Freepaq Reviews Battery "Activator" -- Hoax Or Real Solution?

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.freepaq.com/index.php?redirect=/bons/affichetest.php?testid=159' target='_blank'>http://www.freepaq.com/index.php?re....php?testid=159</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The Batterylife Activator is a Japanese invention (with an international patent pending). This unique innovation has been evaluated and documented by several prestigious institutions and universities (University of Osaka, University of Kobe, SG Telecom S. Korea und NTT Docomo). It enables longer battery life as well as improved regeneration and utilization of the Li-Ion battery. The Batterylife Activator is easy to install and starts working after 5-10 charging cycles. Remove the battery from the phone. Peel the protective foil from the batterylife Activator and attach the Activator to battery. Re-connect the battery to the mobile phone."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20041231-BatteryLifeActivator.jpg" /><br /><br />The net effect is that this little sticker somehow magically improves battery life. I know what you're already thinking -- this looks like a variation on those useless cellphone booster stickers. Well, the Freepaq reviewers came into this review completely skeptical as well, but the results were surprising... and we've posted on Freepaq before, so I know they're not a fly-by-night bunch. ;) I <i>still</i> find it hard to believe something like this would work, though. Do we have any electrical engineers who could explain why they got the results they did? (By the way, if you want the English translation of the review, click on the English logo in the upper-right-hand corner when you view the article.)

[EnsignRam]

Very interesting results... One still wonders though, clearly battery technology is falling behind (arguably far behind) the current state of mobile technology; if the results of the battery activator are "so good" then why haven’t the big time battery manufacturers bought out the rights to this patent and incorporated it into their designs?

[EnsignRam]

Here is another review of the Battery Activator. This time of the laptop version. The results are the same! Significantly improved battery life!

http://www.xtremecomputing.co.uk/review.php?id=116

[Janak Parekh]

Here is another review of the Battery Activator. This time of the laptop version. The results are the same! Significantly improved battery life!
8O

Here's what I don't get: wouldn't battery manufacturers integrate this into the unit itself if it truly worked like magic? Maybe it has some side effect we don't know of, like decreasing the long-term life of the battery?

--janak

[ctitanic]

Here is another review of the Battery Activator. This time of the laptop version. The results are the same! Significantly improved battery life!
8O

Here's what I don't get: wouldn't battery manufacturers integrate this into the unit itself if it truly worked like magic? Maybe it has some side effect we don't know of, like decreasing the long-term life of the battery?

--janak

that's my point. I read it in some where about 2 years ago about these devices and the opinion of an elect. eng. about it. According to him all these devices don't work at all. But... who knows.

[rob_ocelot]

Here is another review of the Battery Activator. This time of the laptop version. The results are the same! Significantly improved battery life!
8O

Here's what I don't get: wouldn't battery manufacturers integrate this into the unit itself if it truly worked like magic? Maybe it has some side effect we don't know of, like decreasing the long-term life of the battery?

--janak

My vote is that it's bunk, based on my knowledge of battery chemistry.

Li-ion and Li-polymer batteries are sealed in a non-conductive container, so anything on the surface of the container would have to penetrate the gel layer of the battery. This is not what is happening here, nor would you want it to be happening.

So why are they getting 'better' battery life?

All of the tests are done using batteries that are at the end of their life cycle (18 - 24 months), and in that time those batteries have not been touched because they are sealed inside the machine (like the old iPaq batteries) or in a plastic housing (like laptop batteries). What's probably happening is that by putting this metal sticker on the surface of the battery container you are massaging the eletrolyte a bit and shaking things up that have settled. It'll give you a temporary boost in life but in the long run it'll settle back down to what it was before.

I notice none of the tests were done on new batteries, probably because it doesn't do anything to a battery that's fresh out of the factory. You would think a battery-savy company like Mugen would be all over something like this -- their batteries blow away anything you can get from an OEM because they have lower internal resistence (even if you just compare the mAh rating). If something could make new battery life better and keep the manufacturing cost the same they would have done it or be using it.

