[Review] 3600 mAh for X1 Unboxing, Review, Pictures

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Pictures are ordered chronologically
This is the 3600 mAh Mugen Power extended battery for the SE Xperia X1
Battery Test Coming Soon

Part 0 – Shipment and Delivery
The package came in bubble wrap envelope.

Pre-ordered it before May 1 release date, and the battery dispatched May 1.
No tracking number provided. Received it May 11, 2009.

The shipping distance is from the Netherlands to the California of the US of A.

Signature confirmation required, so you don’t call the company and lie to them that you didn’t fraudulently ask them to send you a replacement. I was seriously considering about doing this because they didn’t tell me about signature confirmation, and they didn’t give me delivery confirmation.

BTW, I have complained to eBay sellers before that I haven’t received item, and I received second helpings.

Part 1 - X1 3MP Captures

01 – Front Packaging

For 100 dollars + free shipping you get the worst packaging ever from such a “well respected” 3rd party battery maker. At least they awkwardly put some foam/padding inside the package.

02 – Back Packaging

The back packaging is also nothing special, but it’s so cheap. But the good (or maybe bad) part is that they didn’t fuse the back and front seams together like most companies do for these types of packages. This makes it so easy to open the package without damaging. There isn’t even tape to seal it up. Just open it up like a bag of chips.

03 – Model Number

Model NO. HLI-BST41XL

04 – Major Disappointment

Please read the text in this picture. It’s very important if you own this battery. Anyways, I don’t know who to be mad at… should I be mad at Sony/HTC or should I be mad at Mugen? Seriously…is this inevitable? Can anyone tell me?

05 – Easy to Open

See, you can open this with no hassle, unlike other packaging. There will be no damages to the package, and scissors are not required unless you are a kindergartner, a noob, or a drunk.

06 – Unimportant Picture

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07 – Suggestions

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08 - Warnings

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09 - Terrible Warranty Sticker

The warranty message is apparently a sticker with misaligned text. Mugen doesn’t really care about packaging; I tell you that.

10 - Front of Reflective Plastic Cover and Battery

There is a transparent cover/sticker on the front of the battery cover. I took the sticky cover off and the plastic cover is like a mirror but it’s plastic! The typo is still on the battery; it looks exactly like the commercial stock image with the same typo. Way to go Mugen, you’re almost like a Chinese replica phone manufacturer.

11 - Back of Reflective Plastic Cover and Battery.

The plastic feels cheap and looks cheap, especially the interior.

12 - Battery Still Has Typo

I have already covered this dissapointment in a previous photo.

13 - Do Not Do This to Battery

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Part 2 - Canon 7MP Captures
14 - Good Quality Picture of Battery

Look at the bottom, you see that long slit? Guess what it is…it’s electrical tape (I think, correct me if I am wrong). It reminds me of those cheap generic batteries.

15 - Electrical Tape on the Bottom

This is how the tape looks at the bottom of the battery. It looks like it’s going to peel off on its own. Can someone explain to me why this is necessary? Should I peel it off?

16 - Electrical Tape on the Top

This is how the tape looks at the top of the battery. No other comment, but please answer my question from photo 15.

17 - Phone Starting Up With New Battery

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18 - Nice Reflection A

If you don’t have a mirror screen protector installed on your phone, you can install this extended battery cover to use as a mirror alternative.

19 - Nice Reflection B

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20 - Shiny Corner

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21 - Battery Cover Sucks

The battery cover does not fit perfectly.

22 - Battery Cover Off

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23 - Just Learned That The Chrome Finish of My Phone Is Plastic and Peels Off

Off topic but while I took these pictures, I encountered another disappointment. This time I am disappointed with the Sony Ericsson’s build quality. I always thought that the chrome finish of the Xperia X1 was metal. It’s actually plastic and I just peeled a chunk of it off. Prior to this I thought that the raised bump that used to be there was a minor product defect. I thought that because metal was malleable, maybe it had to bend up a bit. But I am wrong, the chrome is made of cheap plastic. However, the Sony Xperia still has the best build quality compared to most phones that I have ever touched.

24 - So That You Can See

If you can’t see it, here is the square box that will help you locate the damage.
Also, I do not have an image prior to the peeling off of the chrome. And I lost the little piece that broke off.

Part 3 - X1 3MP Captures
25 - Pointless Mugen Screenshot

Why do they even have this picture? Are we so stupid that we don’t know what full charge is? Or are stupid to think that most people are this stupid? Or are they smart that they know most of us are stupid?

26 – Operating Instructions

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27 - Operating Instructions Zoomed Out

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So How Much Thicker Is The Battery?
Take the OEM battery cover off of the X1
Try this at home, take the OEM battery out of your X1.
Put the OEM battery cover back on the X1
Put the OEM battery on top of the battery cover.
This is exactly how thick the Mugen battery is on your X1.

How Does It Affect Pocket Space?
My phone has become as thick as my wallet, but I am easy going guy when it comes to pocket space. Besides, I hang my keys on my pants with a bolt snap.
Here is my configuration:
1) phone always to the left of myself [left pocket]
2) wallet always to the right of myself [right pocket]
3) keys hanging on waistline to they can jangle and annoy people while I am walking
4) garage door opener always held on my left hand

How Does It Affect My Small Hands?

Weight:
Not too noticeable…

Keyboard Typing:
Typing has become much easier. Well at first, I thought it ruined my typing Xperience, but that’s because I got used to typing on a thin keyboard. Anyways I learned that it took 5 minutes of practice to get used to a thick keyboard and it took me like 5 days of practice to get used to a thin keyboard. This could also be because my prior Xperience with the X1 keyboard has gotten me so pro at typing that I can adapt to any modifications even faster. Whatever, your opinion on this is based on yourself. I think it is because I like something to “handle” while I am typing. Typing on the previously thin keyboard is like typing on paper. Seriously.

