EEVblog #751 - How To Debunk A Product (The Batteriser)

[EEVblog]

It works, it really does!

[PeterL]

Seems they also took the opportunity to change the project name. It used to be:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/batteriser-extend-battery-life-by-up-to-8x
But now it's

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/batteroo-extend-battery-life-significantly

Looks like the batteroo's are better than the batteriser's used to be, and they had to remove the 8x upper limit from the description 

[Sonny_Jim]

Yep, just saw the change and came here to post it, it's absolutely laughable, but maybe, just maybe it's them getting their ducks in a row to say 'Well, we never said how much it would improve battery life, did we?'

[jc101]

A UK company took the bait and has them up on their website, I only hope they didn't pay up front.

http://www.2tech.co.uk/collections/smart-home-tech/products/batteriser

It will be interesting to see when they arrive is trading standards gets involved if they don't match their claims (they are still going with the 80% capacity being thrown away line).

[Sonny_Jim]

The key phrase of this (and many other scams) is the 'up to' line.  Interesting to see they are still using the 'Batteriser' name, I thought the whole outcome of the lawsuit was that they had to change to Batteroo?

[Brumby]

The key phrase of this (and many other scams) is the 'up to' line.

Yes.  Indeed it is.

Interesting to see they are still using the 'Batteriser' name, I thought the whole outcome of the lawsuit was that they had to change to Batteroo?

I think you'll find any use of 'Batteriser' will likely be from old material.  'Batteroo' is what I'm seeing coming up on the current material.

[Sonny_Jim]

Looks like 2tech had this ready to go for a while then, as both their page and the images show the 'Batteriser' logo.

[Towger]

It will be interesting to see when they arrive is trading standards gets involved if they don't match their claims (they are still going with the 80% capacity being thrown away line).

Not just their advertising claims, but "micro-thin stainless steel" can be very sharp.  Not something you want little fingers struggling with to fit around batteries or fit into/out of tight battery compartments.

[EEVblog]

Looks like the batteroo's are better than the batteriser's used to be, and they had to remove the 8x upper limit from the description 

Their website still has the ridiculous claim that only 20% of a batteries energy is used:

[PeterL]

... but maybe, just maybe it's them getting their ducks in a row to say 'Well, we never said how much it would improve battery life, did we?'

That suggests that:
a) They are really planning on shipping batterooriseries
b) They doubt the results of UL-Labs, "one of the oldest and most prestigious Labs", who "has performed independent Performance testing of a Garmin Golf GPS, side by side, with and without Batteroo." And already found 6x improvement.

[mikeselectricstuff]

My guess is this is a cash-in and run job - shift all the stock they have quickly to people who don't know any bettter and then disappear once people realise it's BS.

[andycsmith]

Looks like 2tech had this ready to go for a while then, as both their page and the images show the 'Batteriser' logo.

Yes I added a tweet asking why the name was wrong. Will see if I get a reply.

[PeterL]

Looks like 2tech had this ready to go for a while then, as both their page and the images show the 'Batteriser' logo.

Yes I added a tweet asking why the name was wrong. Will see if I get a reply.

The 2tech link was already mentioned here back in April:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-751-how-to-debunk-a-product-(the-batteriser)/msg916115/?topicseen#msg916115

[EEVblog]

My guess is this is a cash-in and run job - shift all the stock they have quickly to people who don't know any bettter and then disappear once people realise it's BS.

If that was the case they wouldn't have gone to the trouble to re-jig their website branding, they would have just buried it.
Remember, they took money from a VC company, they aren't going to be allowed to just dump and run, they have to see this through.

[Cyberdragon]

My guess is this is a cash-in and run job - shift all the stock they have quickly to people who don't know any bettter and then disappear once people realise it's BS.

If that was the case they wouldn't have gone to the trouble to re-jig their website branding, they would have just buried it.
Remember, they took money from a VC company, they aren't going to be allowed to just dump and run, they have to see this through.

They will either ship a piece of metal and plastic with a logo on it, or a dangerous product. As we have mentioned before, whether it actually can use power from a low battery is not the biggest issue. The biggest issues are whether it will cause batteries to leak (you can't turn it off, so if you leave the batterisers in something they will always be draining power, so will actually shorten battery life by alot), and the fact that there is no way in hell this little thing can handle the amount of current from modern batteries. Not just the silicon but the tiny inductor and other components! It may even explode! (Voltamort need only watch)

Moterized toys (Tickle-Me-Elmo)
BANG!
High power LED flashlight
BANG
Electric Razor
BANG!
Lawsuits from burning/exploding/leaking batterisers
BOOM HEADSHOT!

Bob might as well take his Arnold Shwarzenegger looking face and stick it between his legs! He's screwed either way now!

EDIT: Take guesses on the amount of current before it pops. If they actually do ship them we will test this. I recon 100mA tops.

[MLXXXp]

So does anyone know if the free 9V model, that Indiegogo supporters were promised in the update from about 9 months ago, will be included in the shipments currently being sent, or are they going to be shipped separately at a later date? 

While you are waiting for delivery of your Batterisers, I also want to inform you that our engineering team has made a great deal of progress developing a Batteriser for 9 volt batteries.   As a token of our appreciation for your support, we have decided to send every single one of our Indiegogo backers a free 9 Volt Batteriser. The expected release of the 9v Batteriser will be in 2016, and proudly, our Indiegogo supporters will be the very first to enjoy it.

[g.lewarne]

***GASP***

A new Indiegogo update!

