Since my last review of the Mugen 1800mAh battery for the XDA II / IIi range of devices, I have been asked to review the new 2400mAh battery from Cameron Sino (and courtesy of Mr Gadget) and display the comparisons.

I conducted the same video playback tests as with the other batteries (Mugen 1800mAh and Standard 1200mAh), and after this test, realised it was not necessary to conduct the constant use test as before.  This 2400mAh battery has more than ample capacity to last a full day of constant use as I will explain.

I am currently reviewing the new x3 Micro Bluetooth Headset from BlueAnt, and this involves numerous phone calls with the Bluetooth radio turned on.  From this heavy use, I have realised that I no longer have to worry about remaining battery capacity in any way, shape or form.  While using the BT headset, I am completely comfortable in leaving the Bluetooth radio switched on all day, knowing that at the end of the day, the capacity still remains above 80%.  I find that I am using my device even more than before, and for the first time I have felt comfortable not charging the device over night!  In fact, the thought to keep the battery topped up escaped me, as I was no longer concerned about this battery discharging to a point that could cause damage!  When arriving at work in the morning, I cradled the device to update Spb Weather, and synchronise with Outlook.  The capacity was still above 80% and in a short time, was fully charged and ready for a day of solid use!

Enough of the introduction, let's have a look at how it comes packaged, and how it fits on my Pocket PC.

As can be seen from the photo's, the battery is well presented in its package, and includes a nicely made back cover for the XDA II / IIi.  This battery adds about 5mm to the thickness of the device when installed, and the back cover fits just as perfectly as the original cover.  My device still fits in the standard leather case, although the fit is a bit tight.  My only concern with this battery is the added thickness will prevent some cases from fitting, the Crystal Case is one example.

The Test:

As before, I set my Pocket PC to run at 400MHz only, turned the backlight and volume up full, and let it play "The Incredibles" over and over until the capacity ran down to 1%.  At this point, the total running time was recorded and the device placed back on charge.

The Results:

I have re-drawn the graphed results to include this battery, and for comparison to the other batteries.  This 2400mAh battery ran for 7 hours and 10 minutes, while the standard battery ran for 3 hours and 13 minutes.  This is a 120% increase in running time, which is what I would have expected since the Cameron Sino Battery is 100% larger in capacity than the standard battery (twice as big).

Finally, let's compare the batteries and their cost.  With this comparison, I divided their retail price by their rated capacity to obtain a price per 1mAh of capacity.  This way we can see which battery provides the best value for money.

Standard 1200mAh Battery, Cost = $89 -> 7.4 cents per mAh
Mugen 1800mAh Battery, Cost = $105 -> 5.8 cents per mAh
Cameron Sino 2400mAh Battery, Cost = $119.95 -> 5.0 cents per mAh.

Conclusions:

The cost comparison between the Mugen 1800mAh Battery and the Cameron Sino 2400mAh battery is fairly close, but the Cameron Sino battery is shown to be the better buy.

The Cameron Sino 2400mAh Battery is available from Mr Gadget for $119.95, which is very good value for money!

My review score was hard to decide upon, so here is the basic break down:  I deducted 1 point for the extra bulk this battery adds, and gave 1 point for the enormous capacity it has.

If you don't have a case that is a tight fit with the standard battery, and are looking to purchase a replacement battery, then you can't go past this teriffic product from Mr Gadget.  However, if you do own and are happy to continue using a tight case, then you can't go past the Mugen Battery.

I give Cameron Sino 2400mAh battery a neat 10/10