Innergie PocketCell review – portable battery for smartphones and tablets

Running out of battery sucks. That low battery warning is like a shambolic friend, always stumbling in at the worst possible moment to make things all about him. Trying to find your hotel? He’s there. Want to finish that movie? He’s there. On an important call? Oh yeah, he’s there too. Just dealing with him is bad enough, but you even start changing your plans to work around him, turning down stuff you’d enjoy because it’d upset him. Thankfully, there’s a way to pacify him – the Innergie PocketCell. This portable power pack steps in on your behalf, charging your devices and showing your inconsiderate friend the door.

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Right, let’s get out of that analogy before it breaks down entirely. We’re going to be looking at the PocketCell, to see whether it delivers on its promise of convenient, portable charging for your smartphone, tablet and accessories. Let’s start with the specifics of the promise it’s making: the features and specs.

Features & specifications

  • 3000 mAh power capacity, delivered at 2.1A via USB
  • Charged via microUSB at 1.5A (cable provided)
  • Protection from excess current, voltage, temperature, power & short circuits
  • 91 x 30 x 21 millimetres & 72 grams

First, capacity: 3000 mAh is enough to recharge high-end smartphones and phablets once over, effectively doubling your battery life. Accessories have smaller batteries and you’ll get many more charges from the PocketCell; a Moto 360 smartwatch can be charged ten times and most Bluetooth headsets can be charged about 20 times. Most tablets have larger batteries, so you’ll be able to recharge about 30~50% of their total capacity.

The PocketCell comes with a bag and short micro USB cable.
The PocketCell comes with a bag and short micro USB cable.

Next, speed. 2.1A will charge ~99% of mobile devices at full speed, including both phones and tablets – very good. For reference, most iPads and other tablets charge at ~2A, most phones at ~1-1.5A and accessories a bit slower.

Protection from charging maladies are nice inclusions; Innergie have rated their product as being able to withstand all of the common dangers like overfilling the battery or providing too much current to the device being charged.

The final stats are size and dimensions; suffice it to say that this is a pocket-sized device that’s easily kept in pockets, bags or gloveboxes. We’ll take a closer look in the Design section – which starts now.

Design

This battery feels compact and weighty in-hand; it feels well-built compared to most portable chargers that I’ve handled. The slightly curved shape and glossy finish let it fit into small pockets easily.

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The body of the device contains a few features – a microUSB port on one end for charging the PocketCell, a USB port for providing charge to other devices on the other end and a button to activate the LED read-out of the current battery level and ask the device to begin charging in the middle.

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The PocketCell is available in a few different colours; this review unit is fairly obviously a reddish maroon colour. Other options include blue, yellow, black and white.

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That just about covers the design of this small accessory, so let’s move onto testing.

Testing

Testing a mobile charger is pretty simple; we’re looking to see if it provides the charge and capacity promised and evaluating the device’s ease of use of the two week test period. Thankfully, we can keep this section short and simply say that the PocketCell delivered on its promises, delivering a good amount of charge quickly and easily. I used the device for the recent #AcerLiveBlog2014 event, and the PocketCell was able to fully recharge my OnePlus One smartphone in the same time it would have taken a wall charger.

Conclusion

The Innergie PocketCell is a nicely designed portable charger, with good specifications and a reasonable price point. The PocketCell feels well-constructed and should last for a long time. If you’re looking to charge smartphones, tablets or both, the PocketCell is a worthy choice.

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