This is a review of the Anker Astro Mini 3200mAh External Battery. The product's official page can be found here. It is for sale in the US on Amazon.com and is currently $19.99 with a list price of $39.99.
Before I get started, I was provided a sample by Anker and asked to give my unbiased thoughts on the product. You should know that I absolutely love Anker products, but that does not mean I am going to love everything they make.
I also own 3x of the Anker E5 16000mAh External Batteries, their E1 5200mAh External Battery, and some of their other 5x and 2x port USB wall chargers. I have also owned external batteries from other manufacturer's as well.
For my testing, I tested throughout the week with my Samsung Galaxy S 4 phone with the stock OEM battery. I currently have OmniROM Nightlies on it, and while it is good on battery life, stock ROMs may have different results.
The product box is a cute 4.25"x4.5"x2.5" cube. As with most if not all Anker products, the box is lightweight cardboard with a paper slip cover.
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Some other unboxing and size comparison photos below:
As with most Anker products I have unboxed, the feeling I get with their products even before using the actual product is that the packaging is very well designed and thought out. Their graphics design team has a great eye for presenting their product with integrity. I really enjoy the documentation they include, which includes a simple card with contact/support info if you aren't happy with the product, as well as social media links suggesting you follow them and review their product on Amazon. With tons of similar products on the market, it is often these little things that keep consumers (including me) coming back for more. In fact, if you read the product features, one of them is "friendly customer service". The warranty on this product is 18 months, which is great for such an inexpensive battery.
The unit feels very well made. It doesn't feel like there is any wasted space. I was provided a gold colored sample and print is all white, which is hard to read. I can't tell if the print is laser etched or a light silk screen. That said, it is probably more attractive than big, bold black text on the unit. At 80g / 2.8oz, this thing is light!
The included mesh bag is similar to those that other Anker products include, but it measures 5"x2.5", which seems large on this tiny battery. It looks like this bag was designed for another product but included with this one. In fact, it appears to be the perfect size and shape for my Anker E1 5200 mAh battery that didn't include a mesh bag. These bags are great because it gives you a way to store the cable with the battery without leaving the cable plugged in, potentially damaging the cable and port while in your bag or pocket. The included cable is white and is approximately 28" in length. One thought I had is that if this battery is marketed to iPhone and Android users alike, why is only a micro USB cable included? Granted, it is certainly cheaper than an Apple Lightning cable, but keep in mind that the product page only shows an iPhone with a cable plugged in, so that could be misleading.
I generally use external batteries of at least 5,000 mAh. Given the Galaxy S 4 internal battery is 2600mAh, if I'm on the go for a day and really active on the phone using GPS, Internet, music, etc, I'm always afraid these little chargers aren't going to last me very long. That said I put this in my pocket for the day and made myself use it exclusively. The first time I used it, I'll admit, I did not charge it first. I wanted to see how it would behave and how I would react to not knowing how much charge was left in it. The unit has one LED and one button. There is no gauge for capacity remaining other than the LED will flash twice if the charge is less than 2%. Not much of a warning here. So on the first discharge from the unit, I got about 45 minutes until the battery just shut off. And that was it... as expected. With other batteries that feature gauges, there is often a 4-5 segment meter indicating percentage ranges of capacity left. This is a feature that is hugely missing from this little 3200mAh charger, but given it's compact size, it is completely understandable. On this battery, once you plug in your device, you do need to press the button on the battery to turn it on and begin charging. An auto-current detect would be nice so you don't forget to press the power button and end up not charging at all.
I charged the unit using the Anker 20W Dual USB Wall Charger. I first attempted the charge through a PLX Devices Legion USB Meter to measure the charge current. This will vary between wall chargers and even the current draw from the battery. I tried this with the Anker charger and my Samsung Galaxy S 4 OEM Charger (2A) and got the same 0.85A-0.90A charge rate. The documentation says input current is 0.8A max, so getting 0.9A is a nice surprise. At 0.8A charge, and if the battery was drained to 3,000mA, we can expect a full charge to take approximately 4.5 hours.
After my first full charge, I measured charge current output to other devices. I charged my Galaxy S 4 with 50% battery left, and also tried charging an Anker E5 16000 mAh battery just for kicks. On the Legion Meter, I saw anywhere from 0.6A to 0.97A.
