice the size of the Nokia one - meaning that if you feel that your Nokia N82 is already very thick, you probably shouldn't get this, or people will start to wonder what you have hidden in your pockets...

It's going for US$9.99 from Hong Kong, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure whether this battery is reliable or not; although I'm tempted to purchase this since it's going for a rather cheap price, and to do a complete review on the battery unit.

Oh, and if you do intend to get it, a word of warning - if you're doing any firmware updates, you MUST place your original Nokia battery in your N82 before conducting them. This is because the upgrade checks for the battery, and if it's not the official Nokia one, the update will terminate, screwing up your phone. Don't say I didn't warn you...

Nokia N82 users should beware when using the phone for prolonged periods. Some users from this Chinese forum (Sogi!) are experiencing a wide range of issues plaguing the phone; one of them reportedly used it intensively after purchasing it for 2 days (streaming videos, GPS, WLAN) and ended up with the motherboard of the phone screwed up by the heat.

Another user's tale is even more ridiculous - the last time the phone was used intensively, the battery was slightly melted, and the exterior cover charred by the heat of the battery.

I'm not sure if its a batch of batteries that may be the problem, or if it's affecting all the N82's sold since last December.

Surely Nokia should produce an explanation and a recall of batteries for this - judging by the number of features that's provided on board, many users are tempted to play around and do all sorts of things when they're bored.

Do you experience any of these problems / any opinions on this matter? Feel free to comment.