Ondrej Holzman Powerbanks are an increasingly popular and, unfortunately, often necessary accessory when you're going on a long trip with your iPhone and need it to stay charged for as long as you need it. There are many backup batteries on the market that can do this. We tested two power banks from PQI: i-Power 5200M and 7800mAh.
Unfortunately, the word did not appear in the opening sentence by chance. It is really unfortunate that the most modern smartphones costing thousands of crowns cannot offer sufficient battery life. For example, Apple is facing a problem in iOS 7, when some iPhones can last at least "from morning to evening", but other models are able to discharge themselves already at lunchtime when they are under heavy use. At that moment - if you are not at the source - a power bank or, if you want, an external battery or charger comes to the rescue.
There are several aspects to look into when choosing such external batteries. The most important thing is usually their capacity, which means how many times you can charge your device with it, but there are other factors that can influence the choice of accessories. We tested two products from PQI and each one offers something a little different, although the end result is the same – you charge your dead iPhone and iPad with it.
PQI i-Power 5200M
The PQI i-Power 5200M is a 135-gram plastic cube that, thanks to its dimensions, you can easily hide in most pockets, so you can always have this external charger at hand. The biggest advantage of the i-Power 5200M model is that it works as an independent unit, to which you no longer need to carry any cables with you, because it has everything important integrated directly in its body.
There is a single button on the front. This lights up the LEDs that signal the battery charge status, and at the same time turns the power bank on and off with a longer press. You need to be careful about this, because if you don't turn on the power bank with the button when connecting an iPhone or other device, nothing will charge. In the lower part, we find a USB output of 2,1 A, which will ensure fast charging if we connect some devices with our own cable, and in the upper part, a microUSB input. However, the important thing is on the sides, where the two cables are hidden.
Owners of Apple devices will be especially interested in the integrated Lightning cable, which you simply slide out from the right side of the power bank. Then you just connect your iPhone to it and charge. Although the cable is very short, the advantage of not having to carry another one with you is essential. In addition, the cable on the other hand is long enough to place the iPhone comfortably while charging.
The second cable is hidden in the body of the power bank on the other side and this time it is not firmly attached on either side. There is a microUSB on one end and a USB on the other. Although Apple might not seem to be very interested in users, it is not. Using this (again short, albeit sufficient) cable, you can charge all devices with microUSB, but it can also be used the other way around – connect the end with microUSB to the power bank and charge it via USB, which is a very efficient and elegant solution.
An equally important element of every power bank is its capacity. As the name suggests, the first tested battery from PQI has a capacity of 5200 mAh. For comparison, we will mention that the iPhone 5S hides a battery with a capacity of roughly 1600 mAh. By simple calculations, we could therefore conclude that the battery of the iPhone 5S will "fit" into this external battery more than three times, but the practice is a little different. Of all the power banks, not only those tested by us, it is actually possible to obtain only about 70% of the capacity. According to our tests with the PQI i-Power 5200M, you can charge the iPhone "from zero to one hundred" twice and then at least halfway, which is still a good result for a relatively small box. You can charge a completely dead iPhone to 100 percent with the PQI solution in about 1,5 to 2 hours.
Thanks to the present Lightning cable, you can of course also charge iPads with this power bank, but due to their huge batteries (iPad mini 4440 mAh, iPad Air 8 827 mAh) you cannot charge them even once, but you can at least extend their endurance by several tens of minutes. In addition, if a short Lightning cable does not suit you, it is not a problem to insert a classic cable into the USB input and charge from it, it is powerful enough for that. It follows that you can charge two devices at the same time with the i-Power 5200M, it can handle it.
The highly versatile PQI i-Power 5200M power bank is available in white and black and costs 1 crowns (40 EUR), which is not the least, but if you need to keep your iPhone alive all day and at the same time don't want to carry extra cables, the PQI i-Power 5200M is an elegant and very capable solution.
PQI i-Power 7800mAh
The second tested power bank from PQI offers a more usual concept, i.e. with the necessity to always carry at least one cable with you in order to be able to charge your iPhone or any other device. On the other hand, i-Power 7800mAh tries to be a more stylish accessory, the shape of the triangular prism is a clear proof of this.
However, the principle of operation remains the same. There is a button on one of the three sides that lights up the appropriate number of LEDs depending on how charged the battery is. The advantage of this model is that it is not necessary to press the button to turn on the battery, because it always turns on when you connect the device to it, and turns off when the device is charged.
Charging takes place via classic USB, the 1,5A output of which can be found on the side of the power bank just below the microUSB input, which, on the other hand, is used to charge the external source itself. In the package this time we will also find a microUSB-USB cable, which can serve for both purposes, i.e. charging either a connected device with microUSB or for charging the power bank. If we want to charge an iPhone or iPad with the PQI i-Power 7800mAh, we need to take our own Lightning cable.
Thanks to the capacity of 7 mAh, we can realistically get three full charges of the iPhone from 800 to 0 percent, again in about 100 to 1,5 hours, and before the power bank is completely discharged, we can add another fifty to seventy percent of endurance to the iPhone. This is a great result for a box of pleasant dimensions, albeit relatively heavy (2 grams), which can save the working day more than once.
Even in the case of PQI i-Power 7800mAh, it is not a problem to connect and charge any iPad, but from zero to a hundred you can only charge the iPad mini once at most, the battery of the iPad Air is already too large. For 800 crowns (29 EUR), however, it is a very affordable accessory, especially for iPhones (and other smartphones), which can rise from the dead more than three times before it reaches home with the network thanks to this powerbank.
We thank the store for lending the products Always.cz.
And when I deduct the price of the lightning cable for the 5200M, I get a nice price tag. I'm going to order now ;)
Does anyone have experience with how long it takes to charge the 7 mAH version? And if it is also possible to charge via usb in the car without problems? Thanks for your insights. :)
I don't care about charging the 7800mAh, because I always put it on the charger overnight. Otherwise, it depends on how much output the USB adapter has and, accordingly, how long. You just need to calculate it approximately, how much will it cost to charge a phone with a certain capacity via a USB adapter, and with math you will arrive at a charge of 7800mAh
The best thing about these external "clumsy" flashlights are the prices, I personally prefer the Mophie Juice Plus, which is a cover for the iPhone with an integrated battery where the cables do not get in the way, there is the possibility to charge the battery and the iPhone at the same time almost anywhere thanks to USB Micro, which anyone has :) Unfortunately, the price she's quite well-dressed :/
@lukpech:disqus I've been using the black 7800 mAh for about half a year and I'm satisfied. It is a bit heavier, but the capacity is great for the price, I am able to charge the SGS2/iP4 four to five times from a minimum below 20%...
Amazing article :) I've been thinking about buying a power bank for a long time, but I couldn't choose.
PQI iPower 7800 is an amazing choice for me, the price is adequate for the capacity :)
It is definitely an advantage that it has a 1.5A USB output :)
I bought a cheap charger for 2x AA batteries here on Jablickari…. Satisfaction.
I recommend the Mophie Juice Pack XL, it charges an iPhone 8x and can charge two iPads at full speed at the same time :)
Isn't it strange to you that you still need to buy such good and high-quality equipment?... you all pretend it's normal... brrrrrrr
I recently bought this box for 18650 batteries: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/400688004642 It's great that I can take more batteries if necessary, and I'm also sure that it really has the capacity if I buy brand-name, high-quality batteries. Non-brands from China use only 20-50% of the stated capacity. And who knows what they put in the reviewed power banks.