Out of CES2015 Comes The Latest in Mobile Charging Devices.
Ladies pay close attention. And guys, follow along. Imagine yourself at a bar or nightclub, now picture this. How many times have you heard some person next to you say ‘____, my cell phone is out of charge.’? Or maybe, it was you who said this. (Feel free to fill in the blank. Expletives are welcome.) This person then asks his/her friends if they have a charger. To no avail, they then ask the bartender if they have a battery, a charging cable or if they can use a wall outlet next to the liquor. This problem happens so often that’s it’s become an everyday occurrence. My question to your friend (and maybe to you) is ‘why don’t you own a mobile charger?’ If your friends are like mine, they either don’t own one or have one with them. Lucky for them, I own three, often with one in my possession. Now, I’m not trying to beat up anyone here. But I do want to make you aware of a product that I’ve tested, like very much and can’t do without. This product is the Tech Power 2-IN-1 Power Bank mobile rechargeable battery from Accell Corp.
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Introduced 4 months ago almost to the day at CES, the 2-IN-1 Power Bank is widely available here in the States and across the globe. How do I know this? Just look at all the fine print on the product and/or its packaging. It’s loaded with governmental approval markings. Now the 2-IN-1 Power Bank comes with a battery capacity of 2600mAh. This mAh (milliAmpere hour) is the same unit of battery life that you’ll find in your smartphone, MP3 player, and/or portable gaming device. In most cases, the battery will provide between 1 and 1.5 charges. On the AC plug portion of the device, you’ll find a female USB connection. On the battery portion of the device, you’ll find both male and female USB connections. And in case you were wondering and I’m sure some of you were, the battery output is 1 Ampere.
What’s really cool is the dual charging capability of the 2-IN-1 Power Bank as pass-through type. While you’re charging your 2-IN-1 Power Bank battery, you can simultaneously charge your mobile device. Heck, you don’t even need the battery to charge your device. Let’s say the battery charge is full, but your mobile device’s isn’t. Then simply connect your mobile device directly to the AC plug portion of the Power Bank and place the latter into a wall outlet. Instant power. One fact I nearly missed is that when you recharge the battery through a computer, your smartphone “maintains iTunes/data connectivity.” Pretty nice.
The On/Off power button and charge indicator is located on the underside. Simply press the power button once and you’ll see the available charge across the Blue LED’s indicating up to a 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% charge. Now I noticed one thing in using the product that isn’t mentioned in the user manual. When you’re using wall outlet power coupled to the battery while charging your device, you don’t need to press the power button. This is one time when it’s alright to skip a step, and not get penalized. Once your device is connected via the USB port and without the AC plug connected, you’ll need to press the power button to begin the charging process. According to the literature, charging time for the 2-IN-1 Power Bank is under 3 hours. I’ve tested this recharge time for myself and the literature is spot on.
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Dimensionally, the Power Bank is 1.12″ x 1.12″ x 4.25″ and weighs in at 4 ounces. Essentially, it’s the size of a thick pack of (old-style) Wrigley’s gum or a tube of lipstick. The 2-IN-1 Power Bank easily fits into the palm of your hand, your shirt or pant pocket, or a purse or shoulder bag (satchel for you guys.) It comes with a 1-year limited warranty. Within each package of the 2-in-1 Power Bank comes a backup battery, a USB wall charger, a 12″ micro USB to USB cable, and user instructions manual.
List prices are as follows by part number: R174A-001B (Black) & R174A-001J (White): $29.99.
Both colors are currently available at Amazon.com for $29.99. If you would like additional information, feel free to send me a direct message via Twitter and/or check out the Accell Cables website. Accell products are available at many of the bigger internet retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, Microcenter, and Newegg.
All photos are the property of Beantown LLC.
FTC Disclosure: A press sample of the 2-in-1 power bank was provided to Beantown LLC for the purpose of this review.