HTC Universal High-Capacity Batteries

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8806633116&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1' target='_blank'>http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1</a><br /><br /></div>Someone wrote in with news that high-capacity batteries are now available on eBay for the HTC Universal/i-mate JasJar devices. They're 3150mAh, which is a big step up from the bundled 1620mAh unit. I've never had a need for an extended battery on the Universal -- the built-in one is pretty large -- but for those of you that go on extended trips or use WiFi continuously may find this useful. The battery comes with a bigger cover to accommodate the larger physical size.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20060516-UniversalExtBattery.jpg" /><br /><br />The above-linked eBay auction has ended, but there's related products that list other extended batteries. There's also discussion on xda-developers <a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=287742">about a 4800mAh battery</a> 8O, as well as pictures of the 3150mAh mounted in the Universal. Has anyone taken the plunge for their Universal, and if so, what are your experiences?

[Jon Westfall]

Holy Huge Universal Batman!

Seriously, isn't the Universal big enough - if you're going to use it on your desk (Which I seriously think you will if you consider this battery an option - as the battery effectively turns it into a laptop), why not just plug it in?

But hey, maybe there is some specialty use for this - just make sure your Universal is tucked into a full-body case (i.e. an Otterbox) so that no one will see that tumor growing out of the back of your PPC!

[wshwe]

The Universal is actually too small in my opinion. It should have a VGA screen and much larger battery. In the past I've used a Sony Clie NX70V and a Toshiba e800.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

The Universal is actually too small in my opinion. It should have a VGA screen...

:?: It does have a VGA screen.

[xdev]

dont know who makes this, but if you;re interested in this one, check out the Mugen one first, the cover looks much nicer than this one

oh and these massive batteries are useful on long flights if you want to listen to music/watch tv episodes. an alternative is to get a AA travel charger, which is what i use. only 10USD and i can use my NiMH batteries in it

they also have a 1800mah one that dosent increase the thickness. good option if you;re looking for a spare second battery.

[galt]

they also have a 1800mah one that dosent increase the thickness. good option if you;re looking for a spare second battery.I found that the ebay seller was offering some 1750 mah batteries, but I coudn't find an 1800. Can you linky if you locate one? I'm looking for the highest capacity battery without increasing the size of the device.

[wshwe]

?: It does have a VGA screen. The Universal actually has a QVGA 240x320 screen.

[ctmagnus]

?: It does have a VGA screen. The Universal actually has a QVGA 240x320 screen.

:confused totally: No, the Universal, aka Jasjar, has a VGA (480x640) screen.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I don't know where you got your info, wshwe, but the Universal is definitely VGA:

http://www.htc.com.tw/news/press050511.html

[davea0511]

Wow, the Universal just keeps getting more and more attractive.

When will US carriers wake up and smell the coffee?! With so many people going out of their way to make it work, and considering the massive popularity overseas you'd think one of them would start bundling it. High end products make good money when there's no real competitors and the JasJar is in a league of it's own.

Maybe the decision was HTC's - perhaps their VGA screen manufacturing isn't big enough to support the demand if they started allowing it to be bundled with a major carrier in the states.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Maybe the decision was HTC's - perhaps their VGA screen manufacturing isn't big enough to support the demand if they started allowing it to be bundled with a major carrier in the states.

You might want to blame Sony for that - it's their screen. The second factor may be is that that particular screen is godawful expensive - you can very nearly buy a rx1950 for the price of one. Take it from someone who has actually tried to get one.

[Janak Parekh]

Wow, the Universal just keeps getting more and more attractive. When will US carriers wake up and smell the coffee?!
Well, the Universal in its current configuration is ill-suited to the US: it doesn't support GSM 850, nor EDGE, nor UMTS 1900. I presume carriers in the US decided it's not worth having HTC manufacture a different unit for something that remains relatively niche.

--janak

[halljames]

It was me who sent in the news item for this, and I have the battery in my universal now. I can say that I am rather chuffed with it. Yes, it does make the Universal a bit bigger, but I for one dont mind, would rather have better battery life than a small form factor as I use it as a PDA, and not a phone. It still stands neatly on the desk and delivers lots of life time between charges.

A warning though, to actualy get the new cover to fit, I had to GASP slice off two of the little rubber feet on the JASJAR as I couldn't get the cover latch to snap into place.

Altogether though, 25 quid very well spent.