X2 3600 Replacement Battery
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PSP

The PlayStation Portable's default battery is well-known in gaming circles for its somewhat limited performance in terms of lifespan when on the move. With the battery life averaging around 3-4 hours – depending on a player's game/UMD playback expectations – it's more than likely that opting to invest in a back-up battery is a move most PSP owners have contemplated, if not actually implemented.

With third-party manufacturers offering solutions that do so much more than 'just' provide extra power (such as portable casing protection, gameplay grip extension, and more) how does Datel's simple X2 3600 Replacement Battery hold up against the newfangled competition?

Well, Datel's offering is what it is: a replacement battery, nothing more and nothing less. While Datel also produces an 'X2 3600 battery and 4GB memory extension pack' for those looking for more power and extra memory capacity in one combo (for markedly more money), its X2 3600 Replacement Battery provides a pretty straightforward and a significant boost to total play time on the PSP, without breaking the bank.

Indeed, for £29.99 (from Amazon.co.uk), Datel claims players can double the official battery's 3-4 hours average discharge time before demanding a trip to the wall socket for a full juice-up via the PSP's AC adapter.

In actuality, the total battery time offered by the X2 3600 is dependant largely on your particular performance demands – as with any battery. We found Datel's solution comfortably pushes out around seven hours of extra play time on a 3-4 hour charge.

Aesthetically, the interest of some consumers may be blunted a tad by the X2 3600's marginally bulky physical presence.

The extra half an inch protrusion it adds on the right rear of the PSP, while not catastrophic in our opinion, does upset the balance of the console, while also pushing player grip comfort a little closer to intolerable (an inconvenience potentially cancelled out if opting for the X2 3600 4GB memory option, which sees equal protrusions on both sides). If you can try a friend's X2 3600 before buying to see how you find it, so much the better.

Also, the extra thickness of the battery means the PSP's existing compartment cover is rendered useless when using the X2 3600, which clips firmly into place via the compartment's latch function. Naturally, if you choose to carry Sony's default battery, too, then the fragile cover will need to be safely stored after transition – which may see it inexplicably lost in the gaming ether, leaving the default battery exposed thereafter and open to loss.

Ultimately, despite the somewhat unattractive nature of the sturdy 3.6v, 3600mAh Lithium polymer replacement solution, the X2 3600 does successfully add considerable game time to the PlayStation Portable for an acceptable price and in an easy-to-carry format. And, when married alongside everyday use with Sony's 1800mAh on-board battery, players are looking at a potential 10-11 hours of solid power before needing to charge up, which is a much more appealing proposition when facing a prolonged lack of access to a mains socket.

However, that doubled output does come at a design cost, and potentially an ergonomic one, too. Keep your receipt if you give it a go.

X2 3600 Replacement Battery

A perfectly adequate spare battery for your PSP, at a fair price, but it does stick out a bit
Score