The specifications for this battery state it is capable of 1A max charge. This is where we get into the question, "Is this product right for my device?" It does have Anker's PowerIQ technology with claims to deliver the most efficient charge for your device. That said, my Galaxy S 4 ships with a 2A charger, and I can verify that it WILL charge at up to 2A. So, comparing this battery with a wall charger just isn't fair because, it won't charge your device nearly as fast. I noticed this while using it throughout the week too. If the phone is under heavy CPU load, the phone very well may drain faster than it can charge. However, I during testing I used the phone moderately and can say that the phone DID reach 100% charge without a problem.
Browsing Amazon.com, I noticed that RAVPower has a nearly identical device with almost the exact size, color options, and features. The differences I noticed include the RAVPower has a flashlight on the end, the warranty is only 12 months, and a travel pouch is not listed as included. The RAVPower unit is also $17.99 at the time of this writing. That said, I do not know if Anker and RAVPower are in any way affiliated with each other since these are nearly the same, and even their websites look nearly identical. Both only sell on Amazon as well. The Anker model is available in other countries whereas the RAVPower seems only available in the USA.
I know some consumers would prefer this "lipstick" style charger. It will fit nearly anywhere. However, I do not see the appeal other than size, shape, and color to choose this over the Astro E1 battery, which has 60% more capacity, a 4-segment LED showing capacity remaining, and charges at 2A current instead of only 1A. Both are currently $19.99 on Amazon.com as of this writing. If you want functionality, I'd go with the Astro E1. If you need tiny or a colorful unit, perhaps this 3200 mAh lipstick battery is for you.
I will continue to use this battery as another backup, and even hand it off to my girlfriend for some thoughts. I'll update this post with new information as I gather it. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Related
This is a review of genuine Yoobao Thunder 13000 mAh external battery: http://www.kevikev.com/Yoobao-Thunder-13000mah-Power-Bank-for-USB-Mobile-Devices-YBTHUNDER13000.htm
With so many reviews behind my belt, this is a first time I'm specifically referring to a product as "genuine". Here is a reason why. Yoobao is a popular Chinese manufacturer specializing in cases and batteries, but it's not that well known in the States because there are only 2 US dealers with www.kevikev.com being the only one verified by Yoobao (I actually checked that on Yoobao website). I came across HK products that look identical to these, but was informed by their sellers those weren't real Yoobao, only lookalike. That obviously turned me away, until I got an opportunity to review the real Yoobao product with samples provided to me directly from kevikev online store.
External batteries continue to push their capacity while maintaining small footprint. This Thunder model goes all the way up to 13000 mAh with a dimensions of approximately 136 mm x 74 mm x 28 mm. Higher capacity also means more battery cells and increased weight, which in case of Thunder is about 300g. I wouldn't call it pocket friendly, but you have to trust me - this is a kind of battery you want everybody to see due to how cool it looks! Personally, I wouldn't even call it Thunder but rather something like Ninja Warrior! That's how it looks to me It has a very solid hard plastic material on the top and the bottom and two end sides, while around the grip sides it has a red rubber material stamped with snow flake pattern. The power/control button is in a shape of a warrior mask where the eye light up blue/red depending on it's charging cycle. Also, there are 5 hidden light elements around it to indicate charging capacity of the battery partitioned in 20% increments. This battery has 3 ports, one micro-usb battery charging input, and two full size usb device charging outputs. In addition, it comes with a very bright torch LED light. A very nice bonus if you are in the dark (like during power loss) and need an extra light source which can last you over 500 hours at full battery charge, or just a way to light up usb ports so you can connect your smart phone or tablet. Along with Thunder battery, you get a high quality usb to micro-usb cable. I actually like the rubbery texture of that cable, it has a premium feel to it. Also you get Apple 30-pin adapter, and to my surprise a premium quality wall charger rated at 1A. This way you can use a wall charger with included cable to charge up the battery, and then use the same cable to charge up your device. This external battery came already pre-charged to about 80%, and when I was charging it up to 100% I felt wall charger getting a little warm, but nothing to be alarmed.
