Understanding Power Banks for Life on the Move
Dead battery? No problem. Power banks help you stay connected!
Like everybody else, my family owns a plethora of mobile tech devices for life on the go. From smartphones to tablets to iPods and laptops, it’s pretty amazing to stay so connected no matter where life takes us. We’re never without access to books, to games, to Facebook, or even to work-related e-mail and content thanks to all this tech.
Well…except when the battery dies.
Techies came to the rescue with the advent of all kinds of gadgets to power up our mobile devices when there just isn’t a handy outlet to plug them in. But how do you know which gadgets will work with which device? If you’re like me, you’ve asked yourself common questions such as the following:
• Why won’t that USB car charger adapter power up my iPad?
• What the heck does mAh mean?
• How many iPods can I charge with just one back up battery device?
If you’re in need of some information to clear it all up, keep reading. I found some answers, and I’m here to share.
Milliamp Hour (mAh): Tells you the charger’s capacity. The greater the mAh, the longer the charger will last while in use. (In other words, if you need to charge iPods for triplets on the go, buy the charger with the MOST mAh you can find.)
Standby Time: Refers to how long the charger will hold a charge when not in use. (If you tend to lose these things in the bottom of your bag for months at time, lots of standby time is a perk.)
Output Current: Indicates whether a charger is capable of powering a particular device and how quickly. The output current is quantified in amps, with most chargers being 0.5A, 0.8A, 1A or 2A. The smaller the output current, the slower the charge will flow to the attached device. For example, if I connect a 0.5A charger to my iPad, it’s going to charge at a much slower rate than a 2A charger. Also worth noting is the fact that the 0.5A charger doesn’t have enough output current to power my iPad while in use. However, the 0.5A charger will recharge my iPad slowly when the iPad is not in use.
Input Current: Determines how quickly a power accessory will recharge itself when plugged in. The lower the number, the longer it will take for the charger to be recharged.
Comparing Battery Life: Battery life can vary widely in smartphones and tablets, so it’s helpful to know how much energy the batteries in your devices can store. Look for the abbreviation mAh as a measure of how much energy a battery can store. Keep in mind that a charger’s stated mAh is never fully transferred to an attached device. Why? Chargers require a percentage of their OWN battery capacity to operate. (This is also affected by the charger’s output current, battery efficiency, and battery quality.)
Still a little hazy? Here are some helpful examples.
I have a logoed power bank with an output of 1A and a capacity of 2200 mAh. My iPad Mini with Retina Display has a capacity of 6471 mAh. If my iPad is totally dead, my 2200 mAh charger should bring my iPad battery life back up to approximately 30% before the power bank battery is depleted.
Now my iPhone 5 has a battery capacity of 1560 mAh. My replenished, fully charged 2200 mAh power bank can bring my dead iPhone 5 battery life back up to 100%.
Easy peasy!
Now let’s talk current!
My iPhone 5, being smaller, requires much less power to operate than my iPad. A 1A power bank can keep my iPhone running on the fly. The iPad draws more than 1A because of its size, so the power bank doesn’t have enough current to permit me to use the iPad while it’s charging. However, if my iPad is turned off and connected to the power bank, the power bank will eventually dump most of its 2200 mAh into my iPad, giving it a partial charge.
Hey…a partial charge is better than dead!
The moral of this story? Bigger is better but smaller will help you out in a pinch.
And now…an easy-to-reference guide regarding the battery capacity of all your favorite devices:
Tablets
Apple iPad Air – 8820 mAh
Apple iPad 3/4 – 11,560 mAh
Apple iPad 2 – 6930 mAh
Apple iPad 1 – 6600 mAh
Apple iPad Mini w/Retina Display – 6471 mAh
Apple iPad Mini 1 – 4440 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Tab S – 7900 mAh
Microsoft Surface 2 – 4200 mAh
Smartphones
Apple iPhone 6 – 1810 mAh
Apple iPhone 6+ – 2915 mAh
Apple iPhone 5S – 1560 mAh
Apple iPhone 5C – 1510 mAh
Apple iPhone 5 – 1440 mAh
Apple iPhone 4S – 1432 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S4 – 2600 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S3 – 2100 mAh
HTC One – 2300 mAh
Nokia Lumia 720 – 2000 mAh
