I ran out of juice on my iPhone the other day and a friend let me borrow this which came in mighty handy: TeckNet® POWER BANK Mini 3000mAh USB External Battery Pack- Ultra-Compact "Lipstick" Size Mobile Phone Portable Battery Charger. It's about $14 on amazon so was thinking of buying myself one. Before I do, does anyone recommend a comparable product that might be better? I can't say I've really researched competing products much so I figure someone here might have advice.

i bought this one a few months ago. will fully recharge my IP5 from 20% about 2.5 times. fits in my pocket.

Anker® Astro 5600mAh Portable External Battery Charger

there was a powerbank on ebay posted in a thread last week. supposedly 10000mAh. i picked one up for $9.99. i doubt it's rated correctly. will only charge the iphone 2 times. i'm going camping in august and wanted more back up. it'll do but still disappointing.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Tough product category. More important than the mAh ratings is the quality of the internal battery and there is no "standard" to go by or inquire about.

Some will run VERY hot. Some will hold a charge for 5 days, other for 30. Some may say they will charge your phone twice, but if you use it once the remaining charge will trickle out until the unit is dead and needs to be charged again.

These have become VERY popular promotional products and 4 of the lines I rep are all selling them. Like I said, tough product category. I'd stick with a brand you know even if it costs a bit more.

All that said, I think they are great, handy items to have but for your car, I suggest one of the USB adapter plugs that fit into your cigarette lighter.

DM

If you have a Goodwill or Salvation Army close by, the car and AC chargers are usually pretty cheap, like $1.00 or $2.00. You just have to make sure the connections are right. Here, I got both chargers, with cables for $2.00, and the AC charger was the $20.00 Apple model.

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dmann
Some will run VERY hot. Some will hold a charge for 5 days, other for 30. Some may say they will charge your phone twice, but if you use it once the remaining charge will trickle out until the unit is dead and needs to be charged again.

i will attest that the Anker i linked to does not run hot and seems to hold a charge for a good many weeks. Anker is also very good on customer service and attentiveness.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I suggest one of the USB adapter plugs that fit into your cigarette lighter.

I think this is a must for anybody on the go who uses there phone more than moderately. I occasionally use Maps or Navigon, and that will take my 'Phone down to 50% in a heartbeat.

Mine is a Griffen mini 2 slot adapter with both slots charging at 2.1A. I could charge an iPad with it, and it will charge my 'Phone a little faster than it's factory charger.

I also keep an Apple iPad AC charger handy as well.

The Anker that gl linked to is on my list.

I've been considering this:



It's an AC charger combined with a 3000mA battery.

A little pricey but it's unique as far as I know.

I saw it at MWSF this year. Most external batteries need to be connected to USB to be recharged. Apple requires an external battery to charge the 'Phone battery first. So if your external is low and you plug it in to a USB power source and your 'Phone, the external won't be charged until the 'Phone is charged. The Bolt allows both its battery and the 'Phone to be charged simultaneously.

However, just as an external battery can only use a USB source (and an AC powered host) to recharge, it looks like the Bolt only charges from AC. Yes, you could charge an external from your battery powered 'Book, but then the Book's runtime is shortened. You may as well just charge the 'Phone (or the external as well, if that's feasible).

At $60, it's a little pricey. If it could *also* be charged by USB I'd be all over it. For now, it's on the It Would Be Nice to Have list.

But it's at the top.

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From a recommendation of another MRFer, my son has a Sendy 5200mAh High Capacity Portable Power Backup External Battery Charger with built-in Flashlight from Amazon for $19. It has worked great and I'd buy another for myself if I needed an external charger.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.”
-- François de La Rochefoucauld

Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.

There are a ton of these things out there, probably mostly manufactured by the same group of ODMs, but carrying different labels.

Since they do go bad, or arrive DOA, I'd choose a brand with known good support, like Anker. There are others, but I know Anker has a good rep.

They also seem to spec, or put some investment in advancing the product, like with using all intelligent ports.