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XboxMySocks

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 25, 2009
2,242
219
Hey guys. I was reached out to from the people at Choetech about the reviews I have been doing here and elsewhere and they asked if I wanted to do a review for another product they have – a portable battery (called the portable power bank) they offer, and I said yes. It’s a 15600mAh unit (which is enough to charge my iPad Mini nearly 3 times over, and my iPhone over 7 times) and I was actually considering getting one, so naturally I agreed. I had it shipped via Amazon Prime and received it within 2 days, which was nice. Immediately upon opening it I’m greeted by the packaging – a box wrapped in a sleeve which states what exactly the device is.

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There’s a really nice card inside too which explains who to contact if you have any issues at all… here’s hoping that I don’t have to use it :)

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It also came with a pretty nice and sturdy micro USB cable which was a surprise (it is listed on the package contents I just don’t pay enough attention, apparently). The power bank itself is really solid – it’s made of a plastic but it’s very smooth and sturdy/solid. It doesn’t sound or feel hollow which is kind of random to most people, but to me felt very nice.

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It’s also not *very* heavy, weighing in at 352 grams (a little bit more than 2 iPhone 6+’s) which makes it pretty simple to carry around in your pocket and keep your phone plugged into. It also has the ability to use Qualcomm’s QC 2.0 technology, but I don’t have anything that can utilize this. The USB ports are inverted to what I'm used to (female section on the top instead of bottom) but this is irrelevant, really.

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Here is actually the killer feature, and the only gripe I have about the device at the same time – I can plug it into my Lightening cable for my phone and charge it overnight. This makes charging it (even for a moment) INFINITELY more convenient than having to find a MicroUSB/unplugging other cables around the house. I know it’s not the only one out there that does this, but it is definitely one of few that does and I appreciate the fact a lot. What is the gripe you say? The same lightening port is a little bit loose. The cable tends to fall out with not a huge amount of provocation. Don’t get me wrong, it still does stick in place and is easy enough to leave alone and not worry about, but if you’re charging it in an ‘active’ area you might find yourself having to plug it in a few times again.

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I decided to use my 2m Apple charger and the 1m braided cable that I have to test it out and plugged in my iPad and my iPhone – it works, of course, and charged both of them quite quickly. (As fast as the iPad being plugged into the 12w adapter)

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It’s been about a week since I got this portable battery and I’ve used it quite a bit. I brought it to a show so I could record the majority of it for posterity, I brought it to work so I could plug the iPad into the sound system and listen to the hockey game/watch it at 1080p, I brought it to a meeting because my iPhone was at 15% before I left – I could go on. It’s been incredibly useful even in the short time I’ve had it and I’m glad that I was able to grab it!

The portable charger is currently $32 on Amazon, and I have some codes for anyone who wants to pick one up after reading this.

$10 off code for Amazon US: Z9646RFC (Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZCGLBT6/ )

£3 off code for Amazon UK: LGLWF28Q (Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ZX69JRQ/)

€3 off code for Amazon DE, FR and ES: ONGAAXEB
 
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