Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Daremo

macrumors 68020
Jul 3, 2007
2,176
307
Chicago
Wow. 6000 mAh. I like this design too, not needing another power cord to charge the battery, and two USB ports is fantastic.

$99 is a bit steep, but this could very well be the battery I want to travel with as well.

Nice find!
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I agree the $99 price tag is a bit much and this is the introductory price. The regular price is $130, so if I won't pay $99 I certainly won't pay $130.

What is it with this price point? The Owle Buba did the same pricing scheme.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I took advantage of the 50% off deal as well and ordered 2 Zagg Sparq's. Hard to pass up at that price.
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,072
1,443
I got one too. IN fact got some earphones to try. 50% off is significant
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
My Zaggsparq's arrived today. One of them has some gouges on the top of the unit. I'm kind of bummed out but have emailed them about it. Also, I'm not to pleased with the gloss black surface as it shows defects, fingerprints and scratches very easily. When will companies stop designing hand held products with glossy surfaces? Another thing that kind of bugs me about this product is the LED's are amber, I would think they would be green like the box picture shows them.

I guess none of this matters as long as this device works as advertised, plus they only cost me $50 each, so I shouldn't complain to much.

As soon as mine is fully charged I will test it out and report back.
 

Daremo

macrumors 68020
Jul 3, 2007
2,176
307
Chicago
My Zaggsparq's arrived today. One of them has some gouges on the top of the unit. I'm kind of bummed out but have emailed them about it. Also, I'm not to pleased with the gloss black surface as it shows defects, fingerprints and scratches very easily. When will companies stop designing hand held products with glossy surfaces? Another thing that kind of bugs me about this product is the LED's are amber, I would think they would be green like the box picture shows them.

I guess none of this matters as long as this device works as advertised, plus they only cost me $50 each, so I shouldn't complain to much.

As soon as mine is fully charged I will test it out and report back.

Anytime you want your $50 back, I'll take the gouged one! :)
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Sorry but one is to be given away as a gift and the other is for me. :)
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I'm kind of bummed out, I just got the new Flip Mino and I can't get it to plug into my ZaggSparq, WTF?


UPDATE: I checked online and found others that said the Flip models starting with M2 have this problem. More so when trying to plug into Macbooks. Sounds like Flip will send you an adapter of some kind, so I emailed Flip. How can they screw up making a USB plug? It's been a standard for many years for crying out loud.
 

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,072
1,443
So I have been using the sparq for a few days, and for something that is suppose to have won an innovation award, I found some issues:

1. When plugged in there is no way to know its actually charging.
2. There is no indication when the charge is complete.
3. The Zagg instructions say charge for 9 hours every time, which seems more like a stop gap. Some times you dont need 9 hours... expecially with Lithium Ion batteries.
4. The case is shiny and slick, and not something for the pocket or built for durability (scratches).
5. Seems to drop off of 4 lights (full charge) pretty quick. In fact, I played online poker with my phone attached (on wifi) for 1 hour and it was down to 2 lights...so there really is not good way to know what you have left. 2 Lights means 50% to me. My phone was not at zero...it was at about 50% when I plugged it in.
6. The case looks like it would shatter if dropped.

I do like the USB approach because most every device today comes with a USB cable.

Anyway, at $49 its probably a keeper. At $69 not sure...not worth 99 or 129 when there are other choices.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I agree with all your points. I certainly would not pay $69 for it. Glad I got it for $49 though.


I finally got my Flip Mino to plug into my Zaggsparq by pushing some pins inside it down a bit.
 

Daremo

macrumors 68020
Jul 3, 2007
2,176
307
Chicago
So I have been using the sparq for a few days, and for something that is suppose to have won an innovation award, I found some issues:

1. When plugged in there is no way to know its actually charging.
2. There is no indication when the charge is complete.
3. The Zagg instructions say charge for 9 hours every time, which seems more like a stop gap. Some times you dont need 9 hours... expecially with Lithium Ion batteries.
4. The case is shiny and slick, and not something for the pocket or built for durability (scratches).
5. Seems to drop off of 4 lights (full charge) pretty quick. In fact, I played online poker with my phone attached (on wifi) for 1 hour and it was down to 2 lights...so there really is not good way to know what you have left. 2 Lights means 50% to me. My phone was not at zero...it was at about 50% when I plugged it in.
6. The case looks like it would shatter if dropped.

I do like the USB approach because most every device today comes with a USB cable.

Anyway, at $49 its probably a keeper. At $69 not sure...not worth 99 or 129 when there are other choices.

