I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
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Takeaway: Reversible, charges my devices, works for data transfers, cool lights. The microUSB cable comes in a drawstring carrying bag and inside you also receive a cable organizer with double-sided sticker on the back. The cable has a Velcro tie attached to it for organization, and it measures 34" long. The cable sheath is rubber and semi-transparent, so you can see the LEDs inside. The cable is pretty flexible though has some shape memory that can make it difficult to unbend. The USB-A connector at the end is pretty big measuring 1.75" so it may not fit in tight spaces. The microUSB side is smaller at 1" and it is reversible so it can be plugged into any microUSB device in either orientation. No more fumbling to figure out which side is "up".
The strain relief behind each plastic connector is thick and sturdy to prevent the cable from breaking at the end of the connector. When the USB cable is plugged into a power source the LEDs will light up and move slowly. However, when a device is plugged into the microUSB side to be charged or powered, the lights start to travel rapidly resulting in a cool flowing light effect. The cable works for both charging and data transfers to the computer and works as expected while displaying a cool light show. I haven't had any issues with it so far.
Takeaway: High capacity, waterproof, rugged with emergency solar charging. This battery pack is built for travel with its hardshell construction and rubberized sides and back panels. It feels solidly constructed and is sealed for watertightness. In addition to the charger, you'll get a 24" microUSB charging cable and aluminum carabiner to clip this to your belt or backpack. The unit measures about 6.5" H x 3.25" W x 0.75" D thick. It weighs 10.5 oz and has a 12000 mAh capacity that will provide about 4 full charges for most smartphones.
First and foremost, you should note that while this powerbank CAN be charged via the solar power, the manufacturer recommends that this should NOT be used as the default charging method. Rather, charge it like a normal powerbank using the included cable and plugging it into your computer's USB port or appropriate wall adapter. You should only charge the unit via the solar when absolutely necessary and only if the battery life of the power bank is below 75% as doing otherwise may damage the battery. I noticed that while charging via the solar panel the sun, the unit gets extremely hot which is part of the reason why it should not be used on a regular basis or for long-term charging. Also, it takes a really long time to charge the unit using just the sun, and if you have your device plugged in, it will only act as a trickle charge to maintain or slow the drain of your device's battery.
There are 4 charge indicator LEDS, each representing 25% of battery life. The left most LED will be green when the battery pack is charging via the solar panel. The two standard USB ports on each side output up to 1 A each. This unit also has a built in LED flashlight that you can turn on/off by pressing the power button twice. This battery can charge two devices at the same time if it has sufficient power. It functioned well for charging my devices, and I was able to charge it up using both the USB cord and via the sun. As a power bank it works well and has the added bonus of being able to charge up via the sun in emergency situations and when you are away from a wall outlet.
Takeaway: Longer battery life and drop protection without a lot of bulk. The case is a two piece hard-shell plastic with a one-third, two-thirds split. At first I thought this case would have trouble staying together, being a two piece case that simply slides apart, but I was happy to find that it holds together well when putting it in and taking it out of my pocket. It even takes a little effort to pull apart.
The entire case is coated in a soft feel matte rubber. It provides a decent grip and somewhat resists fingerprints. The cutouts for all the buttons and the camera were precise and not too large or small. The back of the case has a kickstand that allows you to view your phone handsfree in landscape mode for videos and movie playback. The case weighs 1.5 oz on its own and 5.5oz with the iPhone. It charges using a Lightning connector style plug on the bottom. Note that it didn't come with a charging cable and you'll need to use the one that came with your iPhone.
The case takes about 2 hours to charge and you will get at least one full charge for your iPhone with the 3500mAh battery. You can use your phone while it is charging in the case, however, your battery may drain faster than it is being charged. You can stop the charging to your phone at any time by pressing and holding the power button on the back of the case. If you plug the case in while your phone is charging in it, your phone will charge up fully before the backup battery begins charging.
Inserting your phone in the case is straightforward and easy. In terms of protection, the rubber absorbs some of the shock from bumps and drops. The battery acts as an additional layer of protection. Like many cases, be aware that there's no there's no protection on the front for the screen (there's no recession ridge). Also, this case covers the rounded edges of the phone so if you have an edge to edge screen protector that also covers the edges, this case may not fit your phone at all, or the screen protector may become dislodged.
The volume buttons are somewhat inhibited by the case because they are deeper and harder to reach once the phone is in the case. You might also need a separate headphone jack extension cord to access the headphone port as some accessories's headphone jacks may not be long enough to reach the port through the case. Note that the sound comes out of the front of this case, rather than the bottom as it would on the phone itself.
Overall this case provides a decent amount of protection for the back and sides of your phone while giving you the benefit of the kickstand and double battery life without adding a lot of weight.
Takeaway: Share photos and videos stored on an SD camera card wirelessly. The device also can act as an access point to boost the wireless signal in rooms that are far away from my router. These are handy features, though I'll mostly just use this as an external battery pack to charge up my phone or tablet on the go. Everything was plug and play from directly connecting to it via WiFi, to linking it up to my network over WiFi. Accessing the device via static IP address was quick and painless. You can also connect to it to use as WiFi storage on your phone or tablet if it doesn't have a card slot to add additional memory. It's a nice travel accessory to toss in the laptop bag because it can replace several devices with just one unit that's compact and functional.