Some REAL tests to determine if this works:

-Remove the sticker and see if battery life returns to the previous state. I bet you that it doesn't.

-Put a sticker of some other material on the battery using the exact same method (80% coverage) and see if the life increases. I bet you that it does.

This whole thing reminds me of laundry disks and balls they were selling a few years back. They worked, mainly because you have enough residual soap in your clothes that you don't need to add any detergent. Most people aren't even aware. The company explanation was that their product caused some sort of 'ion charged duplicity' in the water making it *super* water. Uh huh, and I hear that all of the moon landings were faked too. It's true because I read it on the internet. 0X

Just because they've patented the product or the design doesn't mean it actually works. The patent office doesn't have time to go through every device and design. :D

[Janak Parekh]

My vote is that it's bunk, based on my knowledge of battery chemistry.
Thanks for the feedback, Rob. It's very helpful. :)

One last question: how long do you think the "benefit" would last? Are talking days, weeks, months? I'm guessing shorter, but the longer it is the more value such a "sticker" would have.

--janak

[JvanEkris]

I was very sceptic as well, so we contacted the manufacturer. We tested 11 of them as well in a simultanious test on different devices all having different age (ranging from 6 months to 3 years old), under different but normal usage conditions. Apperantly the sticker reduces the "dirt" that accumulates during use. According to the manufacturer it therefor only works when the battery is in use for more than six moths. It also implies that the effect is lasting: removing the sticker will not validate it's positive effect.

To our test: we can substantiate that the sticker does effect battery-life significantly. We validated this with SPb benchmark. Unfortunatly for us, it was a negative effect. This could be caused by production errors (the stickers were custom made for the test). The only "production" sticker did have a positive effect.

Jaap

[Jason Dunn]

I'm pretty dubious myself - I tested one from Martin Fields and saw NO difference in my tests. Also, what the hell kind of laptop can only do 20 minutes of video playback before dying? :roll:

[Sven Johannsen]

I'm pretty dubious myself - I tested one from Martin Fields and saw NO difference in my tests. Also, what the h-ll kind of laptop can only do 20 minutes of video playback before dying? :roll:

An old one that has spent the majority of it's life plugged into an AC outlet.

[rob_ocelot]

I'm pretty dubious myself - I tested one from Martin Fields and saw NO difference in my tests. Also, what the h-ll kind of laptop can only do 20 minutes of video playback before dying? :roll:

You have to wonder if these 'independant' reviews aren't plants by the manufacturer. The guy in the laptop review was talking about how he was a 'changed man' like it was a religious experience for him. :wink:

Why do I think that the manufacturer had a surplus of the same material left over from when the 'cell phone antenna booster' market crashed a few years ago?

The real problem with testing these sort of devices is that every battery has a different history of use/abuse and how many recharge/discharge cycles it has had.

A Li-ion battery in general will last about 2 years regardless if you use it or not, now factor in how you initally charged it (12 hours minimum is recommended, even if the charging is finished in an hour), and then factor in your daily habits with the battery -- do you use it for a few min at a time and then 'top it up' in the charger or do you discharge down to 40% and then charge it? Finally factor in any incidences of battery abuse -- did you ever accidentally discharge it to zero charge? (btw, very easy to do on the newer power hungry 128 MB VGA models like the e800. Even in standby mode I coudn't leave my unit for a few days without it being drained to 20% charge). Heck, even the ambient temperature you use the battery in makes a difference

The point is that there are far too many variables to keep in control when you try to scientifically investigate something like this. I wont even get into differences in application of the product by the end consumer.

[rob_ocelot]

One last question: how long do you think the "benefit" would last? Are talking days, weeks, months? I'm guessing shorter, but the longer it is the more value such a "sticker" would have.

