Poweradd Slim 2 - 5,000mAh Powerbank Review

Hi all,

Continuing on my new found hobby of tech reviewing I wanted to share with you my thoughts on some Poweradd products I've recently got my hands on. This review is about the Slim 2 powerbank with a 5,000mAh capacity.

Unboxing

The powerbank comes in a fairly well packed black box with a few product details on the front and back. On the font it lists

Quick Charge with no memory effect

USB charge

High capacity

easy operation

safety protection system

The last one - safety protection system - is really key for me seeing as im planing on plugging in my £500 smart phone and my tablets and camera into this thing so im putting a lot of trust in it and that makes me feel a bit more at ease!

Not wanting to go on too much about the packing, but it does feel like a really well made packet that the powerbank comes in that really just added to the feel of high quality, it didnt arrive in just a plastic bag with no instructions so i do feel safe trusting my valuables to it!

On the back of the packet it lists a few more details, it uses a Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 5,000mAh (18.5Wh)!. The weight is listed as 4.41 ounces with a +/- 0.35 ounce variance. I was a bit disappointed not to see any promises of how many recharge cycles this thing would last for written onto the box.

Ok so lets open this thing up finally!!

Inside the box is just the powerbank, a Microusb lead and a small set of instructions. As with the other powerbank (Pilot C), the Micro USB lead felt excessively long at about 1m I use these things in my pocket to charge my phone in my pocket so the extra cable felt a little excessive but on the plus point it does reach the outlet on the floor so not too worried about that.

The powerbank its self feels nice and sturdy and is a nice feel in your hand. It isnt too heavy and has a nice matt plastic finish around the sides and top. The shape is a slight hexagon with gentle corners making it easier to hold. The thing felt very well put together, and from the weight it feels like the battery is in the bottom section and the USB circuit is in the top. I kinda have an urge to twist the top off, i've given it a bit of a twist and there is no movement so its pretty well glued in there but I guess this is how it comes apart. Not having a death wish or wanting to be covered in Lithium I didnt try to take this apart...

On the top of the powerbank there is 1 USB outlet and a Micro USB inlet. The USB outlet is rated at 5V, 1A as it the Micro USB input, so if you get one of these do be careful not to plug it into a high amp charger and damage the battery.

As with most powerbanks, there is a single button which can be used to show the amount of power in the device. There are 4 blue LEDs on the top to signify levels of charge. A little disappointed that there is no LED light option as you get on some of the powerbanks which can be handy when fumbling in the dark as I often find myself when camping!

So thats the product!

In summary:

Positive points

+Good capacity at 5,000mAh and fairly good weight

+Feels well put together

+uses micro USB (long live the standard cable!)

+LEDs to show battery capacity

+small enough to slip in a pocket

+matt finish doesnt feel like it will show any scratches

Negative points

-USB lead supplied is a little long

-No supplied storage pouch! Feels like PowerAdd missed a trick with supplying a cheap little bag to make this feel like even more of a premium product.

-The USB cable supplied is charge only so cant be used for data, feels a little mean

Overall im fairly happy with this and it feel rugged enough for my camping trips away or to be slung in a backpack and not worry about it coming apart or breaking.

My Score out of 5:

For the price it feels like a good buy.

Hope everyone found this useful. I'll upload a video review shortly when i get my camera working. Feel free to ask me any questions.        

Inateck USB / Lightning Adapter Review (EC2001L)

Inateck USB / Lightning Adapter Review (EC2001L)

Overview
Hi all. So i’ve got my hands on another product from Inateck, one of the new up and coming tech firms that seem to do a little bit of everything. Today I'm reviewing their answer to a problem for households that use both Android and Apple devices - a USB cable that had both adaptors!

Unboxing
The cable arrived in a plastic bag, labelled up with all the specs. Its 120cm long and has USB A Male to USB micro B and Lightning port for Apple products. There isn't much else on the packet so I guess its time to open it up!

Honestly I wasn't really very excited about reviewing a cable. Its a cable, something I have hundreds of that has come with every smart device and all seems to be the same to me. How wrong I felt when I first opened this up, the cable looks and feels really premium, I was actually planning on giving it to a friend and now i'm going to keep it for myself, honest truth!


