- home
- reviews
- news
- downloads
- cnet tv
On TechRepublic: Why VISTA HATERS will love Windows 7
- log in
- join CNET
- welcome,
- my profile
- log out

Energizer Energi To Go (Samsung)

More on this product: review; user reviews; specifications; compare; shop

Print
E-mail
Share

CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 6 reviews
See all user reviews

Product summary

The good: The Energizer Energi To Go is effective and easy to use.

The bad: The Energizer Energi To Go is optimized to run off lithium batteries, and it won't work with all cell phones.

The bottom line: The Energizer Energi To Go is an excellent resource for emergency cell phone power on the go.

Specifications: Battery technology: Lithium See full specs

Price range: $14.99 - $20.95 check prices

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by:
Kent German
Reviewed on: 09/22/2006

If you're a road warrior who's on the go constantly, there's a good chance you won't always be near a wall socket or in your car when your phone's battery begins to peter out. While several manufacturers have answered this need with a variety of emergency cell phone chargers, the execution hasn't always been as good as the idea. But the latest entry from Energizer does the job and does it well. Amazingly simple in form and function, the Energi To Go provides quick, easy, reusable power for cell phones on their last leg of battery life. We don't love that it's optimized for running off lithium batteries, and it won't work with every phone on the market, but the Energi is worth picking up if you're a frequent talker who needs the extra juice. It's also fairly priced at $19.99.

It would be difficult for the Energi to have a more minimalist design. It consists of just two parts: a gray-and-silver oblong battery holder and a short power connector. Energizer sells adapters for most Samsung, Sprint, Motorola, and Nokia handsets, while a USB version is available as well. Energizer claims that 80 percent of cell phone brands are supported, but we weren't able to find a connector for a Sony Ericsson.

To use the charger, you first must put the supplied lithium AA batteries into the holder. The cover is a bit tricky to pry off, but it's solidly constructed. Once the batteries are in place, insert the cord into the holder and plug the adapter into the phone. In our tests, within seconds, the blue light on the holder started flashing and our Samsung SGH-D357 started receiving a charge. When we started the test, the SGH-D357's was about 25 percent depleted, but it was fully charged after about 30 minutes.

The Energi is optimized to run on lithium batteries. You can use alkaline batteries as well, but they'll give only enough charge to make a few calls, or so Energizer says. Though we realize lithium batteries provide more power than alkaline, they also can be more expensive and harder to find. The Energi works with rechargeable batteries, too, but the idea of recharging batteries to recharge your cell phone just seems a bit silly.

Energizer hasn't published firm statistics on exactly how many charges a pair of lithium batteries are good for. Yet it does promise that the more complicated the phone, the fewer charges you'll get from the device. As a result, a smart phone will get no more than two full charges, while a basic phone can use the same lithium batteries several times. The length of time to charge a phone also varies, but it should be on a par with how long it takes to power a phone from a standard wall charger.

See more CNET content tagged:: holder,; battery,; cell phone,; Samsung Electronics,; adapter

User reviews

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 6 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 6 user reviewsSee all 6 user reviews
3.0 stars

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

"does not work well with rechargeable batteries"

by hershele on September 25, 2006

read more
2.0 stars

"Good Idea but No Value"

by sunnyhuang88 on March 14, 2008

read more
2.0 stars

"Good product but there are better available in the same price range."

by opticon21 on January 18, 2008

read more
See all 6 user reviews Write review

Submit your review

Energizer Energi To Go (Samsung)

ORLog in with your Facebook account

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit