Belkin’s TunePower for Zune Reviewed

The Zune battery delivers a decent playing time but sometimes this is just not enough.

When you're using the Zune around the house, you're never very far from a power source and additional portable power may not be much needed. But if you are on the road frequently or listening to a lot of videos on your Zune, the TunePower from Belkin will be very handy. Read our full review on this useful Zune accessory.

Description: TunePower keeps the music playing even when your Zune player's internal battery is drained. It offers a great solution for long flights, train rides, hikes or any time you want to extend your music and video playtime. A foldout kickstand positions the Zune at the perfect viewing angle, and we include an AC wall charger that works for both your Zune and the TunePower simultaneously. TunePower also features a protective-case design to prevent damage to the connector from dirt, dust, or impact.

Product category: Zune external battery

Pros:  Adds a lot of power to the Zune. Kickstand very useful to watch movies, AC charger charges both batteries. Protects the Zune.

Cons: Adds weight and thickness to the Zune, No protection for the screen

Pricing and availability: $59.99 retail price and available at Amazon for less [affiliate]

Company's website: www.belkin.com

Made for: Zune 30Gb (1G)

Product quality and Aesthetic (9/10):

Belkin is recognized for the quality of its products. From the packaging to the charger, all aspects of the TunePower show a special attention to the details. The design of the product makes the Zune looks great and the way the kickstand was integrated around the battery is impressive. The thickness of the product may be a problem for some users because it adds about 60% to the already too thick Zune player.

Usability (8.5/10):

Using the TunePower was very intuitive and it doesn't require a user manual to do so. Inserting and removing the Zune from the case was also very easy. Connecting the battery to the Zune is a bit trickier but nothing annoying at all.

The kickstand has two positions and it really adds an important secondary feature to this product.

Battery performance (8.5/10):

Battery performance is a though aspect to measure adequately. I used the product for a month and tried to drain the TunePower and the Zune batteries a few times. The company says that the product should add 6 to 12 hours to your Zune, but in everyday conditions, I would say that this comes to 4 to 8 hours of additional power. Not so bad considering the price of the product.

Conclusion (8.5/10):

The TunePower for the Zune is in my view an excellent product. It may not be useful to everybody tough. The Zune already has an excellent battery and if you're not on the move frequently, you will probably not use the product very often.

On the other hand, if you're watching movies and travelling a lot by train or airplanes, the TunePower will probably save your life. Zune's battery is drained very rapidly when you watch videos on it. This product will give you all the power you need to watch the end of the movie!

Oh, one last thing, when you charge the Zune with the TunePower, both batteries are charged at the same time. This is great!

Comments

[zuneone]

That's a lot of change for an extra 4+ hours of play time.

It would be nice if someone made an external power pack that takes AA batteries. I used to import the Mini Player and Meizu has a charger for the Mini Player and it gives and extra 20+ hours playing time and you can swap out the batteries if they run out. It also has a charging mode where you can use the AA batteries to charge the Mini Player.

It cost $11.95...
http://www.store.miniplayer.info/proddetail.asp?prod=EBP1

[Z-MAN]

I really like the idea of this product. I know there are kits out there that you can buy that charges the zune on AAs, i personally am trying to do so. I would, however, really like to see the pinout of this TunePower charger. I am having some probs getting the zune to take a charge instead of discharging it. If anyone has some info, i would be greatly appreciative. Thanks

bclawsoninc at gmail dot com
Z-MAN