Even so this external battery looks very cool, it doesn't matter if it can't deliver. So here is what I found while putting it through my test. Since it already came pre-charged, I didn't have a chance to time a total charge up time. But since input is rated at 1A, we are talking about 12-13hr from empty due to its 13000 mAh capacity. The manual which comes with a battery mentions that Output 1 is rated at 1A while output 2 is rated at 1.5A. From my test I was able to to confirm that both outputs provide 1.6A of charging current which is what I typically see from most of the 2A wall chargers. This is a very good indicator that you can charger your Note 2 fast from either of the ports and don't have to worry if you are plugged into Output 1 or Output 2. For my test I actually had my N2 with ZL9k3 battery down to single % digits, and let it charge overnight. Yes, the rated capacity is 13000 mAh but the actual capacity available to phone/table battery will be less due to efficiency loss of conversion through 5V usb port. That is a know fact and common to every single external battery. According to my calculation of charging time and N2 battery percentage change I determined the actual capacity of Thunder to be around 8800-9000 mAh, which is very good and on par with 30-35% efficiency loss expected from these high capacity external batteries. This is a very impressive number considering you can fully charge your Zerolemon battery with Thunder or charge your N2 almost 3 times with stock battery.
Overall, this is one Awesome battery in terms of looks and performance!!! It's not your usual rectangular brick you keep for emergency out of sight. Thunder is something you would want to keep on your desk as a center piece to show off. And the cool looks are backed by a solid built and a great performance of high capacity and fast charging of your device. What is more important, you are dealing with an authorized Yoobao US dealer who will honor its 6-month warranty and can service/replace the product if you need to. This one gets my recommendation!
Also, I want to mention that I'm working on getting you guys an exclusive 10% off coupon for purchase of this battery... Here you go, hot off the press: the coupon code is kk001. It should work with this battery or any other purchase total of $50.
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. I tried to take the last few in the dark so you can see LEDs better:
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I wonder how it compares to Anker 1300mAh external charger
VitaliyUvakin said:
I wonder how it compares to Anker 1300mAh external charger
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You mean Anker E4 13000 mAh? Very good point. They are identical in spec, even with torch led light Anker is a few dollars cheaper (considering 10% discount you can get with Thunder), and you get longer warranty with Anker. But from visual perspective - Thunder is in a class of it's own. It's not a regular rectangular box, but rather a gadget with personality. The way how it's shaped, the quality of the case material and side grips, that warrior-mask power button with eyes that light up (either blue or red) and shapes of the little indicator lights around it - the Cool factor adds to it's value. Just my opinion, and please don't hate me if I persuade you to buy yet another gadget you weren't even planning to get
Lol. No hate here and you absolutely right, tunder looks very sexy and appealing.
Now I just need to find an excuse why I need it , which won't be an easy.... since I'm rocking ZL, which is powerfull beast on its own
Looks pretty cool! Just not a fan of the glossy finish
apallohadas said:
Looks pretty cool! Just not a fan of the glossy finish
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yep, forgot to mention it will be a fingerprint magnet. Well, at least you can trace it back and ID who touched your external battery
vectron said:
yep, forgot to mention it will be a fingerprint magnet. Well, at least you can trace it back and ID who touched your external battery
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I've been looking for an excuse to practice drawing prints off of batteries!
I'm selling this in Asia and i must say it's very popular. It's sold out the moment i gotten new stocks.
Max 1.5A seems to be a little slow at charging. Dig the design though.
IsolatedAbyss said:
Max 1.5A seems to be a little slow at charging. Dig the design though.
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I confirmed both ports charging at 1.6A, exactly the same as my oem Samsung 2A wall charger. So you are guaranteed to charge it as fast as from a wall charger.
Im on the fence between this boy and anker.. decisions, decisions...
VitaliyUvakin said:
Im on the fence between this boy and anker.. decisions, decisions...
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There is also Yoobao 15,600 mAh battery for $59.99 and you can apply 10% off coupon to get a discount. That one is even higher capacity. http://www.kevikev.com/Yoobao-Thunderbolt-15600mah-Power-Bank-for-USB-Mobile-Devices-YBT-655.htm
This is a review of Anker 2nd generation Astro 6000 mAh external battery. http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7902-BA
After rolling out new 2nd generation versions of Astro 3 (3 outputs) and Astro 2 (2 outputs), now is a turn for Astro with a single charging output. While Astro 3 was very impressive with three outputs and 12000 mAh capacity, it was a relatively large and heavy device, which is expected. Astro 2 shrunk it down to 2 outputs and 9000 mAh capacity with a more pocket friendly footprint. Here with single output Astro and 6000 mAh capacity the size was reduced down to an awesome compact size which you can store even inside of a very small purse. But don't let the small size fool you - you still get all new 2nd gen design with every bell'n'whistle of Astro 2 and 3. So let's take a closer look.
