Smartphones: Check this out before you buy your ‘power bank’

But then, when you find yourself in such a situation, what would you do? With the advancements in technology, portable devices known as power banks have been produced to meet the needs of providing energy to our smartphones and other communication devices in the absence of electricity. What is a power bank?  A power bank […]

But then, when you find yourself in such a situation, what would you do? With the advancements in technology, portable devices known as power banks have been produced to meet the needs of providing energy to our smartphones and other communication devices in the absence of electricity.

What is a power bank?  
A power bank is a portable charger for your devices and it is one of those necessities you should have if you travel a lot because you’ll need to charge your devices if you want to fully utilize them on a single trip. Devices such as smartphones, tablets, Ipads, etc, all require power after some time and a power outlet is usually not available everywhere you go.
Buying and carrying spare batteries of every device is not a practical option either. So you need to have a stand by source of power to charge your phone when there’s no reliable source of electricity. As such you’ll need a power bank of your own from which you can charge the batteries of your device(s).
Jude Aveen who lives in Madalla, Niger state and owns a small communication business centre, wheich deals in several phone accessories told New Media that power banks are of several types depending on their quality.  The types of power banks he deals in are Fil, New Age, Samsung, AG, I-phone etc. “Their prices vary depending on their quality and capacity, some cost N5000 and even lower,” he said.
Aveen added that most of them that cost low are often fake.  “To get the best out of your power bank, you need to keep it safely away from wet surfaces and do not overuse it in order to preserve its lifespan. Doing so would increase the running time of the power bank, thereby making it work for almost 3-4 hours when used to charge your device”.
New Media also visited EMAB Plaza in Wuse 2, Abuja and spoke to other dealers on the efficacy of power banks. Miss Joy, a salesgirl at H-Communications, said there was no way a fake power bank could be differentiated from a real one, except after use. This was in contrast with what the earlier respondent said. Speaking on the life span, she said: “It depends on the originality of the power bank”. On the maintenance, she added that it should be kept away from wet surfaces but the users should always make sure there’s enough power in it so that when there’s no power supply, it can be used and that it should be kept dry at all times.

Tips on choosing your power bank
Before buying a power bank, there are some things a potential buyer needs to consider. Below are some of the tips:

1.       Capacity: Power banks are available in almost all the countries at various prices and in varying sizes and specifications.  Before purchasing you should make sure that they are not used.  “Buying used power banks will be a waste because their life span is not much”, said Joe a power bank seller in Jabi Park when asked if it was better to buy used power banks or brand new ones. Life span can also be greatly reduced if it is kept in adverse environmental conditions for a long time. There are portable chargers whose lifetime is reduced at temperatures more than 45 Celsius. However, at extreme temperatures such as over 70 Celsius there is a good probability that the battery will be completely damaged.
 
2.       Price and quality: Apart from battery strength, one other thing that could help in deciding which power bank charger to buy is the price.  It is advisable that you should not buy a portable power bank which either uses refurbished batteries or which doesn’t contain the basic features e.g. short circuit, over-charging protection.
 
3.      Portability: Another reason for buying a power bank is that it is portable. You can buy cheap ones with big capacity, but they usually will not charge your gadgets properly, thereby causing a breakdown. And because of the possession of large number of some devices (iPhones, iPads, Androids, smart phones, some cameras, MP4, IPods e.t.c) by some people, it has become a necessity to have one to make sure that battery power on our devices is always intact. There is nothing more frustrating than running out of battery, especially when there’s an emergency.