Hands on
Holding the cable, the wire is flat, about 6mm wide covered in a soft rubber similar to the back of a Nexus 7 or a Kobo e-reader, feels quite nice to the touch. The cable doesn't really have much memory, so you can lie it flat without it coiling itself up again too much.

The USB connector housing is covered in a soft feeling gray plastic type material that feels really premium. On the end of the USB A Male connector is a tinted brown dust cover which fits tightly and im not worried about it falling off any time soon.

On the other end is a USB micro B connector plugged into a Lightning connector adaptor, on the end of the Lightning adaptor there is another tinted brown dust cover. The Lightning adaptor unplugs to reveal the micro USB B connector. As I don't own any Apple products I do like that the lightning adaptor can be removed and basically go in a draw until I do take the plunge into the Apple universe, what did upset me was that the little dust cover won’t also fit over the micro USB connector which feels like a bit of an oversight and would have rounded things off nicely for me.

Im a little confused as to its purpose, the little dust caps suggest to me that this is a travel cable but the length is 120cm (1.2m) so its pretty long and more suited to a desktop PC being permanently cabled in.



Testing
There isn't much I can actually do to test a cable other than plug it in and it works! When i plugged it into my trusty Samsung Galaxy S4 the micro USB connector clicked in very firmly and it was immediately detected as a media device so all works fine, I gave it a little wiggle and no issues! I’ve never had a flat cable before and i noticed it sat quite nicely and was easier to orientate the connector to the right orientation without too much guessing.

If you do use Apple products the Lightning adaptor has a little arrow on it to light up the correct orientation to the micro USB connector which felt like a nice touch.

Positive points
Really premium feel
Dust covers for USB A and Lightning adaptor
Flat cable with little cable memory
Decent length, I wouldn't want it any longer
Well made micro USB connector, feel very secure when connected.
Alignment arrows for the Lightning adaptor.

Negative points
The cable ties used to pack the product seem to have eaten a bit into the cable sheath, hopefully the dents will work themselves out but takes away a bit from the premium feel.
The little cable cap only fits on the Lightening adaptor and won't work to cover the USB Micro B adaptor if im not interested in carrying round the Lightning adaptor end or I lose it.
Because its a flat cable it does mean it doesnt ball up very small
A bit long for travel use.

Conclusions
Overall a very nice little product at a reasonable price. I feel like I can trust this to be left alone to charge my expensive products without any problems.

Score
My Score out of 5:

5 out of 5 - it didn't feel like any points should be knocked of for my minor annoyances.

Bottom Line
I’ve never been impressed by a cable before, this feels very nice and maybe I’m starting to realise the value in buying premium cables.

Links
Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KV80WYA

Manufacturer Website
http://www.inateck.com/inateck-ec200...ng-plug-white/

Poweradd Pilot C 10,000mAh Powerbank Review

Hi all,

Continuing on my new found hobby of tech reviewing I wanted to share with you my thoughts on some Poweradd products I've recently got my hands on.

Unboxing

The powerbank comes in a fairly well packed black box with a few product details on the front and back. On the font it lists

• Quick Charge with no memory effect
• USB charge
• High capacity
• easy operation
• safety protection system

The last one - safety protection system - is really key for me seeing as im planing on plugging in my £500 smart phone and my tablets and camera into this thing so im putting a lot of trust in it and that makes me feel a bit more at ease!

Not wanting to go on too much about the packing, but it does feel like a really well made packet that the powerbank comes in that really just added to the feel of high quality, it didnt arrive in just a plastic bag with no instructions so i do feel safe trusting my valuables to it!

On the back of the packet it lists a few more details, it uses a Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 10,000mAh (37Wh)!. The weight is listed as 8.68 ounces with a +/- 0.35 ounce variance. I was a bit disappointed not to see any promises of how many recharge cycles this thing would last for written onto the box.