Linky: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/batteroo-extend-battery-life-significantly#/updates

Content:

18 hours ago
Dear Friends,

I am extremely pleased to share  the exciting news with you that we have started shipping Batteroo sleeves to our Indiegogo supporters!    When we started down this journey to bring this game changing technology and capability to everyone, we were well aware that the technical challenge was going to be very difficult, but achievable.  The difficulty in designing the IC (Integrated Circuit) was extreme,  but we put together a team of experts that allowed us to meet this challenge head on. The difficulty in the miniaturization of this technology at high volume production is something that we did not fully appreciate at first. According to one of our contract manufacturing partners, the miniaturization of the technology to enable proper fit of our sleeve has probably been more challenging, at times, than that of an iPhone. 
On top of all this, we have had to coordinate with more than 10 different companies involved in manufacturing the sleeves across multiple countries and  continents, all with only a skeleton crew of a  startup. Hopefully you now appreciate my earlier comment about  being extremely pleased to bring you this news. It has been a long and difficult road, but as the saying goes, "Good things come to those who wait," and we very much appreciate your patience and support.
For those contributors who have already received their orders, we would really love for you to provide feedback about your experience.  As the shipments are occurring in waves, not all of you will have received your orders yet; the rest of our supporters  will receive their shipments throughout November. We are working on an automated solution that will allow you to leave reviews online. In the meantime, we would be grateful if you send an e-mail to info@batteroo.com and share your videos, photos, and exciting stories related to your Batteroo experience which we can share with the rest of our community.
We want to sincerely thank you again for your generous support and encouraging messages. By contributing to our crowdfunding campaign, you and thousands of other forward-thinking individuals from around the world have brought Batteroo to life. We can’t wait to hear about how you’ve been using your  Batteroo sleeves and how together we can make a lasting positive change on our environment.
Sincerely,
Bob Roohparvar
CEO | Batteroo, Inc.

EDIT: Well, crap. this was already posted a page ago, I didn't see it. oops

[Macbeth]

Yep, just saw the change and came here to post it, it's absolutely laughable, but maybe, just maybe it's them getting their ducks in a row to say 'Well, we never said how much it would improve battery life, did we?'

I wonder if it's significant that they chose to capitalize the word "Significantly" as if it's a proper noun/adjective? That would be quite improper.

[firewalker]

Many bakers point out that they haven;t asked for addresses?



Alexander.

[Fungus]

Many bakers point out that they haven;t asked for addresses?

Oooops!

[omgfire]

It may even explode! (Voltamort need only watch)

Moterized toys (Tickle-Me-Elmo)
BANG!
High power LED flashlight
BANG
Electric Razor
BANG!
Lawsuits from burning/exploding/leaking batterisers
BOOM HEADSHOT!

Bob might as well take his Arnold Shwarzenegger looking face and stick it between his legs! He's screwed either way now!

EDIT: Take guesses on the amount of current before it pops. If they actually do ship them we will test this. I recon 100mA tops.

Kentli AA step-down converter can handle 2000mA though. http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Kentli%20AA%202800mWh%20(Blue)%20UK.html

[Neilm]

Many bakers point out that they haven;t asked for addresses?

Oooops!

They don't need the address of the backers - only the land fill that they have to ship what ever they have  marked Batteriser

[Bud]

You guys do not understand. He said "Dear Friends", he shipped the sleeves to his friends. He knows where they live. They soon will be posting exciting feedback. Friends of his that is.

[quad]

Could this be another stalling tactic? It could buy them another 2-3 months while they try to find a buyer. Bit far fetched? Let me explain my reasoning...

- If the buyer does Google and stumbles across the IGG page, they'll see things such as "We believed it you!" and "THERE! Told you it wasn't a scam!" Consumer confidence is higher than it's been for a LONG time.
- Perfect time to buy, legal stuff is out of the way now, if the buyer waits until it hits the market and the product is an amazing success (!!), the company/product price will go up significantly because of the demand. For a buyer, this is the best time to lock down an exclusive contract or outright buy the company. 

Further, a LOT of the backer addresses are going to be outdated by now. Are they REALLY shipping to addresses that haven't been updated in over a YEAR?  Wouldn't it make sense it to send out an address confirmation before shipping out?

Another thing of note, "shipping" is vague in this context. Are they in the PROCESS of shipping? Meaning, they are packaging, labeling, etc.. but it hasn't actually LEFT the factory/warehouse? Yes, there is a throw-away line of "backers that have already received them". I'm going to put that is the category of a "white lie" to help sell the whole thing as there has been no reports of anyone ACTUALLY receiving them yet.

And remember, a lot of things can happen between "shipping" and them never making their way to customers. Tragic shipping accidents, interception by Big Battery, product compliance issue at the very last minute meaning they have to halt all shipping and wait for approval... when it comes to excuses, the sky is the limit, as we've witnessed time and time again with Batteroo    

Edit: Also lots of discussion on IGG page now about people not having filled in address details. The whole thing smells of them wanting to say they are "shipping", without actually shipping anything.

[rrinker]

 I have thus far only backed one project, and that was on Kickstarter. When the product was ready, everyone got an email survey asking for their shipping address, as well as several reminders that not everyone had returned their survey and if they wanted to get the product they paid for, they needed to get it filled out. No idea what Indiegogo offers campaigners, but surely they have some mechanism to get contributor information back to the campaigner to fulfill and rewards. If no one is being asked for shipping information, then this can only be another Roo brothers lie. My guess? A week or so will go buy and then we'll see Bob make another post, all apologetic that they forgot a critical step in the process - collecting the physical addresses of the contributors, so just another couple of weeks and we'll have your Batteroo in your hands.