This is how NOT to extend battery life

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 5th 2007 at 12:45PM }

Hmm... I guess I should've saved my Frankenstein homage for this beast of a device. Mad Catz's Power Pak "doubles" the battery life of the PSP ... by having it protrude oh-so [sarcasm] inconspicuously [/sarcasm]. Mad Catz: let's not forget that the PSP is a portable device too: I want it to manage to fit in pants that aren't prefixed by the word "parachute."

At least it comes with one good feature: USB charging. When you're traveling, you may not always have access to your PSP charger ... but most everyone has a USB cable you can steal!

[Via PSP GadgetZ]

Tags: battery, mad catz, MadCatz, power pak, PowerPak

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

alienclay @ Jan 5th 2007 1:44PM

instead of size o improve life, can some 3rd party out there try to do what sony did and improve on design? i would rather buy a 2400-2700 mah battery that fit the same spot as the original than a 3600 mah 3peat championship ugly contest winner like this one. this is only for those people who like to throwdown heavy wi-fi mp3/video streaming from their PLAYSATION3s

pixelator @ Jan 5th 2007 1:53PM

It's NOT a tumah!

Chuck LeChuck @ Jan 5th 2007 2:56PM

I picked one of these up on clearance at a Walmart for $10 CDN. It did the trick on a transatlantic flight. It's not pretty but it's actually quite comfortable in your hand.

Unfortunately, the USB charging only works if you pack the USB cable that comes with it - it has an adapter that plugs into the PSP's power plug.

The other bad news with the thing is that it doesn't work on its own. You have to plug your PSP battery into it - even when charging it - that's what that little door on the back is for.

You'll have to leave your PSP's battery backplate at home if you don't want to lose it and this thing's too large to fit in the PSP slipcase - one more concern.

The packaging doesn't make it very clear exactly what this thing does - just that it extends the PSP's battery life.

Don @ Jan 5th 2007 3:36PM

It should be about time that the PSP battery life was dramatically improved (WITHOUT the huge bulge) just like how the iPod battery life has been improved since last year. Even though Sony hasn't had a lot of luck with batteries lately....

Also to go along with a new improved battery they should unlock the 4th level of brightness with a firmware update, so it can be used without the adapter hooked up.

David @ Jan 5th 2007 3:40PM

Looks like it might be make it easier to hold the PSP. Maybe they can make the otherside bigger with a hard drive.

Colin @ Jan 5th 2007 4:07PM

So the battery pack is lame as hell, but I picked up one of the USB/charger cables seperately and I love it. Got it here at work so when I bring in my psp I can hook it up to my computer and have it charging at the same time.

I use my PSP as a third screen for my desktop setup - got it hooked up under one of my LCD monitors playing MP3s with the visualizations going. Its pretty fun, and the USB/charging cable makes it a lot easier.

The battery back is retarded though. :p

-Colin

Domingo @ Jan 5th 2007 4:10PM

Its... alive... Its ALIVE!?!

Jay @ Jan 6th 2007 6:04AM

I bought one of these a year ago and it's actually not as bad as it looks. It more than doubles battery time (I get around 12 hours gametime) and the "blob" makes a quite comfortable grip. Even though the size increases the psp still fits in some softcases, like joytechs. It may be ugly but it works!