Discharging a smartphone or camera when you least expect it can be extremely annoying. How to protect yourself from this? Just buy the right powerbank. But which model will be the best?
For many people the phone is the primary tool for entertainment, for others a form of contact with friends, and for still others – a work tool. Smartphones are powered by a battery, usually lithium-ion or lithium-polymer, which is discharged by the use of the equipment. It then needs to be recharged by connecting a power source directly to the device. Here comes one, but a huge problem – we do not always have such a possibility, so it may turn out that the smartphone discharges for example during a trip, where there will be no way to recharge it. In such situations it is worth buying a powerbank – a small device, which contains lithium-ion cells designed to recharge the phone. However, there are so many models available on the market that it is often difficult to know which one will be suitable and will meet the expectations and needs of the user.
The most important parameter of every powerbank is its capacity, which is usually expressed in milliampere-hours (mAh). This unit is very important in assessing the usefulness of a given powerbank and has a great significance for its applications. What is interesting, the greater the capacity of this device, the greater the possibility of accumulating electric energy by it. It is worth illustrating this with an example. If the battery of your portable device, e.g. camera, camcorder or phone is 3000 mAh and the capacity of your powerbank is 6000 mAh, you will be able to charge your device twice with it (of course assuming no energy loss, which is physically impossible) from zero state. Therefore, the greater the capacity of the powerbank, the more applications, however, and a greater weight and much less compact external dimensions.
Although the basic criterion for choosing a powerbank for most people will certainly be its capacity, it is also worth paying attention to the power and current intensity generated by it. The amperage is expressed in amperes (e.g. 1 A, 2 A, 3 A) and the power in watts (usually from 5 W to even 60 W). What do these two parameters mean? It is the ability of the powerbank to generate electricity. The higher these two parameters are, the device will be able to charge equipment much faster and will also handle “power hungry” devices, such as laptops. Powerbanks with minimal power, such as 15W, will be ideal for charging tablets and smartphones, but they will not be able to charge devices like netbooks or laptops and large cameras while they are working. It is worth comparing these two parameters with the original charger for your phone or other portable device and choose a powerbank that will have identical values.
It will be of no use for us to have a big capacity and sufficient power of a powerbank, if there is no suitable connector in its casing for our phone. Not many people pay attention to this issue and as a result they buy a powerbank, which is very difficult to use, because it may require for example the use of massive adapters. The necessary minimum is one microUSB port and a regular USB connector, optionally also USB-C with Lightning tip for Apple smartphones and tablets. It is also worth paying attention to the cables included in the sales kit of the powerbank. Modern smartphones are also equipped with wireless charging, which allows you to recharge your phone by placing it directly on the charger. Powerbanks from the premium shelf also provide this capability.