Continuing with their environmentally friendly packaging, battery came inside of a neatly packaged box which contained a battery itself, a manual (always very detailed), and accessory box with usb to micro-usb cable and a mesh draw-string storage bag for a battery and a cable. No 30 pin iphone adapter was included like with previous models, but I'm not sure if it was intentional or just my package was missing it. Either way, I personally don't care about apple connector and for those with apple devices - you probably have a ton of usb cables already. Now let me tell you about the size of this battery - its is SMALL!!! Weighting around 130g and with a size of 90mm by 45mm and thickness of 25mm - it will easily fit in a palm of your hand where you can make a fist hiding it inside. That's how compact it is. With a new rounded design and smooth edges, the hard plastic shell is lined with a soft touch rubbery finish. You get one micro-usb battery charging port (1A speed to charge the battery itself) and one full usb smart output port for any Android or Apple device. The output supports a maximum charging speed of up to 2A. In my quick test with OEM usb cable I confirmed a charging speed of 1.5A using my Note 2. The speed will obviously vary depending on the cable you use, so keep that in mind and use usb cables with thicker wires.
Just like with Astro 2 and 3, this 2nd gen device uses a new 10-segment circle LED indicator to show you the charging progress of the battery or the remaining charge on the battery in increments of 10% thus giving you a higher precision reading. Most of the other batteries usually include 4 LEDs to indicate 25% increments, but with Astro you are getting a better precision. There is no power button anywhere around smooth surface of this battery. To start the charging or to check the remaining capacity you just shake it and display LED comes alive. Also, considering actual capacity of any external battery is typically 30% less then advertised value, in case of 2nd gen Astro a more efficient conversion circuit is used which gives close to 80% efficiency, so you can count on about 4700-4800 mAh of charging power. Considering super compact shape of this battery, this is very impressive and perfect as a portable emergency charge you can take with you anywhere.
Overall, the design, the efficiency, the charging speed, and compact size of this battery makes it a very attractive package. It is also very unique and sets it apart from competition. Add to that Anker's 18-month warranty and great support - with introductory price of $29.99 on Amazon this is one fantastic value. I highly recommend it!
Here are the pictures, including a happy "family" of all 3 Astros together.
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How about comparing the 2 current 6000 Anker products. Slim 3 versus 2nd generation 6000 power bank.
Explore3 said:
How about comparing the 2 current 6000 Anker products. Slim 3 versus 2nd generation 6000 power bank.
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Apples and oranges Slim 3 is 1st gen so the efficiency will be about 70-75% (just like every other external battery on the market), while Astro 2nd gen will be 80-85% efficient. Plus 2nd gen Astro will have a smart port that can charge up to 2.4A (even the latest iPad). BUT the advantage of Slim3 is more portable footprint, built-in charging cable, and ability to even use it with a phone like a slice behind the back holding both battery and phone together. Plus, I find Slim to be very useful with our Nexus 7 tablet and book cover case where I can slide it with "book cover" folder and use a tablet while charging it up. So it all comes down to either higher capacity and more flexibility (like iPad charging) versus higher portability of slimmer design.
This is a review of updated Anker Astro 2nd gen 6400 mAh battery. http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7902-B2A, available on Amazon in 4 new colors: http://www.amazon.com/6400mAh-Portable-Charger-External-Technology/dp/B00EF1OGOG/?tag=vectron00-20
I reviewed the original New Gen Anker Astro over a year ago. This new line of rugged smooth surface batteries was introduced over a year ago and still one of the best sellers on Amazon. It has a unique 10-led segment capacity indicator (in 10% increments), PowerIQ port which automatically adjusts to a maximum current draw of any device (even iPads), and high efficiency output (so you actually don’t lose too much of advertised capacity). I have been using Astro for close to 20 months in heavy rotation. I have a lot of other Anker batteries, with Astro 3 (3 ports) and Astro 2 (2 ports) and this Astro (single port), but Astro gets the most mileage in our household because it’s the smallest and the lightest one.
I guess all the gadgets go through wear’n’tear, especially when it’s in heavy use, and after I found a problem with my original Astro battery and looked online for replacement – I realized that Anker recently updated it with a new version that has a faster battery charging, multi-color surface finish, higher efficiency, and increased capacity from 6000 mAh to 6400 mAh, while still keeping it under $30. Kindly enough, Anker offered me a replacement of my original battery, and I got a chance to take a closer look at it now. Big props to their service/warranty department because even so their typical warranty period is 18-months, under circumstances they still supported me after 20-months of use. I heard similar support stories from other users in our community as well. Just something to keep in mind!
