Rabu, 16 Maret 2011

Powerful and pretty power bank

Intocircuit%C2%AE Multi Voltage Smartphone Thunderbolt connectors

Intocircuit%C2%AE Multi Voltage Smartphone Thunderbolt connectors

I tested Intocircuit� Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh External Battery Pack with IBM T60p laptop, Nexus 7 Tablet (JellyBean 4.2.2), Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (ICS 4.0.4), and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone (JellyBean 4.2.2).

I own several external battery packs. To test their performance I run the same set on tests on each of them so I can compare them to each other and to provide unbiased results as the numbers speak for the performance of each unit.

To test Intocircuit 26000mAh power pack I ran my standard 10 minute test for each of my 3 mobile devices. I also ran a set of tests to see how my laptop can operate on this external battery. My methodology for mobile devices is to charge each mobile device on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Each line in the table below represents a separate 10 minute test.

In addition I ran a test to see how battery pack worked with my laptop. I charged both the laptop and the battery pack to 100% from AC source. Then I switched the laptop to charge from Intocircuit� Power Castle Battery Pack. The laptop remained at 100% running on external battery pack for 5 hours and 11 minutes. The load on the laptop was pretty light, it just ran a program which printed time into a file after a 30 second pause. The second laptop test was to start with the laptop discharged to 5% and the external battery back fully charged. I wanted to see how high can the battery pack charge the laptop battery before it fully discharged.

I am attaching a collage of 4 photos. You can locate this photo by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.

Photo #1 shows the top of the unit which has an LED light which indicate the charge level. Alert: the documentation has a bug referring to the color of led lights as red, it says when the brick is full you will see "steady red led light". The led lights are always green, either blinking or steady.

Photo #2 shows the power brick on the digital scale, its weight is 1 pound 8.7 oz. The size of the power pack is 7.25" x 4.75" x 0.75".

This power pack has one USB outlet, one DC output socket (as charging source for the laptop), one DC input socket (to charge the brick). None of the ports are labelled.

This external battery comes with 10 adapters for laptop power port and 10 adapters for mobile devices.
Photo #3 shows my laptop power plug (in grey) and Intocircuit adapter that fits my laptop (in the background you can see the dizzying number of adapters that come with this battery pack). The external power battery can run at at 12V, 16V, and 19V. My laptop is rated as 20V, and I was successful in using the 19V setting for the laptop, and 12V setting for my mobile devices.

Photo #4, shows my laptop and Intocircuit� power pack during one of the tests.

I use Battery App by Elvison to determine how each device recognized the charging source. 'AC' status means the charging is at full charging rate. 'USB' status indicates charging at a lower charging rate. 'Discharging' status means that the charging rate is below the power that the device is consuming so it slows down the discharge rate but does not re-charge.

The key findings:
(1) Both Nexus phone and Nexus 7 tablet (both running Jelly Bean 4.21) charged at AC rate on both ports. The charging was on par with the best chargers.
(2) Samsung Galaxy 7.7 worked at AC level with a charging cable, and did not work (showed as discharging) with a data cable.
(3) The battery pack worked well with my laptop

The table below summarizes my findings:

Nexus 7 Tablet
--------------
AC rate.....2% charge increase

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
AC rate.....5% charge increase

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7
--------------------------
AC rate.........3% charge increase

Laptop tests
--------------------------
Test 1....Laptop charged from 5% to 69% in 1 hour (external battery pack went from 100% full to empty)

Test 2....The laptop remained at 100% running on external battery pack for 5 hours and 11 minutes.

I received this battery pack from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. Running the same set of test on all my external batteries allows me to provide an unbiased review. By comparing the results of the tests for this battery to the other external batteries I tested, this power pack earned a 5 star rating.

Ali Julia review

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4 komentar:

  1. Length:: 4:53 Mins

    Over the last several months I have reviewed several external battery packs/ Power Banks. I have that they all are effective in charging iPhones, some are capable of charging Blackberry's and other devices, a few have the 5V 2.1A output that can charge an iPad.... but the IntoCircuit Power Castle is unique... it charges everything - including most laptop computers.

    The IntoCircuit Power Castle is different compared to many of the Power Bank on the market - I mentioned that it has the ability to charge and power laptops, but it also very attractive. The Power Castle is the size of a small diary, but it is encased in brushed steel/aluminum giving it an attractive and professional look.

    Notes -

    - Good for up to 1000 charge cycles

    - Take 5 to 5 1/2 hours for the Power Castle to fully charge.

    - Comes with about 20 adapters - which will allow you to charge almost every conceivable device - including most rechargeable speakers, laptop computers, digital cameras, Blackberry's, external hard drives, and numerous other devices.

    - To my knowledge it can not charge a Macbook or Macbook pro - because it does not have the proprietary Apple adapter

    - An Apple 30 pin adapter IS INCLUDED - but an adapter for the new Lighting Adapter is NOT included.

    - Has a charge indicator to let you know if it has 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of charge remaining.

    - Allows you to supply power at 5V (USB), 12V, 16V, and 19V

    - The device is not exactly lightweight and does use a transformer plus it requires a 110V volt AC power source. However, the Power Castle itself can fit in a backpack or a briefcase without too much of a problem.

    - I do wish that a travel pouch was included - mainly to keep track of all of the adapters that come with the Power Castle.