No charging indication, no indication when it's fully charged, and the lights being off telling you how much is left... This is major failure. I'm actually glad I didn't pick this up now knowing this. Thanks for the update!
 

iTouch.lover22

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2009
163
0
Could someone please indicate the size of this thing compared to the iPhone/iPod touch? If possible, photos would be nice :D Thx
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Compared to the iPhone, the Zappsparq is shorter, wider and thicker. Pics and dimensions are on the Zagg site.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Well I might be the first person with a Failed Zaggsparq. One of mine will not charge my iPhone anymore. The Zaggsparq was fully charged. When I used my other Zaggsparq, it had no problems charging my iPhone. Thankfully Zagg is replacing the device. I should have known better than to be an early adopter. It makes me wonder how long my other Zaggsparq will last before failing.
 

cat-size

macrumors newbie
Jan 4, 2010
1
0
I registered for these forums for the sole purpose of reporting my miserable experience with the Zagg Sparq.

I also took advantage of the 50% off deal, and bought a Sparq. Straight from the box, it would not charge my devices, even when it was plugged directly into the wall, and after charging overnight had four out of four lights on. I sat on hold for 75 minutes waiting for a customer service rep to tell me that it must have been a DOA unit, that on rare occasions this happens, and that she would very sweetly offer to send me another one. Weeks later I finally get my replacement (to be fair, the holidays were in the middle of that period) AND THIS ONE IS DOA TOO. Now I have to sit on the phone for another hour and a half and go through the same silly dance to get yet another replacement, and I haven't even gotten the chance to send the first DOA Sparq back yet.

DO NOT BUY THE ZAGG SPARQ. Even at 50% off, this thing has been more trouble than it was worth.

EDIT: It's not actually "ZAGG Sparq", but to make the already juvenile spelling and capitalization even more annoying, I just realized that it is "ZAGGsparq", all in one word. And yes, the lights on both of my "ZAGGsparq" units are amber, not green. And yes, I was put off by this too. And no, no amount of friendly (but slow) customer service can make up for crappy products.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Glad to see I am not the only one with a faulty Zappsparq. Not sure I understand why some are defective, it's not rocket science to design a battery backup.

I really want this product to work, but if it turns out to be a big fail, then I hope to get my money back and I'll get something like a Richard Solo product.
 

MZRiley

macrumors newbie
Jan 6, 2010
3
0
Add me to the list

I too am among the growing list of dead sparq owners ... 1st one: won't charge iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 3G, or iPod touch 2g ...replacement: same deal. Both right out of the box. They're now going to send me a 3rd and emailed me a prepaid UPS return label to send back the other 2. They want to test mine to see why they're not working with iPod / iPhones because they said they had only not been working with other devices? Something about phones like Blackberry etc having to be off of power save mode before they would charge? Who knows, I'll wait another 2 weeks to receive my 3rd sparq and will report back. Between this and the Samsung HT-BD8200, I'm really not batting well on just-released electronics ... from now on I'm waiting until at least 2nd gen electronics before purchasing!!
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
We should do a poll to see how many Zaggsparqs are failing.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Received the replacement Zaggsparq and so far it seems to work. Hope it lasts.
 

cr8

macrumors newbie
Jan 8, 2010
7
0
Illinois
Having Problems with ZAGGsparq.

I purchased the ZAGGsparq during the holiday sales and I happened to order mine on phone while I was getting my InvisibleSHIELD replaced. I got 30% off on top of the $69.99. I got mine last monday.

The charging lights were confusing -whether it was done or not. I was weird how it would have 3 lights and then 4. When I have charging my Motorola Droid for 1-2 charge, there was 1 light. After I unplugged the USB, it had 2 --but didn't charge my phone or my iPod.

I let it charge until the four lights appeared, but it wouldn't charge my devices. Strangely, my USB fan was able to run. In comparison to the 'sound of power' the computer USB port was much stronger than the ZAGGsparq.

So, I'll be contacting ZAGG for a replacement.

-----------

The ZAGGsparq finally drained out after 3-4 days using a [novelty] USB fan. I charged it until the four lights, then the device now charges normally. It seems to refill battery power 3-4 times, not from near empty, and probably tops it off time-to-time when it's still connected. I tried the USB fan test again and it sounds normal like my computer USB port.

I have yet to contact ZAGG about it.
 

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
You don't do the charge until you see 4 lights. The charge should be for 9 hours. But I agree I don't like their light system. The unit should have one light, which should show red until the unit is fully charged up, then it should go to green. Looks like Zagg took the least expensive why to make this thing. I'm not really that happy with mine so far, just like I was with their InvisibleSHIELD product. I doubt I will purchase anything else from Zagg.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.