If this does actaully work, I suspect the bennefit comes from giving your battery a massage once in a while, rather than the composition of the sticker :-)

I don't think I'd guess on how long the bennefit would last (see my above post on the variables involved). If we could get six months it would definitely be worth it. I wonder as well if the newer swappable PDA batteries that come in plastic shells would get any bennefit. This definitely seems to work better with the older Li-polymer packs that were not easily swappable.

[Janak Parekh]

If this does actaully work, I suspect the bennefit comes from giving your battery a massage once in a while, rather than the composition of the sticker :-)
Presumably you can massage Li-Polys, but I'm not quite sure how to massage Li-Ions. ;)

--janak

[felixdd]

Have anyone looked at the specific heat capacity of these "stickers"? Are they really thick? If yes to both questions, maybe they're just some really high specific heat material that moderates the temperature of the battery (i.e. heats up slower and thus doesn't reach as high a temperature)?

[JvanEkris]

They are suprisingly thin. They do have some "metalic" texture in them and when cutting them they are very tough (not hard, but just difficult to cut). In the back-side, the side that is turned towards the battery, it is simply black.

Jaap

[Matt Kitchen]

Presumably you can massage Li-Polys, but I'm not quite sure how to massage Li-Ions. ;)

--janak

I think it is done circular motions - starting with your fingertips and moving towards palms and then the heel of your hand.

Or maybe they prefer the fingertip only approach...

[Janak Parekh]

I think it is done circular motions - starting with your fingertips and moving towards palms and then the heel of your hand.
On a hard shell of a battery like my laptop's?

My point was that Li-Polys are flexible and implicitly massageable, but Li-Ions are not.

--janak

[Fishie]

I'm pretty dubious myself - I tested one from Martin Fields and saw NO difference in my tests. Also, what the h-ll kind of laptop can only do 20 minutes of video playback before dying? :roll:

A Sony :mrgreen:

[Fishie]

If this does actaully work, I suspect the bennefit comes from giving your battery a massage once in a while, rather than the composition of the sticker :-)
Presumably you can massage Li-Polys, but I'm not quite sure how to massage Li-Ions. ;)

--janak

Nothing to be ashamed off, we all done it at one time or another.

[Cybrid]

Have anyone looked at the specific heat capacity of these "stickers"? Are they really thick? If yes to both questions, maybe they're just some really high specific heat material that moderates the temperature of the battery (i.e. heats up slower and thus doesn't reach as high a temperature)?

By George, I think he may be onto something. Heat accelerates chemical reactions. That's why in colder climes like Ontario they use block heaters in cars and you cook food.

Perhaps this thing is a simple insulator..."black heat absorbing battery side and silver reflective on the other". Keep the battery warmer and get better results. This most likely reduces the battery longevity.

[Menneisyys]

A Li-ion battery in general will last about 2 years regardless if you use it or not, now factor in how you initally charged it (12 hours minimum is recommended, even if the charging is finished in an hour)

Actually, there IS some topping charging of Lithium-based batteries after the main, high-current charging fades away (and the charging LED stops blinking).

The topping charging lasts, in general, 2-3 additional hours after reaching some 95% charging level, with the charging current exponentially being lowered. This is why battery manufacturers ask for long initial chargings. Actually, I'm not really sure it's needed at all. According to the folks at Battery University (link below):

"Lithium-ion is a very clean system and does not need priming as nickel-based batteries do. The 1st charge is no different to the 5th or the 50th charge. Stickers instructing to charge the battery for 8 hours or more for the first time may be a leftover from the nickel battery days."

Don't be mislead that the charging led stops blinking after an hour or two. There IS still topping charging behind the scenes.

NB. topping charging has nothing to do with the constant-current, constant trickle charging of Nickel-based batteries. Lithium-based batteries are very sensitive for overcharging; this is why they all (or, at least, most _ I coould tell you horror stories of the 1940/2210 Li-Ion batteries produced by HardCE.com... 2 of them died on me because of the almost non-existing protection circuitry) contain protection circuitry to avoid situations like this.

