The 3DS has overcome a rocky launch to assume the role of a true DS successor, but as gamers have discovered, three dimensions require nearly three times the juice. The handheld's battery can be run bone dry in a scant 3 hours when playing in full 3D, which is simply not enough for most gamers. Luckily, there is no shortage of battery extenders for the 3DS. Today we're going to take a look at the Cadillac of its class: the PowerSkin Gaming Case.
Let's not beat around the bush here: this thing works. I've put the PowerSkin through its paces, carrying it throughout two recent convention weekends. On the first run, it was kept in standby and only used once per day to clear out Streetpass tags. When I got home on the fourth day, the 3DS's internal battery finally gave out.
On my second trip using the PowerSkin, the 3DS was more heavily used. At PAX East, you can't walk ten feet without picking up ten new Streetpass tags. I was constantly clearing them out, and also had a few short gaming sessions in line. Still, the PowerSkin combined with the 3DS's own internal battery was just enough to get me through an entire day of frequent use.
On specs alone, the PowerSkin touts a 2,000 mAh capacity, which will more than double your total battery life once added to the 3DS's existing 1,300 mAh capacity. The usage I got was right in line with these numbers.
Yet while the PowerSkin is great for delivering much needed juice to your 3DS, it can also give gamers a bit of sticker shock. At $79.99, this is daddy's toy, too pricey to trust in the hand of little geeklings. If you're shopping for yourself though, the PowerSkin may yet to be worth the expense. Although the price is high, the PowerSkin earns its keep as a premium battery pack.
The first thing to mention is its feel. You are about to slap an extra battery pack onto a carefully engineered and designed piece of consumer electronics, yet you'll barely feel a difference. The PowerSkin is molded into a tray shape that snaps onto the bottom of your 3DS, making it an unobtrusive addition to your handheld console. Just take a look at the above photo. The vast majority of the PowerSkin's mass is contained in the flat base, with almost no sidewall or bulky connector. Compare this to other battery extenders which leave your 3DS with love handles.
A few nice touches round out the PowerSkin design, namely a series of battery life indicators and an on-off switch. Now, a simple switch might not sound like a big deal, but it proved to be very handy during PAX East. Instead of allowing the external pack to drain before the 3DS's internal battery, gamers can choose to save the PowerSkin's juice for last. This means that at the end of the day, when everyone's 3DS were running low or already dead, I could lend out my PowerSkin to friends.
__Wired: __Battery life extended as advertised, slim fit, on/off switch
__Tired: __Several times more expensive than competing battery packs with similar capacity
Disclaimer: PowerSkin provided a complimentary review sample of this hardware