Battery arrived in a similar packaging with all similar accessories of usb to micro-usb cable and a nice storage pouch. With this battery being in white color (other colors are black, blue, green, and white), they actually included a white usb cable instead of a black one - a nice “matching” touch. I know that next to the original black one, the white battery looks bigger in the picture, but it’s just an “illusion” where they are actually IDENTICAL in size (93 x 46 x 25mm / 3.7 x 1.8 x 1.0in) and still lightweight at only 135g.
The first change I noticed was micro-usb charging input going up to 1A to 1.2A – the charging of the actual battery inside of the Astro. This means 20% faster charging of Anker battery itself when you don’t have time to wait. Just don’t confuse it with their 2A output port which charges your phone/tablet. Efficiency also went up to a confirmed 90% which means that now you have access to 5, 750 mAh of capacity, versus 4,800 mAh in previous version. Availability of different colors is also great since my daughter and my wife were the primary users of this battery, and having something other than in “black” always means “accessorizing” in their vocabulary
So here you have it, a very impressive update that really feels like a worthy upgrade. You will notice that various Astro colors are priced differently, with a black one starting at $21.99 and others going up to $28.99, but price usually fluctuates and I see special deals all the time.
Here are the pictures.
This is a review of Anker 2nd gen Astro Pro2 20000 mAh external battery. http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7906-BA, and amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGLTZQ/
In case if you thought I took a break from reviewing external batteries - I didn't. I was looking for something new and original, not another cookie-cutter re-branded battery. Funny how everytime I start my journey to find a cool new original battery product with a great value, I always end up coming back to yet another new release from Anker. As I mentioned so many times in the past, this company is working very hard to stay at the top of the game with new products and ideas. They switched to environmentally safe carton packaging (no plastic what so ever), updated to 2nd gen with more efficient modules having 80% efficiency in comparison to every other external battery out there with only 65%-70% efficiency, and introduced 10-led capacity indicators with their 2nd gen Astro modules. So where do you go from there? - 2nd gen Astro Pro2 with a whooping 20000 mAh (that's 20k mAh) capacity.
As I mentioned above, the battery arrived in Anker's new standard all carton packaging which is environmentally safe and no-hassle to open. Being a super high capacity, don't expect a lightweight portable module. I have seen a lot of other cheap 20000 mAh batteries in the past, all in a lightweight small footprint. That would be the first red flag to claim a high capacity without a "weight" behind it Astro Pro2 is about 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.6" and weight of 488 g. It's not pocket friendly, but with included drawstring storage pouch and considering relatively slim profile - it would make a great travel companion in your briefcase or luggage. The case is very durable all metal with a brushed aluminum black finish which I found to be scratch resistant. Other accessories include usb to micro-usb cable, tablet charging cable (for Asus and Acer tablets with 5.5mm x 2.1mm jack), and AC outlet charging cable. With such high capacity charging this battery from usb charger will take a very long time, so the charging is done from 12V/2A wall charger where you can get full charge from zero in under 6 hours.
Once you start charging you will notice something that is extremely rare for external batteries - a back lit LCD display with actual % indicator number in 1% increments. There is no guessing with 4 leds or even 10 leds, you will know exactly the charging capacity and when using this battery - the exact remaining battery capacity. This capacity could be checked at any point by pushing multi-function button on the side of the battery. Also, when you hold this button down for 3sec, you will see a flashing 9V or 12V which can be selected with the same button. To accommodate some of the common Acer and Asus tablets with 5.5mm x 2.1mm jack, you can use included cable attached to DC Output port where you get 9V / 2A or 12V / 1.5A output. If you have some other tablet or camera or another gadget that require 9V or 12V voltage and uses a unique charging tip, you can get for $10 a collection of 28 different tips like these: http://www.amazon.com/Vktech-Universal-5-5x2-1mm-Adapter-Notebook/dp/B00CMMO6AE/
But the stars of this external battery are 3x smart usb outputs, each being able to supply up to 2.4A. When all ports are connected, you can't exceed the maximum 4.5A current, but still it's very impressive considering you could be charging 3 separate devices at high speed from such a high capacity source. Also, the charging starts automatically once you plug in the cable. 20000 mAh is obviously the max capacity of the internal battery, but as you know it's typically 3.7V which has to be converted to 5V usb interface where the efficiency of Astro Pro2 is only 80% of the actual capacity, 16000 mAh. This is VERY impressive because today most of the external batteries on the market have actual capacity which is only 2/3 of the max advertised one.
