Our smartphone and tablets are no doubt effectively pocket computers. But the fact that they are multi-talented and can multi task quite well makes them consume batteries in a drastic way. Well, maybe sometime in the future, we wouldn’t be needing them, but for now, a lot of us have to go around with an external battery pack, popular known as power bank.
These power banks are quite helpful given the fact that most of us are usually on the go, and our mobile devices are always connected to the internet, which drains our batteries. A power bank can be used to quickly refill the battery status of your device. With power banks, you are sure to remain connected for longer periods of time, reply more texts, have fun playing your games etc. Nowadays, they are many brands of power bank on the market and choosing the right one has become something quite difficult.
Here are some tips for buying a power bank
CHECK THE CAPACITY
This is the most important thing to consider when purchasing a power bank. The capacity of a power bank is measured in mAh (milliampere-hour) just the same way the capacity of your battery device is measured in mAh. This means that if your phone has a battery capacity of 2000 mAh, a power bank with the same capacity must be able to provide your device with a full recharge. However, there are some factors that makes this impossible, and they include, the power lost due to voltage conversion, the quality of the cable you are using for recharging, and the circuit resistance (which is supposed to be 3.7V but changes to 5V during charging); all of these factors makes it impossible for a power bank with the same capacity of your device’s battery to charge your device fully. That is why when buying a power bank, you need to get one that has a higher capacity than your device’s battery. There are power banks that come with capacities as high as 20,000mAh. Buying these types will ensure that your device’s battery is fully charged and you can also charge it more than once.
THE NUMBER OF PORTS
Most power banks with higher capacity come with more than one port, but there are also some with just a port. When buying a power bank, you need to consider the number of devices you have; this will allow you to determine the type of power bank you want to buy. If you are having more than one device, buying a power bank with more ports will be better than buying one with a single port. This will ensure that you are able to charge more devices at a time. Now, the basic tip whenbuying power banks with multiple ports is to find out its total output current when you are using more than one point at a time. For instance, a power bank with two 5V/2A ports may produce the 2A output when just one port is used; but outputs a total of 3A when both ports are used, making each port get 1.5A each.
BUYING QUALITY IS ALWAYS BETTER
There are cases where power bank batteries have exploded. A good way to minimize this risk is to buy quality power banks from name brands or competent and reputable vendors. There are some power bank companies that will write the type of material used in making their product on its package. So, while that ten dollars power bank without a brand name might seem cheap to buy, you need to consider where the materials used in making it are from, so you’ll be aware of what happens with things like short overcharging, short circuiting, and temperature protection mechanisms.