    Final Verdict - I am a big fan of the IntoCircuit Power Castle since it gives you the ability to nearly triple the battery life of your iPad. This is the perfect device for anyone how is going to be spending a significant amount of time away from a standard power outlet.

    5 Stars

    Please Note - I received this product for reviewing purposes

    BalasHapus
  2. Myself and family, as well as our friends, spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities. Living in very northern Minnesota, someone is always heading out with family for a weekend at a cabin, out for a hunting trip with the guys, or packing for some other kind of fishing or camping trip elsewhere. Living way up here, we're already quite a ways out from the larger cities. So when people head out even further, there is no typically electricity to hook into. If the cabins have any kind of power at all, it's a fuel run generator for running heat or lights. There's no outlets to plug anything in to. Often times there may not even be a cabin where everyone is headed out to, and we are all just bringing small RV's or pull-behind travel trailer. The camps sites rarely have any kind of electrical hookups.

    However we do all still have cell phones, GPS devices and tablets we would like to charge up while were there. While the small, more portable battery packs are nice, once the power has been depleted from them, we can't recharge them until we all get back home. That's where this huge battery pack turns into a lifesaver. Everyone can recharge all their devices over the entire weekend and there's still battery life left when we get home. It could easily charge up netbooks, large tablets and even small laptops. But what we really love this huge battery pack for being able to recharge over and over again, our cell phones, GPS devices and the electronics of everyone who's out on the trip with us. My daughter can charge her Kindle Fire, I can charge my iPad mini and iPhone, my husband can charge his old flip-phone (using the charging base that came with the phone that converts to a USB charging connection) and his handheld GPS device, and we still have power left to charge digital cameras, mini video recorders or anyone else's cell phones that need charging too. With this beast of a battery pack, no wall outlets is no problem.

    I've also started keeping this pack charged all the time, in case of an emergency where the power goes out. In our small town, we've had incidences even recently where the power has been out for hours, and times in the past few years where (because of bad weather) we lost it for days. Even at work, there would be no power. By having this pack charged and always ready, we have a way to keep our phones charged (we don't even have land-line phones anymore) and we can take it with us to work and let our co-workers recharge their phones should they need to. All it takes is one bad storm to knock out the power, to make this battery pack worth having on hand. It's so large and holds so much power, you'll find there's a million uses for it.

    It's large, about the size of a a 7 inch tablet, only thicker. It weights as much as a book, and the brushed metal casing is very sharp looking. While we use this when we're in the great-outdoors, it has got the looks for use in the office, on a business trip or anywhere else. It comes with a TON of different adapter tips and cables for charging just about every device you can think of. It also has a USB port so you can use your own chargers that have a USB connection on one end. The battery pack has a voltage switch, so you can switch between the voltages when charging up devices like laptops. This is needed so you're not overpowering or under-powering it, which can cause damage. It's so large, it even has it's own wall adapter for recharging it, that resembles ones that come with small notebook computers. It's one mighty power bank, and so far, it's handled everything I've thrown at it!

    A sample unit was provided for reviewing purposes.

    BalasHapus
  3. I've used and tested many external batteries, and Power Bank PCastle 26000 is by far the largest one I've ever come across - more than twice the size of the previous record holding 12,000 mAh batteries I've tested. As you would expect from such a device, it can hold a LOT of juice. I've tested it with several small and medium electronic devices, which I had previously completely depleted. I was able to fully charge first generation iPad, iPhone 4S and iPad Mini - all from a single charged PCastle and with plenty of leftover charge. I have not tested it with the latest generation iPad, but my guess would be that PCastel would be able to fully charge it once or twice.

    Unfortunately, I have not been able to use this power bank to charge a laptop, which is one of the main purposes that such a capacious external battery would be good for. I only have Mac laptops, and this battery doesn't come with the chords and connectors that will enable it to connect to a Mac. This is not just the problem with this battery - Apple is notorious for being very proprietary with their accessory connections, and I don't think there is an independent battery manufacturer out there with a product that will work with Macs. There are some hacks that will allow you to get around this restriction (you can buy an Apple power cord or appropriate one form your old charger), but all such tricks require certain level of familiarity with electronics and willingness to improvise.

    If you have any "regular" PC laptop, chances are that this battery pack will work with it. The battery supports several different voltage outputs (12V, 16V, and 19V) and comes with a gazillion adapters that can fit pretty much any laptop power input that I've come across.

    This is a beautifully made external battery. Its metal casing is stylish, elegant and very sturdy. It is, as you would expect it, fairly large and heavy. It weighs 662 grams or almost a pound and a half. This may not be an ideal emergency battery that you carry with you everywhere in your messenger bag, but it is a great backup resource to have if you find yourself on a long business trip or vacation. In many respects this is a standout product that is in a class of its own.

    BalasHapus
  4. Well there are couple in-depth review already, so you probably see all the technical specs and other things. I will just make it simple and short review from a verified buyer.

    _ This thing is NICE!! It feels real nice and heavy duty.
    _ It's very powerful. It charges my iPad 4 from 46% to 100% in little less than 3 hours, I tested the product right out of the box when it has 4 lights remaining. After the iPad 4 was charged to full it's at 3 lights remaining now.
    _ The product's manual and some other review said this unit has a 1 amp USB, but for some reason I receive a unit that has 2.1 Amp USB port (printed in the back of the battery), and from my test, it is actually 2.1 amp. Otherwise my iPad 4 won't be charged that fast.

    That's all I want to say. It's really nice and I just love it.

    BalasHapus