Nowadays, almost everyone carries a smartphone and uses it in a variety of situations.
However, what I worry about when I'm out is the remaining battery life of my smartphone.
I carry a portable battery so I can charge my devices anywhere, but I found it inconvenient having to carry a separate cable.
I recently purchased a mobile battery with a built-in cable, so I'd like to introduce it to you.
TSUNEO Mobile Battery 10000mAh (As of September 2019, it was priced at 2280 yen on Amazon)
This mobile battery is slightly smaller than an iPhone X.
It's lightweight and not very thick, so it hardly takes up any space in your bag.
The charging cable can be neatly stored on the side of the device.
My slight concern is that the cable is flat and somewhat compressed horizontally, which might make it prone to breaking if it gets bent.
If the cable becomes unusable, you can charge the device by connecting a separate cable to the USB port on the side of the unit.
However, in that case, the advantage of this product—that it has a built-in cable—would be lost.
On the side, there is a blue light that indicates the charging status and a port for charging the device itself.
As you may have noticed, to charge this mobile battery itself, you must use the separate cable that comes with it.
You definitely want to avoid the situation where you leave it in your bag all the time, and then run out of space when you need it most.
iWalk Compact and Lightweight Mobile Battery 3300mAh (As of September 2019, it was priced at 1980 yen on Amazon)
Here is another mobile battery product.
As you can see, it's a lightweight and compact type with the iPhone's Lightning connector directly attached to the battery itself.
To be honest, the battery capacity is a bit disappointing.
However, I think the true value of this battery lies in its ability to charge smartphones.
As shown in the image, the mounting method is designed to minimize interference with iPhone use even while charging.
While I don't recommend using your smartphone while it's charging, I think it could be useful as a way to extend the life of a device with a degraded battery.
Incidentally, this device also requires a Lightning cable to charge, just like the one used to charge an iPhone.
Although it's not included with this product, iPhone users will naturally have one, so using that should be fine.
Products that caught my eye, even though I didn't purchase them.
PREMIUM GEAR Co., Ltd. launched this product in September 2019.This productI'm a little concerned about that.
The price is 3,240 yen and it has a generous 10,000mAh battery, but what's particularly appealing is that it also has a built-in cable for charging the device itself.
In other words, you won't need to carry cables for charging your smartphone or the device itself.
However, the only points of concern are that the device is a bit heavy at 210g, and that you have to pull out the Lightning connector when using it with an iPhone, which adds an extra step.
The other item is a product called "OMKUY 3 Cable Built-in Mobile Battery 10000mAh".
It seems there's no official website, so if you're interested, please try searching for it yourself.
This one is a bit pricey at 3880 yen on Amazon, and it's also heavy at 240g.
However, in addition to having three types of cables built-in,The fact that you can charge the device by plugging it directly into a power outlet is a very appealing feature.
Of course, the device can also be charged via a USB cable.
However, there seem to be some drawbacks, such as the fact that it doesn't support charging the device by connecting it to a PC, and that the device may interfere with certain types of power outlets.
Ideal requirements for a mobile battery
Having recently purchased a portable power bank, I've been thinking about what my ideal portable power bank should look like.
A. Large capacity
B. Fast charging speed for smartphones
C. Lightweight and compact
D. Everything is built-in, including the charging cable for the main unit.
E. It does not discharge easily (or it charges slowly and naturally with light).
F. The price is inexpensive.
G. Durable
That's about it, I think.
Some of the elements A through G are incompatible, but if there was something that had all of them, I would buy it without hesitation.
However, in reality, it's more practical to have multiple portable batteries for different purposes.
For work, portability is important; for travel, capacity is important. I think it's best to imagine the situations in which you'll be using it when making your purchase.