Branded Power Banks
Branded power banks can last longer, while smaller and cheaper units, depending on their treatment, may fall short. Power Banks that are generally not used daily often last much longer than 18 months. An ideal Power Bank can hold charge for 3 to 6 months with no or minimal loss. Power Banks with low quality may struggle to retain a useful charge more than 4 to 6 weeks. In this regard, you get what you pay for, and if you need a long-term emergency power supply consider increasing your budget to ensure you're not going to be caught short. Most Power Banks will slowly lose charge over time, to a degree influenced by the environment and their treatment. For example, leaving a Power Bank in the car where the temperature can fluctuate greatly over time can shorten its lifespan.
Contrary to common belief a high capacity, branded power banks don’t charge faster than low capacity power bank. The reason is that it all depends on the output current and not the capacity, therefore, if both device has the same output current, it will charge the phone at the same rate. That is why it takes you longer to charge your smart phone when it is plug to your computer’s USB port as it provides lesser output current (about less than 1amp).
Like all the best things in life, even branded power banks too, in time loses its efficiency. To prolong the lifespan of your branded power banks, avoid storing them in areas that tends to heat up or that are subject to high temperature. Moreover, when not in use, make sure your power bank have at least 50% charge and if you spend most of your time traveling, avoid connecting your charger before starting the car as it may damage the device by the sudden peak of voltage during ignition.
All power banks, branded or not, are rated according to their capacity or mAh (milliamps-hour), thus a battery with 10400 mAh can provide a total charge of 10400 mAh at a specific voltage. If your battery has a 2200 mAh capacity, using a 10400 mAh power bank allows you to charge your device up to at most 4.7 times.
With the advent of smart phones and mobile tablets, the need to stay connected wherever you maybe is only increased with the introduction of portable charger – power banks. With so many choices in the market with a number of specifications and features, it is very important to take into consideration what type is practical and comfortable to use, or if buying one is really necessary.
