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Power Banks Chargers?

iMas70

iMas70

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 4, 2012
1,445
207
MA
I've seen them advertised for awhile and have thought that it would come in handy while on the go and no time to sit next to a wall while my phone charges. Is anyone using these and if so, what do you think? I found a good deal on them so I'm thinking about ordering.

BP2PKPURP-detail3.jpg


BP2PKPURP-detail9.jpg


2,600mAh Power Bank Chargers – Use Any USB Charger to Add Up to 40 Hours of Talk Time On The Go!

Use these great power banks to give your tablet or smartphone’s battery a little extra juice when you’re on the go and using a wall outlet isn’t an option. The USB output port is compatible with almost every popular smartphone or tablet, so get yourself this great two pack and never worry about dying batteries again.

FEATURES
Set includes 2 chargers in the same color
Compatible with Apple® iPhone®, iPad®, BlackBerry, Samsung, HTC, e-readers, digital cameras, and more; not compatible with all Motorola models
USB output and Micro-USB input
High-capacity battery: 2600mAh
Adds up to 40 hours of extra talk time
Rechargeable, small, attractive, and lightweight
Great for commuting and travel
Includes USB-to-Micro-USB cable for connecting and charging the flash charger via your computer
Cable for connecting charger to your smartphone or tablet not included

Available in Purple, Pink, Green, Silver, Black, Red, Blue, Gold
 
Power Banks Chargers?

Those are no name companies. Take a look at Jackery, Anker and RAVpower. They make excellent battery packs. I have a lot from each one of them. I review for them and I get to keep them for free.

Small sized:
Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh Ultra-Compact Portable Charger Lipstick-Sized External Battery Power Bank Pack for most Smartphones and other USB-charged devices (Apple Adapters- 30 pin and Lightning, NOT Included) - Black
http://amzn.com/B005X1Y7I2
RAVPower Luster 3000mAh External Battery Pack Portable Charger Lipstick-Sized (Ultra Bright Flashlight with High/Low/Strobe Modes) for most Smartphones and other USB-charged devices - Sliver
http://amzn.com/B00DXYKCOE
Jackery Mini 2600mAh Premium Ultra-Compact Portable Lipstick-Sized External Battery Backup Charger Power Bank Charger for iPhone 5S 5C 5 4S 4 3GS, iPad Air, iPad Mini, iPods (Apple Cable Required) Samsung Galaxy Note, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus, HTC One X, One S, Sensation G14, ThunderBolt, Nokia N9 Lumia 920 900, Moto X, Blackberry Z10, Sony Xperia Z; Google Glass, GoPro and More; Premium Samsung Battery Cell and Aluminum Enclosure
http://amzn.com/B00AA6CS86
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I ended up ordering two of the chargers that I posted so I didn't miss the sale (I know, impulsive). Do you think they will be ok? Might not be the best out there but I've never had one so some power is better than no power.
 
Power Banks Chargers?

iMas70 said:
I ended up ordering two of the chargers that I posted so I didn't miss the sale (I know, impulsive). Do you think they will be ok? Might not be the best out there but I've never had one so some power is better than no power.
Click to expand...


I think you will be fine. I have a few branded products that look like the same exact thing as a no name product.
 
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Yes, power bank chargers are essential in my opinion whenever you travel or are on the go. I own two Anker chargers and would recommend them. Well-designed and durable with great customer support. Just read all the reviews on Amazon.

Anker Astro Mini 3000mAh
This one provides 1x+ battery recharge for my iPhone 5

Anker Astro 5600mAh Portable
This one provides 2x+ battery recharge for my iPhone 5
 
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I have one of the RAVPower 3000mAh. It's very handy, lightweight and powerful. I was suprised by how bright the flashlight is.
 
Zmanbaseball2 said:
Those are no name companies. Take a look at Jackery, Anker and RAVpower. They make excellent battery packs. I have a lot from each one of them. I review for them and I get to keep them for free
Click to expand...

Since you seem to have a lot of experience here I'm wondering what size and capacity you recommend? I purchased a Solio Bolt a while ago because I liked the Solar feature, but since then I've discovered that it takes too long to charge it with the sun and I'm not really one who goes camping or would be somewhere where the sun is my only option, so I don't think I really need a solar powered battery. I've also discovered that the capacity is a bit small... I think it's 2000mAh It won't charge my phone to 100% and doesn't really make much of a dent in my iPad. With three iPhones and two iPads in the family I need all the power I can get.

