There is a growing demand for Promotional Power Banks every day, and we would like to explain the differences of the many types of Power Banks out there.
Power Banks differ on the quality of battery. Quality relates to the type of lithium battery, cell grade, true capacity, regulated output voltage / current and protection circuitry. In fact, 70% of the price of Power Banks can be devoted to the battery quality
Capacity
The capacity of the power bank gives an indication of how much you can charge. A capacity of 2600 mAh allows an iPhone 5 (battery approximately 1570 mAh) to be fully charged; yet a Samsung Galaxy S5 (battery approximately 3000 mAh) can't be fully charged. A Power Bank at 2200 mAh will not fully charge an iPhone 5s partly due to voltage equation output.
Typical Power Bank Storage Capacities and Related Charging Capabilities | |||||||||||
Device | Type | Battery Capacity | 1800 mAh | 2000 mAh | 2200 mAh | 3000 mAh | 4000 mAh | 5200 mAh | 6000 mAh | 6600 mAh | 8800 mAh |
iPhone 4 | Smartphone | 1420 mAh | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
iPhone 5 | Smartphone | 1440 mAh | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
iPhone 5s | Smartphone | 1560 mAh | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
iPhone 5c | Smartphone | 1510 mAh | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Samsung Galaxy S5 | Smartphone | 2800 mAh | 64% | 71% | 79% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Samsung Galaxy S4 | Smartphone | 2600 mAh | 69% | 77% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Samsung Galaxy S3 | Smartphone | 2100 mAh | 86% | 95% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Sony | Smartphone | 2330 mAh | 77% | 86% | 94% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
HTC One | Smartphone | 2600 mAh | 69% | 77% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
iPad 4 | Tablet | 11560 mAh | 16% | 17% | 19% | 26% | 35% | 45% | 52% | 57% | 76% |
iPad Air | Tablet | 8820 mAh | 20% | 23% | 25% | 34% | 45% | 59% | 68% | 75% | 100% |
iPad Mini | Tablet | 6471 mAh | 28% | 31% | 34% | 46% | 62% | 80% | 93% | 100% | 100% |
Samsung Tab 3 10.1 | Tablet | 6800 mAh | 26% | 29% | 32% | 44% | 59% | 76% | 88% | 97% | 100% |
Samsung | Tablet | 4900 mAh | 37% | 41% | 45% | 61% | 82% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
What this tells us is that a Power Bank with a capacity of either 1800 or 2000 mAh is capable of FULLY Charging iPhones, but it will only be partially charging other Smartphones on the market.
Note: Small capacity Power Banks can still charge Tables, but you need to understand that they will only "top them up", and they will generally do this slower than the charger the tablet came with.
It's all about input and output
This part controls the flow of capacity into the device to be charged. You can have a very high capacity 5200 mAh yet it takes forever to charge. Think of a bucket filled with water; the smaller the hole in this bucket (output), the longer it takes for the water to run out. The output of the same Power Banks enables charging of only smart phones or tables. In general, smart phones need an output between 0.5A and 1A, while tables need at least 1A to 2A. The higher the amphere, the faster your device charges.
These Power Banks allow user to charge up to Two Devices at the same time. However, the output of each port can vary from Power Banks to Power Banks.
There are 3 different types of output:
Type 1 (Split Output):
Type 2 (Shared Output):
Type 3 (Dedicated Output):
Dangerous Goods
Inside the Power Bank is a Lithium Battery. There is a big difference to quality depending on the battery. Cheap batteries might catch fire or even explode when over charged. The correct circuitry to prevent overheating and reverse charging must be present. Such goods should have MSDS (Material Safety and Data Sheets) when imported to Australia.
Batteries fall into 2 major groups, both of which can be "rechargeable"
Lithium ion - tends to be rectangular or cylindrical and is usually cheaper. They are hard shelled with a strong casing. They weigh a little bit more, are sturdier and are hard to puncture. They have high energy densities and cost less as they suffer from aging, even when not being used.
Lithium Polymer - tends to be thinner and come in a silver bag. They are soft shelled and can be damaged easier; they weigh less and can fit into small shells particularly the custom designed PVC molded Power Banks. You can view our range or Lithium Polymer types of Power Banks above.
Most Smartphones have a maximum charging rate a 1 Amp (1A) whilst, most Tablets maximum charging rate is 2.a Amps (2.1A)
The following explains the rate of charging for different Power Back Devices:
Power Bank with a 1A Output:
Power Bank with a 2.1 A Output:
The time it takes to charge your device is all but impossible to estimate as it depends on all of the following factors, among others:
Batteries condition can be degraded by:
The ambient temperature of the device and the Power Bank