Overall, I found this battery to be of a VERY high quality with a tough attractive built, multi-port smart charging capability including flexibility of 9V/12V charging, 1% increment charge/capacity LCD indicator, and one of the best warranty coverages with 18-months of support. Considering all that and enormous capacity of 20000 mAh with 80% efficiency, the price of $79.99 is actually a bargain for such product.
Here are the pictures.
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Great review as always!!! I'm thinking about returning my zerolemon and pick up 1 of these
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Ordered the Anker 2nd gen Astro 3 12000mAH. Will get it Wednesday and give my review.... Stay tuned! bTW don't buy or use the zerolemon battery case for the N4 it week fry your battery!!!!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
where did you order your Pro2 from? i cant find it anywhere!!
Squeeker the Cat said:
where did you order your Pro2 from? i cant find it anywhere!!
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I knew these will be sold out, so I included Amazon link in the original review as well (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGLTZQ/). As you can see it's currently unavailable because they out of stock. Keep checking or just email them directly to find out when it's back in stock.
Is there any site or shop selling it to Europe? I can only find the first gen on Amazon UK.
Video Review
Great review, like always!
Here's a video review if someone is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W84Xm4YzMIU
Much thanks!
The only place I could find any reference to requiring other adaptors for the DC part. At least I know now.
I have a vzw note 3. I would like to buy a portable charger small enough to carry in my pocket and provide 1 full charge so probably need 5000 mah unit. I want safety, quality, and portability. I prefer something containing quality brand battery like Samsung or Panasonic/Sanyo and I don't want to worry about a power surge frying my phone. I prefer a product available from a USA dealer.
Suggestions?
recDNA said:
I have a vzw note 3. I would like to buy a portable charger small enough to carry in my pocket and provide 1 full charge so probably need 5000 mah unit. I want safety, quality, and portability. I prefer something containing quality brand battery like Samsung or Panasonic/Sanyo and I don't want to worry about a power surge frying my phone. I prefer a product available from a USA dealer.
Suggestions?
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Just search for other Anker batteries, find the size and the capacity you need and go for it!
vectron said:
Just search for other Anker batteries, find the size and the capacity you need and go for it!
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A lot of users report units break after 3 or 4 months.
recDNA said:
A lot of users report units break after 3 or 4 months.
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This is 2+ year old product, and wasn't even an original Anker design, if I'm not mistaken. Most of their stuff in the last 1-2 years has been original. But either way, Pro 2 has 1200 reviews on Amazon with 91% 4-5 Star reviews, and another 4% of 3-stars just have critical comments about performance.
I can tell you with certainty since I review a lot of products from many different manufacturers - most of the 1-2 star reviews are fake and written by competitors.
This is a review of UNU SuperPak 10,000 mAh external battery. http://www.myunu.com/unu-superpak-battery-pack-for-smartphones-and-tablets.html , also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/UNU-Superpak-10000mAh-Lightning-compatible/dp/B00LXL6L9E/
External battery market is saturated, and it’s very sad to see hundreds of different models where the only innovation is a different color casing or shape of buttons or some other cosmetic changes trying to differentiate themselves from the rest. Luckily there are still a few companies that trying to innovate in this sector of electronic gadgets, and I found UNU to be one of them. Their UltraPak Go and Tour, reviewed not too long ago, demonstrated a new fast charging technology and a built in digital display to monitor battery status. Today I’m going to look into their latest SuperPak battery which has some unique features while keeping it at a budget friendly price.
Arrived in a small packaging box, you get a nice cover graphics with a picture of SuperPak and a detailed listing of features on the back and the sides. Out of the box you will find the battery packed inside of a plastic storage tray with user manual and USB charging cable. Typically I don’t spend too much time in further description of the cable since everybody includes a typical usb to micro-usb cable with their products. Well, this is not your typical cable because in addition to micro-usb connector it has a removable adapter (attached by a cable string so it doesn’t get lost) with Apple Lightning connector for use with iPhone 5/6. Though I personally don’t have any Apple products, I think it’s a fantastic idea to provide a universal cable to accommodate charging of any device. Obviously, the same cable could be used to charge battery itself.
