SundayNation

Date:23.11.2014
Page37
Articlesize:254cm2
ColumnCM:56.44
AVE:121920.0

TECHNOLOGYfSamWambugu

Choosingthetightpowerbankforyourdevice
Mobiledeviceshave

comealongwayin
thelastseveralyears.
Withallthegoodies,suchas

hoursofpowerrationing.
Manyphoneandtabletusers

findoutthatit'snotsoeasyto

choosetherightexternalbat
teryfortheirgadget.
graphics,biggerscreenand
Therearemanydissatisfied
higherresolution,faster3G/4G
customerswhohavebought
technology,bettercamerareso
thesepowerbanks,whicheither
lutionandquality,andprettier
appearance,thedevices'batter failtoworkorstoppedfunction
ingjustafewweekslater.
iesgetoverwhelmed.
Therearetwotypesofbat
Tomeettheneedforrecharg
terycoresinthepowerbank
ingthesedeviceswhenawall
outletisnotconvenient,agrow market:lithiumpolymerbattery
and18650lithiumbattery.
ingchoiceofthepowerbank
(alsocalledexternalbattery Safetyandcapacity
pack,portablebatterycharger,
Thelithiumpolymerbattery
externalbackupbattery,exter
ispackedwithaluminumplas
nalbatterycharger,portable
ticit'slightinweightandis
batterycharger,powerbank
alwaysusedinhighendelec
extraprocessingpower,better

charger,portablepowerbank)

hasbeenmanufactured.
Powerbanksareloaded

tronics,suchastheultrathin

Onekeyconsiderationis
thatthepoweroutputofthe

chargermustbegreaterthan
orequaltothebatteryrating
ofyourelectronicdevice.If
it'snot,thechargermaydrain
yourdevice'sbattery.That's
right,thewrongchargercan
actuallydrainyourdevice's
batteryinsteadofchargingit!
Mostelectronicdevicesthat

chargerate.Thus,apowerpack

ratedat2000mAhisunlikely
tofullyrechargea1000mAh

electronicbatterytwice.
However,knowingthestor
agecapacityofyourdevice's
batteriesdoesgiveyouagood
approximationofhowmany

rechargestoexpectfromyour
powerpack.

Batterychargersofferasup

plement,notaguarantee.Do
canbechargedviaacomputer notassumethattheseproducts

USBcableneedacharging willbringyourdevice'sbattery

sourcewitha5Voutputrat uptoafullcharge.Customers
ing.
reportbettersuccessbydoing
HowdoyoufindtheDCinput atopoffrechargelongbefore
ratingforyourelectronicde
theirdevice'sbatteryisfully
vice?Twoways:Youcanlook discharged.
inyourowner'smanualunder

Generally,youcannotre
technicalspecifications,orlook chargeyourelectronicdevice

forthevoltageratingprinted whilethepowerpackisbeing

powerbank,cellphonebattery orstampedas"DCoutput"on
andcamerabattery.Thesafety thewalloutletchargerthatyou
withelectricalenergywhich
performanceisbetter,andthe likelygotwithyourdevice.
canpoweryourdigitaldevice
storagecapacityislargerthan
Thenmakesureyourport
suchassmartphone,iPhone,
thelithiumbattery,buttheprice ablepowersupplywhichis
MP3,MP4,camera,GPSandso
ishighertoo.
expressedinmilliAmps(mA)
onanywhereandanytime,
The18650batterycoreis andvolts(V)candeliverat
whichmakesyouroutdoorac
cylindroid18650meansthat
tivitiesandtravelmoreflexible
leastthesameamount.
thediameteris18mm,and
andmoreconvenient.
Alsonotethatbattery
thelengthis65mm.Because
Itgivesyoutheextended
ofthefixedshape,thepower chargersarenot100percent
batterylifewheneverand
bankwith18650lithiumbattery electricityefficient.Theactual
whereveryouneeditwhile
isthicker.Nowadays,thetech powerdischargedfromapower
travellingontheroadformany
nologyoflithiumbatteryhas bankisaffectedbytemperature,
hours,relaxingonthebeachor
becomemature,sothesafety voltagefluctuationsanddis
inpreparationforthoselong
performanceisgoodtoo.

charged.Insomecaseshow
ever,asolarchargerdoesnot
containaninternalpowerpack
andchargesyourdevicedirectly
asitreceivessolarenergy.

Checklist:
Consider

safety,
capacity
andpower
output

44
Customersreportbetter
successbydoingatopoff
rechargelongbeforetheir
device'sbatteryisfully
discharged"

IpsosKenyaAcornHouse,97JamesGichuruRoadLavingtonNairobiKenya