If you’re on the go and your smartphone or mobile gadgets’ battery goes down, its not only very irritating and annoying but sometimes you might get the urge to pull your own hair, especially when you were on that crucial moment. If this has happened to you (and most probably it has) – you know precisely what we are talking about. That’s where having a portable power bank could make an enormous difference in the utilization or enjoyment of your smart gadgets.

Over the years, computing technology has improved a lot, but battery capacity has almost been stagnant

Because of technological advances in society, our gadgets provide us with convenience, entertainment, comfort and lightening speed communication. In the last twenty five years there has been a tremendous shift in the direction of buying portable gadgets that improve the standard of our lives. Mobile phones have evolved from being cumbersome and dumb to being smart, modern, light-weight, faster and more efficient gadgets.  With the increased utilization of these devices, there’s a need to keep them charged, and power sockets might not be available or you might not have the correct charger.  It is because of this reason that many firms have  launched Power Banks.

What Is A Power Bank?

A power bank is a portable charger for your gadgets and it has become an absolute necessity if you’re a frequent traveler. You would always want to have the ability to charge your gadgets especially on a long trip. Even if you are not a frequent traveler, smart phones and tablets etc have become such an integral part of our lives that we need them all the time, and unfortunately these things require energy. A power outlet might not be available nearby or there could be a power outage, or you simply don’t want to get up and plug it into the charger. Not to mention, each gadget has its own unique charger. Imagine what could happen! No calls, e-mails, Whatsapp and FB messages or the latest tweets. There could be a genuine emergency situation as well and you don’t want yourself out of power.

Buying and carrying extra batteries for each and every device isn’t a sensible choice either.  (Not to point out the extra expense and space each gadget’s batteries would occupy). Hence, its almost a necessity that you have a portable power bank within reach, so you can charge your devices on the spot if necessary.

Getting the right power bank

Each person’s requirements will determine the  kind of charger they should have.  In case you don’t carry too many gadgets, then you should buy a small and low capacity one just to charge your phone.  If you need to be able charge a tablet or even a laptop, or your phone multiple times, then it’s vital to have one with a higher capacity.

1.  Determine Your Utilization – Capacity

The primary attribute associated to a power bank is its capacity.  This capacity is measured in milliAmpere hours (mAh). You possibly can’t precisely calculate how many times a particular power bank can charge your gadget, however the rule of thumb is more mAh implies more capacity.

Lets say you have a smartphone with a 2,000mAh battery. In an ideal situation, a power bank with 2,000mAh can charge your phone from 0 to 100% once. There are other things to consider as well which determine the speed of charging (volts, ampere) but we won’t go there right now.

Should you decide on buying a portable charger, keep in mind your own needs and utilization. To satisfy the enormous charging needs of gadget owners, 10,000mAh and even 20,000+ mAh, (usually for laptops) models are now easily available. Instead of getting a charger for 1 unique device, go for universal power banks. These are chargers that can charge virtually any kind of gadget, be it an Android phone or an Apple iPad, or an ipod (yes, people still use those).

If these power banks are rating above 3000 mAh, don’t buy them! Most probably misleading claim

Power banks are available in almost every country out there and most of these are made in China. There are good quality power banks made in China and there are pathetic quality chargers made in China. When purchasing one, make sure the capacity is exactly what is listed [branded and good quality chargers will not lie]. One giveaway is size to capacity ratio. If a AAA sized powerbank is rated as 15,000mAh, it is definitely fake. Another factor to keep in mind is, don’t buy a used power bank. They may have significantly reduced capacity.

The capacity of a power bank will also be diminish if it is kept in extreme environments for a lengthy period of time.

2. Ports/Connectors:

A 10-in-1 multi USB connector cable

Make sure the power bank you are getting supports most, if not all of your gadgets. The most common port/connector is the micro-USB (almost all android gadgets have this). Many powerbanks include a cable with many adapters [or it can be purchased seperately] so that it can attach with all gadgets. Usually Apple devices have a different port. That might be changing though, with the introduction of USB Type-C connectors. Now some laptops and smart phones from different companies including Apple have this.

3. Size, Quality & Price:

Apart from battery strength, one other factor which may help you determine which power bank is right for you is the price. Usually co-related, but not necessarily. Usually, very cheap power banks may not have quality batteries inside them or list fake capacities. We’ve had an experience of getting a dirt cheap powerbank. Upon opening it, we found a small powerbank inside it, along with some nuts and bolts to increase the weight and size! Yes, stay away from shady websites and only buy from trusted stores like Amazon, Aliexpress or TinyDeal. Keep in mind that the power bank you are buying must have the essential features like short circuit and over charging protection. Most branded and good quality ones have this in-built. Oh and make sure you are getting a ‘genuine’ branded power bank. Usually it is not very difficult to spot copies (spelling mistakes, colors bit off or the logo slightly different) but some copies (called 1st copy) are difficult to spot. Hence we reiterate to buy from a reliable source.

One of many primary reason to buy a power bank is the portability factor. The ability to  charge your gadgets while on the move because you can simply take a charger with you, is a huge plus.

If you are going for very small and portable chargers, you will be sacrificing capacity. On the other hand, power banks with huge capacities might not be very portable and practical to carry around.

In case you are trying to buy a external cell phone battery charger, we really recommend not going for the cheapest option. This is one of times where you do indeed get what you pay for. A mid-range to upper range price will be an ideal choice with no sacrifice on quality.

4. Recommendation

After intensive research, we’ve discovered the best portable charger and without hesitation, give it our highest recommendation.

Xiaomi Power Banks in 3 Colors

One of the best and ideal power bank to buy is the genuine Xiaomi’s 10,000mAh power bank. Oozing style with elegance and highly portable aluminium-alloy design, this power bank packs useful capacity and still represents extraordinary value. We found it to have the ideal size to capacity ratio and it is one of the best we’ve ever come across. You can search the net for great reviews of this device. You won’t find negative reviews of this (if it’s the genuine one). Before this, the ‘Zendure 2nd Gen A3 Portable Charger 10000mAh’ was our top favourite, but now, Xiaomi has taken the 1st place, and the Xiaomi is also cheaper then the Zendure.

Many stores sell the Xiaomi, but we highly recommend TinyDeal.com for this one, and not just because they sent us a sample to test (which we are giving away to one of our lucky readers), but also because it is the best price we could find anywhere on the net, including shipping! At the time of writing, there was a deal ongoing with 37% discount on this 5.1V, 2.1A 10,000mAh rated Power Bank (it also has the ability to ‘quick charge’ a supporting device).

THE GIVEAWAY BELOW WILL END ON 16th MAY, 2016

Thank you everyone who participated! We got 3080 entries from all over the world!! Unfortunately, we only had 1 prize to give out, and the prize goes to Nathan Cole from Miami, Florida (33169). We have emailed the winner and hope he’ll share the pictures with us when he gets the Xiaomi’s Powerbank! 😀