Now about the battery, it has a sturdy quality build and a durable metal case. The footprint of the battery was relatively small for its 10,000 mAh capacity, but also a little bit thicker in comparison to other batteries. Either way, it should be pocket friendly and easy to carry with you in the bag on the go. The design itself is very simple. The top of the battery has a typical 4 led indicator with 25% charging/capacity increments. Nothing special here except in comparison to led display of UltraPak this was one of the “corners” UNU had to cut in order to reduce the price of the unit. The rest of the ports and controls are clustered and clearly labeled on the side of the battery. In there you have a large round power button, can’t miss that, which you have to push in order to start charging. In comparison to most of the other batteries charging usually starts automatically as soon as you connect the cable, while here UNU gives you a control – just have to remember to push that button.
You also have 2 full size usb charging ports labeled uSmart 5V/2.1A and 5V/1A. They use a new charge sensing technology to supply charging current at the max speed of the connected device. UNU is not the first one to introduce this technology, but still it’s a great feature which I only found available with two other manufacturers. Also, in my test I found my Note 4 charging at exactly the same speed from either of the ports. So I’m just going to consider this as a dual output 5V power supply with a total capacity of 3.1A shared current which gets distributed and optimized according to the max charging speed of your device.
Of course, I saved the best for last – SuperX micro-usb input port to charge the UNU battery. While only a few companies focus on faster charging of the devices connected to the battery, nobody focuses on fast charging of the battery itself. UltraPak introduced super fast charging but at an expense of a bulky AC wall proprietary charger which is not very convenient when you are traveling. SuperPak uses a regular standard micro-usb input charging port which is capable of 2.4A charging speed!!! For a comparison, all the currently available external batteries have a charging input of 1A or lower. With increasing capacity of batteries, that’s roughly speaking 1 hour of charge per each 1000 mAh of capacity. So a typical 10,000 mAh battery will take about 10 hours to charge, while SuperPak with its 2.4A input will fully charge its battery in under 5 hours. You also have to keep in mind, that you will not have the actual 10k mAh of available capacity to charge your phone since conversion of internal SuperPack battery of 3.7V to 5V and back to your phone’s 3.7V battery will result in about 20% of efficiency losses.
Overall, I found SuperPak to be a great battery with a decent build, high capacity, flexibility of micro-usb and apple lightning connector, smart device charging outputs, and a unique feature of super fast 2.4A input recharging. Only a few currently available ext batteries offer smart charging outputs, and universal micro-usb / lightning connector high quality cable is definitely a bonus. But SuperX input charging feature of SuperPak is the first one I have seen. This means that you no longer have to wait to charge your ext battery overnight or keep it on the charger half of the day to get those 4 leds lit up. In half of the time you can have your SuperPak battery full and ready to go!
Here are the pictures.
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This is a Review of Xiaomi Mi 20000 mAh dual external battery.
After a few of my recent external batteries reviews I was asked if/when am I going to review the latest offering from Xiaomi, and in general how come I haven't reviewed any of the Mi batteries in the past. It wasn't a matter of not being able to obtain a review sample, but rather a problem with making sure it's a real product from a trusted source. Xiaomi established themselves as one of the top choices in budget-priced gear, and due to their popularity the market is now flooded with knockoffs which sometime hard to tell apart (Xiaomi Pistons is a good example of that). Luckily, <mod snip> is among a few trusted on-line retailers that work directly with Xiaomi distributors, selling their original licensed products. Please keep that in mind, it's not just about the product but also where you buy it to guarantee you're getting a genuine smartphone accessory. And with that "public announcement" out of the way, let's proceed to the review.
Unboxing & Accessories.
The product arrived in a small plain white box, no fancy graphics, no colorful images, just a plain "Mi" and a spec on a side in Chinese. One thing to note, there was an authenticity sticker on the side, what looks like a genuine Xiaomi label. I have enough experience to know these stickers could be duplicated, but in this case it was a real deal because I trust the source I got it from. With minimalistic box you also get a single accessory, a flat usb to micro-usb cable - high quality and very durable, all in white. The whole theme of a plain white box, a simple white battery enclosure, and a simple white usb cable can remind you of "Apple" products - clean and simple.
One missing accessory is usb to usb-c cable. I didn't even know about it until I read on <mod snip>: Mi 20k mAh battery can recharge a new MacBook with usb type-c cable, which makes sense considering it supports 5V 3.6A output. Not sure why they are not advertising it directly because it's a big marketing point for this battery, supporting USB-C technology which has been implemented in the latest MacBook, Google Chromebook Pixel, and Nexus 6P smartphone.
