 "Ready for a power blink")
We live in an era of constant connectivity, and life without a smart phone is pretty hard to imagine. People read on the go, watch videos, listen to music, chat with friends, play games and, of course, make calls on their smart phones. Ask any smart phone owner and one of his biggest cribs will be the short battery life. Be it an iPhone, Samsung or a BlackBerry, battery is a sore point for most people. Even tablet users often complain about the short battery life of their devices.
Perhaps that's why the market is flooded with a lot of battery banks in all shapes, sizes and price points. There are a lot of Chinese variants available in the market as well. Here we look at three branded battery banks:
Zoook
It has four LED indicators on the top which indicate whether it's fully charged or not. We tried charging the iPhone 5 with it and it fully charges the phone in less than two hours. Even on an iPad, the performance was pretty good. The Zoook Power Bank lasts for at least eight hours. One can also charge an iPod and the iPad as well.
At Rs 2,495 this is one of the better alternatives available in the market.
Sony CP V3
This battery bank from Sony is sleek, compact and extremely easy to carry. Due to its small size it also has a battery capacity of 2,800 mAH, almost half that of the Zoook.
It is compatible with most smart phones and comes with a micro USB cable. It takes about 6 hours to charge through a laptop and 3.5 hours from an AC adaptor, and it's better to charge it via the latter. Sony's battery bank is extremely light and weighs only 84 grams. It also charges Sony Walkman and Cybershot cameras. We tried charging the battery of a DSLR camera but somehow it didn't work.
At Rs 1,590, it is a reasonably priced device and will come in handy only during emergencies. It's available in five different colours - black, white, blue, purple and red.
Eveready UM 22
You would expect a brand like Eveready to make a better product, but somehow the UM 22 battery bank disappoints. Not only it takes close to eight hours to get fully charged, it's extremely slow in charging the phone as well. Perhaps it is to do with the fact that it only has a capacity of 2,200mAH. It is small in size and easy to carry but that's where the good part of this device ends. Even when you charge the phone, it doesn't charge 100 per cent and gets discharged very quickly.
It's priced at Rs 1,600 and is certainly not a device we would recommend. It's better to go for the Sony battery bank, which at a similar price point, delivers a much better performance.
Perhaps that's why the market is flooded with a lot of battery banks in all shapes, sizes and price points. There are a lot of Chinese variants available in the market as well. Here we look at three branded battery banks:
Zoook
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A sleek-looking device, the Zoook Power Bank has a 5000mAH battery and can charge two smart phone simultaneously. All one needs to do is charge the device via a laptop or computer and then connect your smart phone to it. Although it takes a good six hours to internally charge, it lasts for a long time.
It has four LED indicators on the top which indicate whether it's fully charged or not. We tried charging the iPhone 5 with it and it fully charges the phone in less than two hours. Even on an iPad, the performance was pretty good. The Zoook Power Bank lasts for at least eight hours. One can also charge an iPod and the iPad as well.
At Rs 2,495 this is one of the better alternatives available in the market.
Sony CP V3
This battery bank from Sony is sleek, compact and extremely easy to carry. Due to its small size it also has a battery capacity of 2,800 mAH, almost half that of the Zoook.
It is compatible with most smart phones and comes with a micro USB cable. It takes about 6 hours to charge through a laptop and 3.5 hours from an AC adaptor, and it's better to charge it via the latter. Sony's battery bank is extremely light and weighs only 84 grams. It also charges Sony Walkman and Cybershot cameras. We tried charging the battery of a DSLR camera but somehow it didn't work.
At Rs 1,590, it is a reasonably priced device and will come in handy only during emergencies. It's available in five different colours - black, white, blue, purple and red.
Eveready UM 22
You would expect a brand like Eveready to make a better product, but somehow the UM 22 battery bank disappoints. Not only it takes close to eight hours to get fully charged, it's extremely slow in charging the phone as well. Perhaps it is to do with the fact that it only has a capacity of 2,200mAH. It is small in size and easy to carry but that's where the good part of this device ends. Even when you charge the phone, it doesn't charge 100 per cent and gets discharged very quickly.
It's priced at Rs 1,600 and is certainly not a device we would recommend. It's better to go for the Sony battery bank, which at a similar price point, delivers a much better performance.