8 Things to Consider Before Buying a Portable Power Bank (Infographic)
Portable power banks are the coolest gadgets emerged in recent past keeping the all-pervasive problem of short battery for the most of the smartphones around. We all face this particular irritating situation of not having enough battery power in the smartphones when we need it the most. Thus the usefulness of the power banks AKA external battery packs is beyond any doubt, while saving us from such unwanted situation by providing the uninterrupted power that we need in our phones.
But, buying a decent and best portable power bank is a little tricky as there are certain aspects which are always required to be taken care in order not to end up with a battery pack which does not fulfill the unique requirement of us properly. So, let us dig in some of those points in this buying guide and let ourselves place in a safer side.
Power Bank Capacity:
Portable chargers are identified or marked with their respective capacities, like how much power basically they are able to retain within themselves, which in turn can be delivered while charging. This measurement is termed with mAh, abbreviation of milli-Ampere-hour, designating the amount of charge flow per unit time. Now, a certain power bank with tagged capacity 10000 mAh (say) would never be able to deliver its maximum power, i.e. 10000 mAh here. This is due to the energy conversion loss, state and level of the health of the smartphone batteries etc. Typically, it is found an external battery pack can deliver 80% of its claimed power. This matter is required to be considered scrupulously.
How fast a power bank can charge:
The rate with which a power bank can charge is dependent on the output current rating. In general, higher the rating, the shorter the time in which the portable charger can charge up. There are typically two kinds of accepted output ratings viz. 1.0 A and 2.1 A, both being operative at 5 Volt. But also, apart from the output rate at which a portable charger can charge up, the power drawing ability of the smartphone or the tablet in concern, which is going to be charged, is also a deciding factor here. This current drawing capability could be known from the original charger of the device, where the current rating should be imprinted.
Number of USB Ports:
We often need to charge multiple smartphones at the same time and with urgency, this can be accomplished smoothly with the portable chargers that have the provision of multiple output USB ports. So, if you have more than one smartphones and both or all of them suffer from shorter battery life, then this option is important for you to check.
Portability of the battery pack:
We all know that higher the capacity of the portable charger, better the device is. But, with the high capacity, the size of a certain portable charger also gets increased considerably, thereby making the charger inconvenient to drag along with. So before going for higher capacity portable power bank, its size should have been taken care properly.
Types of cells in battery pack:
There are two kinds of battery cells available which in general constitute the portable chargers, viz. Li-ion and Li-poly. Both of them are the technical names, implying the technology used. The Li-ion are in general old fashioned, bulkier but reasonably priced whereas Li-poly are advanced, more safe and highly priced.
Brand and price:
Price tag is an important aspect for any consumer electronics and when it comes to the portable chargers, there one can get too many portable chargers in unbelievable price tag in online stores. Majority of them are either fake or counterfeit products. So it is better to stick to a reasonable budget which is standard and not looking for any brand that is not reputed enough.
Safety Aspects:
Portable chargers are made of battery cells basically and thus they are prone to danger when not handled with care. But again as the power bank is not just a battery, but a battery with associated circuitry for its efficient performance, they in general comes with a bunch of safety aspects like over temperature protection, over voltage protection, short circuit protection. It is wise to take a look and verify these aspects before deciding finally on any model to ensure that even if any common error occurs with it, the power bank would itself be able to take care of this. The details of the safety aspects of a portable charger can be found in its corresponding datasheet or in any of the dependable power bank reviews online.
To wrap it up, portable power bank is a highly useful gadget, but when bought in wrong way, could have betrayed the sole purpose of its purchase being not fulfilling your unique power requirement.