I recommend the article at http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm - it's IMHO the best intro to charging of lithium batteries.

[damager]

Where do you buy these things in the States? There is no distributor listed.

[Oregon Trail]

I'd like to see an independent organization such as Consumers Union do a report. Organizations like them do careful analysis of the claims and benchmark testing.

[amnon]

The real problem with testing these sort of devices is that every battery has a different history of use/abuse and how many recharge/discharge cycles it has had.

A Li-ion battery in general will last about 2 years regardless if you use it or not, now factor in how you initally charged it (12 hours minimum is recommended, even if the charging is finished in an hour), and then factor in your daily habits with the battery -- do you use it for a few min at a time and then 'top it up' in the charger or do you discharge down to 40% and then charge it? Finally factor in any incidences of battery abuse -- did you ever accidentally discharge it to zero charge? (btw, very easy to do on the newer power hungry 128 MB VGA models like the e800. Even in standby mode I coudn't leave my unit for a few days without it being drained to 20% charge). Heck, even the ambient temperature you use the battery in makes a difference

The point is that there are far too many variables to keep in control when you try to scientifically investigate something like this. I wont even get into differences in application of the product by the end consumer.
OK, so can anyone tell me what is good usage of a battery? Is it better to top it off (I use it mostly in the cradle, especially during office days) or drain it to 20%? 40%? faster drain? slower drain?

Thanks,
Amnon

[Lex]

It works if you believe it works. As would a postage stamp. This reminds me of a doctor I used to know who scotch taped one of those antenna booster stickers directly to his cell antenna. A guy who had plenty of scientific training scotch taping a sticker to his antenna !

Now put your hand on the computer screen and imagine your battery getting stronger !

[Menneisyys]

OK, so can anyone tell me what is good usage of a battery? Is it better to top it off (I use it mostly in the cradle, especially during office days) or drain it to 20%? 40%? faster drain? slower drain?

Thanks,
Amnon

It is ALWALYS preferable to top off Lithium-based batteries . Always charge them whenever possible. Only cheap batteries like those of HardCE can actually be damaged by keeping the PDA/the battery on the charger.

[Freepaq]

It works if you believe it works. As would a postage stamp. This reminds me of a doctor I used to know who scotch taped one of those antenna booster stickers directly to his cell antenna. A guy who had plenty of scientific training scotch taping a sticker to his antenna !

Now put your hand on the computer screen and imagine your battery getting stronger !

I'm not with BatterLife, I have made the tests from my own.
And what I have made on the result is exactly what I have see.

[Lex]

OK with me if it really works. No offense intended. I might buy it if someone can explain it well enough. No cell-phone antenna booster stickers for me though.

[DaViD_BRaNDoN]

It works if you believe it works. Now put your hand on the computer screen and imagine your battery getting stronger !

Haha... LOL... :mrgreen: *hands on notebook screen now*

[Chafic]

I'm pretty dubious myself - I tested one from Martin Fields and saw NO difference in my tests. Also, what the h-ll kind of laptop can only do 20 minutes of video playback before dying? :roll:

An old one that has spent the majority of it's life plugged into an AC outlet.

Hey, stop talking about my laptop like that. ACtually my laptop lasts about 1.5 minutes before it dies. I wonder if I get any boost from this magic device :D

[Freepaq]

OK with me if it really works. No offense intended. I might buy it if someone can explain it well enough. No cell-phone antenna booster stickers for me though.

To be clear, the activator is not a "booster" but it improves circulation of the ions and repair the electrodes for oldest batteries.

[JvanEkris]

OK with me if it really works. No offense intended. I might buy it if someone can explain it well enough. No cell-phone antenna booster stickers for me though.

To be clear, the activator is not a "booster" but it improves circulation of the ions and repair the electrodes for oldest batteries.As i understood the manufacturer, by removing the dirt the electrodes are "cleaned", not repaired as such......

Jaap

[yslee]

Debunked.

http://www.dansdata.com/batterylife.htm