I've looked at some of the really big ones... like 10,000 or 14,000 mAh and those would probably do better for capacity, but I worry that they would be so big and heavy that I wouldn't really want to carry them around with me.

I'm even debating getting two... something small in the 2000 or 3000mAh range that I could carry with me most of the time in case I need an extra boost when I'm expecting it and then a bigger one to take when I know I may need an extra charge or two or if I'll need to power up the iPads too.

So, with all that said, what capacity do you find the most useful? What do you usually take with you when you need something?

Thanks,
Brett
 
Power Banks Chargers?

BrettDS said:
Since you seem to have a lot of experience here I'm wondering what size and capacity you recommend? I purchased a Solio Bolt a while ago because I liked the Solar feature, but since then I've discovered that it takes too long to charge it with the sun and I'm not really one who goes camping or would be somewhere where the sun is my only option, so I don't think I really need a solar powered battery. I've also discovered that the capacity is a bit small... I think it's 2000mAh It won't charge my phone to 100% and doesn't really make much of a dent in my iPad. With three iPhones and two iPads in the family I need all the power I can get.



I've looked at some of the really big ones... like 10,000 or 14,000 mAh and those would probably do better for capacity, but I worry that they would be so big and heavy that I wouldn't really want to carry them around with me.



I'm even debating getting two... something small in the 2000 or 3000mAh range that I could carry with me most of the time in case I need an extra boost when I'm expecting it and then a bigger one to take when I know I may need an extra charge or two or if I'll need to power up the iPads too.



So, with all that said, what capacity do you find the most useful? What do you usually take with you when you need something?



Thanks,

Brett
Click to expand...


Here is my list:

If I have just my iPhone 5 with me and need at least 1 full charge I would bring this:
RAVPower Luster Mini 3000mAh Lipstick Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank Charger (Ultra Bright Flashlight with High/Low/Strobe Modes, 5V/1A Output) for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, 4, iPod (Lightning Cable not Provided); Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, S2, Note 2; Nexus 5, Nexus 4, HTC Sensation, One X V One X V S, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt; Nokia Lumia 1020, 920 900 N9; Motorola Razr; LG Google Nexu 4 and other Android & Apple Device, Smart Phones, Tablets - Black
http://amzn.com/B0084Y47SK

If I need 2 charges of my iPhone 5 I would bring this:
SHARKK® 5200mAh Heavy Duty 5V 2A/1A Dual USB Ports External Battery Pack Power Bank WITH LED SCREEN for / The New iPad / iPad2 / iPad3 / iPad4 / iPad Mini Retina Display / iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S / iPhone4 / iPhone 3 / iPod Touch all versions /Samsung Galaxy S /Galaxy S2 / Galaxy S3 Galaxy S4 / Nexus/S3/S2/S / GoPro. VARIOUS PLUG ADAPTERS INCLUDED
http://amzn.com/B00AIEGXKE

If I need 3 charges if my iPhone 5 I would bring this:
Jackery Fit 7800mAh Premium Portable Power Bank Pack External Battery Backup Charger with 2.1A Output and Built-In Flashlight for iPhone 5, 4S, 4, iPad, iPad Mini, iPod (Apple Cable Required) Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, S2, Note 3, Note 2, HTC One, EVO, Thunderbolt, Incredible, Droid DNA, Motorola ATRIX, Moto X, Droid, Google Glass, Nexus 4, LG Optimus and More; Premium Samsung Battery Cell and Aluminum Enclosure (Orange)
http://amzn.com/B00F00B9A0

If I need to charge my iPad air once, I would bring this. Keep in kind that the iPad air has a small lee batter than the iPad 3/4:
Anker® 2nd Gen Astro3 12000mAh Portable Charger Backup External Battery World's-Fastest (4A Output) Triple-Port Shake-to-Wake Highest-Energy-efficiency Power Pack for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, iPad Air, iPads, Samsung Galaxy Tablets, other Android Smart Phones and Tablets (Apple adapters and Samsung 30-pin adapter not included)
http://amzn.com/B00CEZBKTO