Ok so lets open this thing up finally!!

inside the box is just the powerbank, a Microusb lead and a small set of instructions. Little disappointed that there isnt a little pouch or something to keep the thing in as you see with some of the Ravpower powerbanks. Also the Micro USB lead felt excessively long at about 1m I use these things in my pocket to charge my phone in my pocket so the extra cable felt a little excessive but on the plus point it does reach the outlet on the floor so not too worried about that.

The powerbank its self feels quite chunky (1.26 inches thick) but its sturdy. The weight is noticeable and isnt central in the small box, feeling like the majority of the battery is down the bottom end. It fits into your hand quite snugly. The body is made from a thick feeling strong plastic with a a textured body making it easy to hold (although giving my camera a nightmare to foucs on the body! ) I've tried to get my fingers into any gaps in the body to try and pry apart to do a bit more of a teardown and it feels like basically it wont come apart without destroying it so it does feel very well put together.

Moving round the powerbank there are 2 USB outlets on the top and a Micro USB inlet. The 2 USB outlets have 1 dot or 2 indicating the amount of juice they supply from the powerbank and also meaning that you can charge 2 devices at once!

USB1 is rated at 5V, 1A

USB2 is rated at 5V, 2.1A

the 2.1A slightly confused me as most devices are 500mA, 1A or 2A, not sure why the extra 100mA was felt needed and it made me feel a little nervous charging my S4 which is rated 5V, 2A (I wasnt worried it would explode but i just want sure about the long term effect on the battery.)

The input Micro USB is rated at 2A (yay) meaning you can charge this thing up pretty quick as 10,000mAh will take a while to charge on 500mA PC USB.

Moving round to the side there is a single button which can be used to show the amount of power in the device. There are 4 blue LEDs on the front to signify levels of charge. A little disappointed that there is no LED light option as you get on some of the powerbanks which can be handy when fumbling in the dark as I often find myself when camping!

So thats the product!

In summary:

Positive points

+Massive capacity

+2 USB ports with different rating

+can charge 2 devices at once

+2A input so quick charge

+Feels well put together

+uses micro USB (long live the standard cable!)

+LEDs to show battery capacity

Negative points

-feels a little chunky, im ok with the weight given the capacity but the thickness almost excluded is from jeans pocket storage

-no LED torch

-USB lead supplied is a little long

-weight is off center - a minor point really but makes it feel end heavy to hold.

-No supplied storage pouch! Feels like PowerAdd missed a trick with supplying a cheap little bag to make this feel like even more of a premium product.

-The USB cable supplied is charge only so cant be used for data, feels a little mean

Overall im fairly happy with this and it feel rugged enough for my camping trips away or to be slung in a backpack and not worry about it coming apart or breaking.

My Score out of 5:

Hope everyone found this useful. I'll upload a video review shortly when i get my camera working. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Inateck USB3 Hub Review (HB4002G)

Hi all,

Im trying to get into tech blogging and reviewing stuff, so I thought I'd kick it off with a review of a USB hub, something people take for granted and no one ever seems to review! so here goes, im going to share with you mt thoughts on my new toy! Any feedback on my review would be greatly appreciated.

Just as a note, I dont work for Inatech, I work for a Pharmaceutical company and just enjoy technology

As an Update I've just spotted on their website there is an off on at the moment for back to school or something so there are voucher codes for some products including the USB hub

http://www.inateck.com/back-to-school/

Testing out a new toy, USB3 four port hub with USB OTG for mobile (HB4002G).

I'll be testing it on my PC which has 2 USB3 ports (Asus P8P67 Deluxe motherboard) and on my trusty Samsung Galaxy S4.

Unboxing and device overview

The hub arrived from Amazon, well packaged, no instructions, just the hub and a Returns and Exchanges piece of paper listing the companies policies.

Taking the hub out I was actually surprised with how well made and solid it felt, i've previously only had cheap USB hub so this is my first proper one. The housing feels like a thick plastic and around the top 3 USB ports there is what feels like brushed aluminium adding to the premium feel. There is a forth USB port on the other end of the hub making this a 4 port USB3 hub.