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Design.
This minimalistic packaging also caries over to minimalistic plain white design with just a simple "Mi" stamped on the top. Even the label on the back edge is printed in light gray on white which makes it hard to read, and still has a very minimalistic discrete look. But when you take a closer look, you realize there is more to it. To keep the weight down, amazingly enough for 20k mAh battery which is only 338g, Xiaomi used a durable yet environmentally safe combination of PC+ABS plastic with a very fine bumps that make surface anti-skid and anti-scratch. Also, considering such a huge capacity, the dimensions are only 142mm x 73mm x 22 mm, making it among the smallest and the lightest batteries in 20k+ category.
Looking at the top side edge of the battery you will find a single power button which turns on 4-led power indicator to let you know about the remaining storage capacity. I didn't have to press power button to start charging my phone. On the front edge, you will find 2 full size usb Output ports, one micro-usb Input charging port, and 4-leds indicating the remaining capacity or the charging capacity (when re-charging the battery). This 4-led indicator was really a step back for me considering you get only 25% incremental granularity, while I got spoiled by Anker and their 10-led segment indicators. Not really sure why Xiaomi decided to have such a simplistic power indicator, though I'm guessing they probably wanted to keep it small without taking too much room.
Specification and operation.
Obviously this battery wasn't marketed for worldwide release because instructions are all in Chinese, and this is why I do appreciate that Gearbest put as much info as possible in English on their website: Mod Edit by @Darth : Link to online store removed. . Reading specification and looking through some of the marketing pictures REALLY clears up what's under the hood of this battery.
First of all is a charging micro-usb input to recharge the battery itself. 20,000 mAh is a huge capacity, so forget about using any of your outdated 1A or 1.5A wall chargers. <mod snip> mentions "Support DC 5V / 2A, 9V / 2A, 12V / 1.5A quick recharging" - which is a dead giveaway of QC2.0. Of course, it also supports a regular fast 5V @ 2A charging, but it's nice to have both options. Either way, it will take about 7-8 hours to fully recharge the battery, which is not bad for such high capacity.
In my test, I found with a regular 2A charger I got: 5.33V @ 2.01A
And using Samsung Fast Charger: 6.62V @ 1.63A
When it comes to the charging output of dual USB ports, those support 5.1V with max 3.6A output. That translates into up to 2A for a typical smartphone charging and 3A for USB-C charging. I can't test/verify USB-C since I don't have any devices supporting it yet, but it's a great feature to have in order to future-proof your charger. With usb charging, I was able to confirm it with my Note 4 and it's on par with all of my other 2A chargers, and btw 2A is "max" so the actual charging speed is usually less, where in case of my phone it was about 4.96V @ 1.71A
Another thing to keep in mind is close to 90% efficiency of conversion, considering going from internal battery of Mi to 5V USB port and then through usb cable to your phone and back from 5V micro-usb to internal battery (all this involving a typical 3.7V to 5V conversion with some loses due to efficiency). So realistically you are looking at close to 18k mAh of usable capacity.
Conclusion.
Doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that I was impressed with this battery Due to a lack of access to USB-C devices, I can't test it to its full potential, but I still found it to be among the smallest and the lightest 20,000 mAh batteries I have tested to date. Yeah, the battery is not fancy with aluminum enclosure or better led power indicator, unfortunately you will have to live with a plastic shell and 4-led indicator, but it's still a quality build with a packed functionality, high capacity, full 9S circuit protection, and the big one - priced under $35 shipped free from <mod snip>. But the most important factor is that you can have a piece of mind knowing it's a real Xiaomi product, not a knockoff.
thx man!
S o l v e d
dealova2008 said:
S o l v e d
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Sorry if I missed the question, what did you "solve" ?
Btw, I few people contacted me asking about the link where I got the battery. I think something was wrong with my original link, so it was deleted by moderators. It is still available for $35 from Gearbest, www.gearbest.com/iphone-power-bank/pp_263761.html, the best price I found so far. On ebay they go between $38-$45.
nice review!
vectron said:
Sorry if I missed the question, what did you "solve" ?
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Click to collapse
I finally knew that to recharged Xiaomi power banks at maximum amps (2A) , we must use the original 2A chargers comes with phones.
Because if using multi-port aftermarket chargers like ANKER 60W & PowerPort 4, I can only get Max. 1.6A
Still want to hear from ANKER.