The Astro is a rechargeable 13,000mAh battery unit that can then be used to charge a slave device connected to it via USB. Included in the package is the Power Bank, micro USB cable, user manual, and travel pouch.
Because this is billed as MFI certified, it ships with a lightning cable for recent iOS devices which is a nice addition. This is black to match the Astro and well constructed - it certainly compares to the official cable and has no issues with charging or syncing.
The Astro measures in at 15 x 6.2 x 2.3 cm and 295g. It feels sturdy in the hand, in part due to the weight of the internal battery and also thanks to the good construction on offer. The unit does have a smooth all over finish though so be wary of placing this somewhere it may slide.
It features four LEDs on the top to indicate remaining power and a power button on one side to enable the remaining power indicator or to operate the LED torch function which is a handy feature that is creeping into more and more power banks. On the end it has two full sized USB ports as well as a central micro USB port for recharging which sits just above the LED torch. It takes around 6.5 hours to fully recharge the unit from empty using a 2A charger. There is no supplied charger but the included cable or indeed any other micro USB cable can be used in connection with any USB source.
From a full charge, 13,000 mAh of portable power is on offer. To put this in an IOS perspective, an iPhone 6 rated @ 1,810 mAh could be fully charged around 7 times. An iPad mini @ 4,490 mAh could be charged almost three times while a full sized iPad Air 2 @ 7,340 mAh could be charged 1.7 times. The USB ports are not labelled with their output but utilise Anker's PowerIQ Technology to detect the connected device and charge up to maximum of 3A. Two devices can also be charged simultaneously for a combined output of 3A which makes this a flexible performer. One thing I did note during my testing was that regardless of what device you are charging or even if you are recharging the Astro, it remained cool at all times with no sign of heating up. This is a welcome surprise when it comes to portable devices and batteries.
For me, travelling with my usual compliment of gadgets makes a product like a power bank a sensible purchase. All my portable gadgets from phones, tablets, music player, ebook reader, keyboard and camera can be charged via USB and having the ability to do this when away from a fixed power source gives real peace of mind. The Anker Astro E4 delivers a high power capacity and flexibility of dual charging in a portable and well priced package. If you are in a similar position then this comes highly recommended.
Disclaimer. Many thanks to Anker for supplying this unit for review. As always my reviews are objective and only of my own opinion and are in no way influenced by the supplying company.
More info at http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN13K2-BA
Video review:
http://youtu.be/JfZ9bfmTEzU
Because this is billed as MFI certified, it ships with a lightning cable for recent iOS devices which is a nice addition. This is black to match the Astro and well constructed - it certainly compares to the official cable and has no issues with charging or syncing.
The Astro measures in at 15 x 6.2 x 2.3 cm and 295g. It feels sturdy in the hand, in part due to the weight of the internal battery and also thanks to the good construction on offer. The unit does have a smooth all over finish though so be wary of placing this somewhere it may slide.
It features four LEDs on the top to indicate remaining power and a power button on one side to enable the remaining power indicator or to operate the LED torch function which is a handy feature that is creeping into more and more power banks. On the end it has two full sized USB ports as well as a central micro USB port for recharging which sits just above the LED torch. It takes around 6.5 hours to fully recharge the unit from empty using a 2A charger. There is no supplied charger but the included cable or indeed any other micro USB cable can be used in connection with any USB source.
From a full charge, 13,000 mAh of portable power is on offer. To put this in an IOS perspective, an iPhone 6 rated @ 1,810 mAh could be fully charged around 7 times. An iPad mini @ 4,490 mAh could be charged almost three times while a full sized iPad Air 2 @ 7,340 mAh could be charged 1.7 times. The USB ports are not labelled with their output but utilise Anker's PowerIQ Technology to detect the connected device and charge up to maximum of 3A. Two devices can also be charged simultaneously for a combined output of 3A which makes this a flexible performer. One thing I did note during my testing was that regardless of what device you are charging or even if you are recharging the Astro, it remained cool at all times with no sign of heating up. This is a welcome surprise when it comes to portable devices and batteries.
For me, travelling with my usual compliment of gadgets makes a product like a power bank a sensible purchase. All my portable gadgets from phones, tablets, music player, ebook reader, keyboard and camera can be charged via USB and having the ability to do this when away from a fixed power source gives real peace of mind. The Anker Astro E4 delivers a high power capacity and flexibility of dual charging in a portable and well priced package. If you are in a similar position then this comes highly recommended.
Disclaimer. Many thanks to Anker for supplying this unit for review. As always my reviews are objective and only of my own opinion and are in no way influenced by the supplying company.
More info at http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN13K2-BA
Video review:
http://youtu.be/JfZ9bfmTEzU