Or this for the iPad 3/4 because if the bigger battery:
Anker® Astro E5 15000mAh Portable Ultra-High Density High Capacity External Battery Backup Charger for iPhone 5 (Apple adapters not included), 4S, 4, iPad 4, 3, 2, Mini, iPods, Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, S2, Note 2, Note 8, Tab 3; HTC One, EVO, Thunderbolt, Incredible, Droid DNA, Motorola ATRIX, Droid, Google Glass, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, LG Optimus and More - Black
http://amzn.com/B00D5T3QK4

For a power outage and would need to charge my iPhone 5, iPod touch 5 and iPad air once and a little more I would use these:
Anker® Astro E5 15000mAh Portable Ultra-High Density High Capacity External Battery Backup Charger for iPhone 5 (Apple adapters not included), 4S, 4, iPad 4, 3, 2, Mini, iPods, Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, S2, Note 2, Note 8, Tab 3; HTC One, EVO, Thunderbolt, Incredible, Droid DNA, Motorola ATRIX, Droid, Google Glass, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, LG Optimus and More - Black
http://amzn.com/B00D5T3QK4
And
Anker® 2nd Gen Astro3 12000mAh Portable Charger Backup External Battery World's-Fastest (4A Output) Triple-Port Shake-to-Wake Highest-Energy-efficiency Power Pack for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, iPad Air, iPads, Samsung Galaxy Tablets, other Android Smart Phones and Tablets (Apple adapters and Samsung 30-pin adapter not included)
http://amzn.com/B00CEZBKTO

I hope I helped!
This is my opinion and there are many other choices on amazon. I have all the ones I listed. If you have any questions about the batteries please ask!
 
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A lot of good info here. Thank you very much! I've never really looked into these so I didn't know that there were so many options. I might take another look at the ones that I bought. They could end up becoming small Christmas gifts while I get something a little bigger for myself. I don't know anyone that uses a portable charger so even getting one charge is better than having the battery die.
 
iMas70 said:
A lot of good info here. Thank you very much! I've never really looked into these so I didn't know that there were so many options. I might take another look at the ones that I bought. They could end up becoming small Christmas gifts while I get something a little bigger for myself. I don't know anyone that uses a portable charger so even getting one charge is better than having the battery die.
Click to expand...


Your welcome for all the info. These batteries make excellent gifts.
 
I have the Mophie Powerstation 4000 mAh. Charges iPhone 5 about 2-2.5 times and a partial iPad recharge.

http://www.mophie.com/shop/universal-batteries/powerstation-smart-phones-tablets

"Compact and full of power for any and all of your USB devices. The renowned powerstation boasts a high-output battery with charging speeds of 500mA, 1A, or 2.1A depending on what device you have connected."

Mophie has larger and smaller sizes. 4000 is a good size. Remember the bigger the spare battery the longer it takes to recharge!
 
Power Banks Chargers?

viewfly said:
I have the Mophie Powerstation 4000 mAh. Charges iPhone 5 about 2-2.5 times and a partial iPad recharge.

http://www.mophie.com/shop/universal-batteries/powerstation-smart-phones-tablets

"Compact and full of power for any and all of your USB devices. The renowned powerstation boasts a high-output battery with charging speeds of 500mA, 1A, or 2.1A depending on what device you have connected."

Mophie has larger and smaller sizes. 4000 is a good size. Remember the bigger the spare battery the longer it takes to recharge!
Click to expand...


I can't believe how expensive that is. $80 for 4,000mAh battery pack. That ridiculous for what you can get today.
All the ones I listed were way less than that with much more power. I get why it is so expensive because it is Mophie but people today don't realize how much more power they can get for less than half the price of Mophie.
The brand Anker is like Mophie in quality, IMO, but is much much cheaper in price.
 
Zmanbaseball2 said:
I can't believe how expensive that is. $80 for 4,000mAh battery pack. That ridiculous for what you can get today.
All the ones I listed were way less than that with much more power. I get why it is so expensive because it is Mophie but people today don't realize how much more power they can get for less than half the price of Mophie.
The brand Anker is like Mophie in quality, IMO, but is much much cheaper in price.
Click to expand...

Buying non OEM batteries is mostly a guessing game. You never really know the quality of what you get for certain. Is it a brand new high quality battery or is it a OEM reject, or has been sitting on the shelf unsold and being off loaded to a third party for repackage? Li-ion battery cycle lifetimes are affected by usage and also simply sitting on the shelve unused.