The cable that comes with it is 12 inches long, as the company says on their website, this is intended for phones and ultrabooks not for down the back of a PC, but feel free to use a USB 3 extension lead to use it with a PC. At the end of the USB3 lead is a little USB OTG adaptor which is attached to the main usb lead with a length of thin plastic which is formed from the outer housing of the USB OTG connector. Not sure how long this will last and keep the OTG adapter attached, felt like if you gave it a bit of abuse eventually it would wear out.

Overall if feels quite premium and solid. Let get onto the testing!

Testing

Ok everyone case most about android devices here so i'll do that first and the PC testing as an after thought!

Testing on the Samsung Galaxy S4 (i9505), plugging it in, it detected it as a "USB Connector" no problem. Ok lets plug some stuff in and see how far I can push the poor phone!

First up a Transcend USB3 stick, connected no problem . To test the speed I used A1 SD Benchmark from the play store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....sdbench&hl=en

On my PC the device (Tested with USBdeview) gets write speed of about 90mb/s and read or 18mb/s. On the phone it gets read 26mb/s and write 18mb/s, so a bit slower than plugged into PC but the Galaxy S4 doesnt support USB OTG ad USB3 speeds so its as expected. Just to check that the Inateck hub isnt slowing things down lets test it with my normal USB OTG adaptor, the results - exactly the same speed. So the hub isnt slowing things down.

Lets try 2 USB sticks Since im poor I can only afford 1 USB3 pendrive so the others are usb2. I have an OCZ Rally 2 4GB and a Texet 2GB, lets plug them all in and see if the phone can handle storage overload! 3 USB sticks plugged in and the power hasnt given up, all 3 are lit up and ES File explorer detects them as USBDriveA, B and C no problems on each.

Lets push my luck and try a forth! again no problem, 4 usb devices attached to the unpowered hub and its not a problem! Tapping the unmount option from the notification bar will unmount ALL the usb drives at once, tad annoying but its a Samsung thing and seeing as I wasnt expecting the phone to be able to power 4 devices at once im happy!

Final test I have for this poor device is keyboard, mouse and USB3 drive copying files all going at once. The benchmark app wouldnt let me multi-task and write an email while benchmarking so i just moved the mouse around a lot but it didnt affect the transfer speeds during the test. The keyboard, mouse and usb pen drive all worked no problem when plugged in.

Ok so thats how well the hub performs on an android device, im pretty pleased so far, i feel like i really pushed it and it was fine, but so far its no different to the cheap hub i bought on ebay that comes apart quite easily. The real thing with this is the USB3 functionality so lets plug it into a USB3 port already and see how well it performs at speed!

Ok plugging in the device, Windows 7 detected it no problem.

It worked fine in a USB 2 port or a USB 3 port.

Again the same pendrive, lets test the speed. Plugged directly into the PC I get Read 18mb/s and write 90mb/s on my Transcend drive.

So thats all good, lets see how it performs through the hub. As you can see from the pictures above the hub doesnt slow things down when using 1 port.

The only other USB3 Devices I have are a 3TB hard drive so lets speed test then with and without the hub and see if the hub is going to slow things down. When using my 3TB hard drive and the USB Pen drive the results were similar to using a single device, no slow down (i dont want to flood this thread with screen shots)

The results look pretty nice, no slowdown with or without the usb hub even when I pushed things speed testing.

Overall Im actually quite pleased with this little device and it will replace my Cheap USB hub im using at the moment.

Hope everyone found this useful!

Heres the link to their website, i got mine from Amazon UK.

http://www.inateck.com/inateck-hb4002g-4-port-usb-3-0-hub-otg/

Hello World

Hello World,
So this is to introduce my new blog which is aiming to review the things I love, basically anything technological! Id like to start off by saying that I dont work for any big firms, I work in pharmaceuticals, so I am doing this as a hobby, writing about the things I enjoy with the hope that firms can improve and build on the feedback from people who actually use the products.

I would also like to create a place where honest reviews can take place so that when you are looking to buy products you can come to this blog for an honest hands on of what its really like, and maybe even find some products you didnt know exist.

hopefully everyone will find this useful.

Hawke84