Contest: Keep reading for details on how to win an extended battery for your device!

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If you are like me, and struggle to get a full day per charge on your standard battery that came with your 9650, then you are probably looking for new battery options. While hunting around, I came across the Seidio 2600mAh battery for the 9650, and while initially I was rather hesitant to add the size to gain the capacity I decided the pull the trigger on the battery anyways, and give it a shot. This decision is one that I am forever going to be happy with, and let's hit the jump together to see if this battery is also right for you.

Initial Impressions

Upon first glance of the battery door I immediately thought it was going to be too bulky, and would become a pain to carry around, but after putting the battery in the device, and adding the door I began to think otherwise. The battery unfortunately requires a new door, which many people don't seem to like because it has the Seidio logo instead of the BlackBerry one that we all know and love, but the flow of the door is actually very smooth, and assists in holding the device.

The Size

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We all know, the biggest thing that is holding you back from just placing the order right now is the size that will be added to the device, but think beyond just the size. The extended battery door only adds 3 to 4 mm to your device, which when you think about it is really nothing for the amount of battery life you will add to your device. The bump that is caused by the new battery door actually provides a place which was used to rest my index finger during phone calls, which made holding the phone more comfortable.

If you are a user of the device with big hands, you have probably noticed that the device is extremely thin, and after holding for a period of time can be uncomfortable in your hands, but the additional bulk that is added by the battery allows for a more comforting grip, and allows for long term useage without hand cramps. So, how much more will you gain per charge with adding this bulk?

Battery Life Enhancements

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A big part of accepting the additional bulk was the hope of all the additional battery life, and knowing that the device would last more then a day, even with heavy use. The D-X1 battery that comes standard in your device is a 1400mAh battery, and this replacement is a 2600mAh battery, nearly double the size capacity, so my hopes were held high.  On the standard battery I had Twitter set to only a manual refresh because I could not afford the battery hits, as well as Facebook set to manually refresh, and had to limit my browser use, so I was excited to put these all into full force. Immediately set SocialScope to auto refresh, and 1 hour refresh on Facebook, and turned the brightness back up to 100% instead of the 30% that I was used to. 

It is recommended by Seidio to charge the battery for a full 8 hours prior to use, so I installed the battery before heading to bed, and took it off the charger when I woke up the next morning, excited to see the life I would get. Generally my daily use, which starts around 6am, includes less then 30 minutes talk time, at least 100 inbound emails that are read, mild text messaging, BBM, and Twitter. Generally, by 8pm my device is in the yellow, shortly followed by that fun red battery that we all know and hate.

Day 1, which we all know batteries take a few days to break in, I was left with 40% when I went to bed at 10pm, which is a rather significant improvement, considering all the changes. When heading to bed I put the device back in the charging pod, which it does still fit in, and charged it up for day 2. Excited as always I started my day, and went about normal use as always, and this time when heading to bed at 10pm I was left with 60%, so I decided to risk it and see if I could leave it off the charger and make it through another day. I won't lie, I was a bit worried about making it through day 3, but surprisingly I hit yellow around 8pm, and then put it on the charger shortly after.

Average battery life from then forward was around 2 full days, with my usage patterns. This will of course depend how many applications are used on your device, how much time is spent on the phone, and if you stream music, so results will vary, but on average I did notice more then double on the life, which was my anticipation in the first place. 

Pros

  • Comfort during phone calls
  • Extended battery life
  • Added size does not add much weight

Cons

  • No cool BlackBerry logo on battery door
  • Battery door is difficult to remove 

Conclusion

If you couldn't already tell, for me the negative of the size was outweighed by the positive of the battery improvement. The abililty to make it through a full day, regardless of how much usage was needed that day without worrying about the device dying was a huge plus. If you need more battery life then you can get from your standard battery, and think you can handle the size of this battery, don't delay the purchase any more, pull the trigger, you won't regret it.

Contest: To enter to win an extended battery for your device just leave a single comment on this post. Contest ends this Sunday at midnight PST.

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