I started with Mophie because they had the first battery in an iPhone case. I have two of the external case batteries without problems. There are fakes on Amazon.

I like the high quality packaging and the auto select charging rates of 0.5, 1.0 or 2.1 amp. And no overcharging circuitry.
I can't speak for Anker at all and probably no one can unless they have multi year experience on each to understand battery lifetimes.

$79 doesn't seem outrageous for the above features. $29 seems a bit cheap to be profitable for Anker. Just my feeling and not very scientific.
 
viewfly said:
Buying non OEM batteries is mostly a guessing game. You never really know the quality of what you get for certain. Is it a brand new high quality battery or is it a OEM reject, or has been sitting on the shelf unsold and being off loaded to a third party for repackage? Li-ion battery cycle lifetimes are affected by usage and also simply sitting on the shelve unused.

I started with Mophie because they had the first battery in an iPhone case. I have two of the external case batteries without problems. There are fakes on Amazon.

I like the high quality packaging and the auto select charging rates of 0.5, 1.0 or 2.1 amp. And no overcharging circuitry.
I can't speak for Anker at all and probably no one can unless they have multi year experience on each to understand battery lifetimes.

$79 doesn't seem outrageous for the above features. $29 seems a bit cheap to be profitable for Anker. Just my feeling and not very scientific.
Click to expand...


Anker is one of the main battery pack companies on Amazon. Search Anker. Pretty much all their products are 4 stars and above.
 
Power Banks Chargers?

Zmanbaseball2 said:
Anker is one of the main battery pack companies on Amazon. Search Anker. Pretty much all their products are 4 stars and above.
Click to expand...

I can't really comment on Anker's products. Yes I did search on them before. I prefer scientific measurement vs popularity where possible. They may be fine. Mophie is sold in Apple stores and generally Apple sell well regarded products.

So I can't be critical about Anker other than quote from Anker's own reseller page below. What's good for the goose is good for the gander...

uda7y5u4.jpg
 
viewfly said:
I can't really comment on Anker's products. Yes I did search on them before. I prefer scientific measurement vs popularity where possible. They may be fine. Mophie is sold in Apple stores and generally Apple sell well regarded products.

So I can't be critical about Anker other than quote from Anker's own reseller page below. What's good for the goose is good for the gander...

Image
Click to expand...


Anker's Astro series (6k, 9k and 12k mah) gets 80% of usable capacity to charge a device. That's great:) I have many battery packs. IMO Anker's is the best!
 
Imac Sam said:
9000 MAH battery pack for $40. I have two of these and love them. I also recommend their Apple approved 4inch lighting Cable for this.



http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10831&cs_id=1083110&p_id=9531&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...


Comparing to other companies, that pretty expensive IMO.
Example:
RAVPower Element 10400mAh External Battery Pack Portable Charger Power Bank (Dual USB Outputs, Ultra Compact Design), for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, 4, iPad Air, 4, 3, 2, Mini 2 (Apple adapters not included); Samsung Galaxy S4, S3, S2, Note 3, Note 2; HTC One, EVO, Thunderbolt, Incredible, Droid DNA, Motorola ATRIX, Droid, Moto X, Google Glass, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, LG Optimus, PS Vita, GoPro and More
http://amzn.com/B009V5X1CE
 
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I just tried the charger that I mentioned in my first post. It took my iPhone 5 from 24% to 94% in about 75 minutes. Not a full charge but I guess it's better than having no reserve power. I usually don't need something like that but thought it was a good idea when I saw it (and for the price). I might take a closer look at the other options that are listed here. One thing that I thought would be handy is a very short cable to plug into the phone. With the one that I have, I'd have to carry one of my long Lightning cables with me along with the charger. Again, better than nothing but I alway want better :)
 
iMas70 said:
I just tried the charger that I mentioned in my first post. It took my iPhone 5 from 24% to 94% in about 75 minutes. Not a full charge but I guess it's better than having no reserve power. I usually don't need something like that but thought it was a good idea when I saw it (and for the price). I might take a closer look at the other options that are listed here. One thing that I thought would be handy is a very short cable to plug into the phone. With the one that I have, I'd have to carry one of my long Lightning cables with me along with the charger. Again, better than nothing but I alway want better :)
Click to expand...


How much mah is the battery pack?
 
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