[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] any recommendations on portable travel chargers?
Denise
denise at rcn.com
Tue Feb 20 09:05:38 PST 2024
Oh boy; now my head is swimming! Above my pay grade.
I thought you use the battery pack to “recharge” the iphone; when no electricity available, right?
And isn’t that ‘fast’? so once you recharge it, you put the pack away?
So you wouldn’t be holding it in your hand very long?
What should I be looking for (what spec?) for a fast recharge?
It looks like the mAh affects how many ‘times’ it can charge, and not the speed, correct?
And in a hotel or airport, you would always use a ‘usb blocker’; and this doesn’t typically come with the charger, right?
Usually bought separately?
Thanks
denise
From: Steve Isenberg <smisenberg at gmail.com>
Denise,
As I said, I have two 3-connector cables: microUSB (for Kindle), lightning (for iPhone/iPad), USB-C (for future iPhone that uses USB-C and other devices I have that need USB-C).
I have a short one (about 12") and a longer one (about 3').
If you buy a battery pack with included cables, then you are locked into keeping the battery pack (it's heavy) close to the phone, so the thing you're holding up to your ear is much heavier. Using a longer cable or a longer lightning cable, you can put the battery pack in your pocket (or as my wife does, in her purse) and use the phone, cable attached, without the extra weight.
For example
three-pack one foot multi charging cable $10: https://www.amazon.com/Braided-Charger-Compatible-Tablets-Samsung/dp/B08HGSVJS1/ (I paid more when I bought this in 2021!)
two-pack 4 foot multi charging cable each with 2 lightnings $7: https://www.amazon.com/Charging-Braided-Multiple-Connectors-Compatible/dp/B0BQF1HQVQ/
The wattage of the charger (e.g., 20w) is only important if your device can use the extra wattage, iPhones are needing about 5 watts, I think. The important part about the battery pack is its amp-hour capacity (measured mAh) as that is its charging capacity. A 10000 mAh can charge your iphone more times than a 5000mAh charger. We use 10000mAh and it's working well for us.
Traveling in or out of the US is a matter of considering how to recharge your battery pack and iPhone, hence you'd need a wall socket adapter (socket is different in Europe and England that in US) and you'd need to be sure that the USB adapter handles 120v and also 240v. Most do this.
Note that most adapters don't change voltage so be careful not to plug your 120V device into a 240V socket unless it can handle the dual voltage.
A USB blocker. This prevents data from being taken from your phone when you plug it in to charge it.
Not needed if you only charge your device using the battery pack. (I do this whenever I'm not at home.)
Not needed if you plug your charging cable into your portable USB wall charger. Picture from Amazon.
If you're plugging your charging cable into some USB connector (as provided on airplane, airport, mall, etc) then just as the cable can be used to sync your device at home, the cable can be used by someone else at the airport, airplane, etc to grab data from your device.
Hope this helps.
-steve
On Tue, Feb 20, 2024 at 10:06 AM Denise <denise at rcn.com <mailto:denise at rcn.com> > wrote:
Thanks Steve!
You bring up an interesting point: iphone vs. non iphone charging. This would never need to plug into a non iPhone; but I hadn’t thought of that issue. I thought you buy these units separately (for either an iphone or android, etc.) I didn’t realize they can work for more than one different type of device. I don’t know much about them as you can see.
I kind of like the idea of an ‘intrinsic cable’ (built in) cable; which I assume you mean this sort of thing: built in to make it easy so you don’t need to keep track of an extra cable? I like that. as long is it’s an iphone cable. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a description if the cables are always for iphone; maybe they are.
And sounds as if I don’t really need to worry about “mAh” range?
And you said you carry a cord with 3 plugs; is that just to accommodate both iPhone and android? Is there an advantage to all those cords while traveling?
Thanks
denise
From: Steve Isenberg <smisenberg at gmail.com <mailto:smisenberg at gmail.com> >
It's basically a decision based on (a) how much you want to spend, (b) how heavy you can handle, and (c) how often you'll be using it.
For what it's worth, I bought the Miady 2-Pack 10000mAh dual USB Portable Charger, it's $20 minus 10% so it's $18 for the pair. https://www.amazon.com/Miady-10000mAh-Portable-Charger-Charging/dp/B07XFBN7HX/
I'm using one and my wife is using the other. I have found that although they claim "10000mAh" it's really in the 6000mAh range; which is sufficient for multiple iPhone and iPad charges.