Portrait Handling:
I have small hands for a male but I am telling you, wow holding this thicker device is satisfying! I feel like I have a grip and if someone tackled me, I would still be holding on to the phone.
I didn’t feel comfortable using my stylus on the thick device though. Do you know why I don’t favor the grip this time? It is the relatively. Suddenly the stylus loss weight, and I can’t balance myself with the phone.

Landscape Handling:
I’ve already explained typing on the keyboard. But in regards to holding, I felt more comfortable in portrait mode, and holding it to watch YouTube isn’t as fun, but holding it to type is better.

The Cool Thing About The Extended Battery?
Wow, this is a bonus. The battery is shaped in a way that the phone can stand up in landscape mode! It can stand up while the keyboard is out and while the keyboard is in!
Works best on a flat surface.

More Pictures:











Aesthetics:
Aside from the noticeable imperfect fit, the cover looks very nice but it doesn’t beat the OEM cover.
The mirror capabilities of the cover is great.

Quality:
Battery cover feels cheap.
Packaging is one of the worst of all time for something that should cost 100 dollars.
Bad typo, low quality instructions, low quality packaging, and misaligned text.
Battery cover doesn’t fit perfectly; meaning there are noticeable gaps, but it still attached to the device 100%.
The charge quality is overkill, everything I do lasts 3 times longer...tired of running out battery after watching 2-3 movies? Now you can watch 6-9 movies!

Pros:
You can use the battery cover as a mirror to look at your face and under a chicks skirt…etc.
Battery cover easy to remove, unlike the OEM cover
It doesn’t feel like falling off but you notice gaps between device and attached battery cover
Extended battery cover can be used like a kick stand, landscape cradle
Improves my keyboard typing and makes it more comfortable
Feels comfortable while talking on the phone

Cons:
Mirror smudges
Battery cover too easy to remove, unlike the OEM cover
Sony Errison typo
Imperfect Fit [but it still attaches completely]
Incompatible device drivers or hardware for battery = inaccurate capacity measurement
Extra weight, extra bulk
Too expensive for build and packaging quality
The Xperia can not recognize the actual amount of remaining battery.

Verdict [w/o Duration Test]:
I don’t suggest you buy this battery. But since my phone can now stand on landscape mode, I will keep the battery.

Verdict [w/ Duration Test]:
The battery lasts really really long, actually it plays mp3 for more than 8 hours non-stop...imagine how long it will last in standby mode... I suggest you buy this if you don't care about any of the cons, but a major flaw is that it is impossible to determine how much charge you have left in your battery.

This is a very nice review. I am still reading. Thank you for spending time for doing this.

Cheers

So far, the battery doesn't last any longer than the normal 1500 mAh. A big let down. The packaging did say that I need to charge and disrcharge 5 times to reach full capacity. I will do that and see if it this extends battery life.

Using the 3600 so far drains as fast as the OEM.

Also, the four illuminations lights instructions doesn't seem accurate. For some reason when I charge my phone with the battery, 3 of the lights flash at the same time and than one loner light flashes after it. This is the sequence of light illumination that I see. But this loner light is always the upper left light located near the start menu.

UPDATES will be included in the first 3 postings, soon.

Originally Posted by poetryrocksalot

So far, the battery doesn't last any longer than the normal 1500 mAh. A big let down. The packaging did say that I need to charge and disrcharge 5 times to reach full capacity. I will do that and see if it this extends battery life.

Using the 3600 so far drains as fast as the OEM.

maybe that's the driver thing... did you try to let it discharge to 0% and see if the phone continues to operate?

anyways... to thick for my taste, the back cover is horrible (looks a bit better with the silver phone... but with the black one...) and holy ****, how could they release this with the "Erisson" XD

Originally Posted by cursor

maybe that's the driver thing... did you try to let it discharge to 0% and see if the phone continues to operate?

anyways... to thick for my taste, the back cover is horrible (looks a bit better with the silver phone... but with the black one...) and holy ****, how could they release this with the "Erisson" XD

The battery came pre-charged at 50%. I charged it to max, and now I am using it until it reaches 0. The cover looks quite nice on my silver Xperia.

BTW, black Xperia sucks...the black oem battery cover peels off "paint" I think. This problem doesn't exist for the silver oem battery cover. I assuming that the black Xperia's are basically coated with fine black paint.

People should have gotten the silver one.

Also what I meant by "the battery doesn't last any longer" I mean the battery drains just as fast. The amount of time it took me to drain the battery by 30% feels the same on both batteries. So if it takes 5 hours to drain 30% on the small battery, it also takes 5 hours to drain 30% on the extended battery. I haven't ran out of battery on the extended battery yet. I am sorry for the confusion.

UPDATES will be included in the first 3 postings, soon.

i disagree with the black xperia sucking

imo it looks much better tho the paint does come off but untill it gets very bad , it looks miles better than the silver

Very nice review and pictures, thank you.

I too have just received the extended battery... the fit is perfect in my case... if fit does not relate to size that is

It is a bulky unit, and the verdict is still out on the usability factor vs. the extra size, weight and different case that you'd need to use with it [I am not a pocket phone guy).

I had previously loaded the 1% battery increment hack; I wonder if the updated dll may track the capacity better than the stock rom's or not... it is too early to see.

Will post back after a few days usage experience.

SO you were saying that the xperia housing wasnt cheap at all an already it peel off...jajaj
Sorry i couldt resist it...
I have the same issue...
So happy not been the only one...