We recently had the chance to test out a Mugen Power extended life battery for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play handset. When you purchase one of these batteries you receive the extended battery plus a back cover for the Play to replace the original cover as the extended life battery is substantially bigger than the orginal Play battery.
At first I found the extra ‘bulk’ and weight a little off putting, having the larger battery certainly does make the handset a lot bigger in your hand. However, after using the Mugen battery for a while, I actually began to feel that I preferred the feel of the Play handset with the bulky battery on it over the feel of it with the original battery fitted. It seems to sit better in your hand, especially when using the Play for gaming, with the larger battery fitted and with that little extra weight too.
As for battery life, which is the general point of fitting the Mugen Power extended battery in the first place, I was extremely impressed. Where as the original Play battery was giving me approximately 1-2 days of general use (a mix of a small amount of gaming, some web browsing, a couple of calls for example), the Mugen battery gave me around 5 days of similar use on the Xperia Play. Obviously, the battery life will depend on your usage, so may be a shorter period but, you can expect to get two to three times as much battery life compared to the standard Sony Ericsson Xperia Play battery.
You can pick up the Mugen Power 3600mAh Extended Battery for $99.95 through Mugen Power Batteries. While it is more than most would want to pay, I thoroughly recommend the battery and if you’re struggling with battery life, I would class it as an essential purchase for your handset.