I wouldn't buy one that plugs directly into the iPhone as that means you can never use it to charge a non-iPhone.
Some come with intrinsic cables; the one I'm mentioning doesn't. I carry a 1 foot cord with three plugs (lightning, micro usb, and usb-c) and another 3' cord with three plugs; these can be used or charging the battery as well as charging the iphone.
Look at the offerings, and the reviews, and the price.
Good luck, -steve
Hi all,
I have an iphone; and would like to bring with me (in addition to the charging cord) a light portable charger so that if I’m not in a place where it’s convenient to charge the iphone, then I can use the portable one to charge it.
There are sooo many on the market it’s overwhelming. I don’t know how to begin to narrow it down.
Does anyone have any tips on how to narrow this down? I hope I’m on the right track here; I don’t know if these have glaring differences I should be aware of?
These were just some of the ones that I either saw on a ‘good’ list somewhere or elsewhere….help! thanks
Denise
Amazon
weighs about half a pound,
Its USB-C Power Delivery (PD) port can charge most handheld devices and recharge itself at top speed (with the right USB-C cable <https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-usb-c-cables/> and wall charger <https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-multiport-usb-wall-charger/> ), and it can pass power to another device while being recharged from a wall outlet.
but it has enough capacity to fully charge most smartphones up to three times, as well as built-in USB-C and Lightning cables that are easy to slide in and out of their holsters.
* Rated capacity: 10,000 mAh (36 Wh) Weight: 8.4 ounces
* Tested input: 19 watts (USB-C PD port or built-in USB-C cable)
* Tested output: 18 watts (USB-C PD port, built-in USB-C cable, or built-in Lightning cable)
The TravelCard Plus <https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/out/link/54313/187584/4/166635/?merchant=TravelCard> has less than a third of the Belkin’s capacity, but it’s much lighter and slimmer.
Its USB-C PD port, built-in USB-C cable, and built-in Lightning cable can fast-charge most smartphones or other handheld devices (though it recharges more slowly than our other picks).
It’s just as sleek-looking and sturdy as our top pick, and it comes in a wider variety of colors. Plus, as of this writing, it’s nearly half the price.
* Rated capacity: 3,000 mAh (15 Wh) Weight: 2.7 ounces
* Tested input: 7 watts (USB-C PD port or built-in USB-C cable)
* Tested output: 15 watts (built-in USB-C cable) or 10 watts (built-in Lightning cable)
Portable chargers —. Offering USB-C ports for the latest devices <https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/what-is-usb-c> and USB-A ports for your legacy gear, or just keep that smartphone you’re wondering if you should upgrade <https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/should-you-upgrade-iphone-15> from running out of juice before the end of your workday.
A compact portable charger with fold-out prongs, the Anker 521 doubles as a USB-C wall adapter. It's highly efficient and totally convenient.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Portable-PowerCore-Dual-Port/dp/B0B1CV4WCS?th=1 <https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Portable-PowerCore-Dual-Port/dp/B0B1CV4WCS?th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=0803bestportablechargers-20&linkId=5ac45b3dd7b960be2fad69b1806a0228&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl> &linkCode=ll1&tag=0803bestportablechargers-20&linkId=5ac45b3dd7b960be2fad69b1806a0228&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
Anker’s 521 Power Bank is a hybrid device. It’s a battery pack, of course, with a 5,000mAh capacity and two USB-C ports on the front of the housing. But on the backside there are two wall prongs that fold out, so you can plug it in and use it as a standard wall adapter to charge your devices as you charge the battery pack itself. On the side of the pack is a single button encircled in LEDs that lets you know how much of a charge the pack has left.
Each of the USB-C ports is capable of outputting 45W of power, but the pack itself is limited to 45W total, so if you have more than one device connected it’ll split the power between the two ports.
The Anker 521 is the most efficient battery pack out of everything we tested, with an efficiency percentage of 86.9% — it’s capable of putting most of the charge it contains into your devices when you need it. When charging the pack through a USB-C port, it took 1 hour and 51 minutes to go from empty to full. But we imagine you’ll use this power bank as a wall adapter when traveling, so it’ll always be charged and ready for use when you leave.
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