Review: PB6400CS Portable Charger

Portable chargers have become a staple for me lately. If you are even remotely a gear junkie like myself, then one of these bad boys is a must have. If you're traveling often, it's silly to go without one since you don't have to scurry around the airport to find a wall outlet or be "that guy" at the conference who's hogging the wall outlet.

The EasyAcc portable charger is a no-fuss, simple charger with great features. The 6,400mAh capacity is plenty to give my iPhone 6+ two full charges (we'l get to the numbers later). The iPhone 6+ is already has excellent battery life, but this makes it all the better. It feels well constructed and has a nice, smooth finish, giving it a nice, solid feel in the hands. The footprint is very small and easy to carry. The one thing I particularly like about this model is that it has a single 2.1A x 5V USB output which is best for rapid charging with a 2A x 5V input USB-micro input for charging the charger. There's also an LED for flashlight mode, which can be redundant if you have a smartphone, but it doesn't hurt anything to have it there. There are 4 blue LED lights around a single on/off button which give the status:

4: 75-100% Capacity Remaining
3: 50-75% Capacity Remaining
2: 25-50% Capacity Remaining
1: 5-25% Capacity Remaining
Blink: 0-5% Capacity Remaining

For real-world usage data, I used my trusty iPhone 6+ on iOS 8 with Wi-Fi on and Bluetooth on. I took several calls, checked e-mail, browsed the web and played a game or two during each charge (since you'd likely be using it if you're charging, at least I do.)

Charge iPhone from 36% to 100% took 1:21 hours to charge. Charger went from 4 lights to 2.
Charge iPhone from 29% to 100% took 1:44 hours to charge. Charger went from 2 lights to blinking.

If you weren't using the phone during charging, you could theoretically get two full charges on the iPhone 6+, but I was pretty happy with these numbers.

Overall, you can't go wrong with this charger. It's the best balance of price vs. features and does and excellent job on delivering. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an excellent charger.

Review: EasyAcc Power Bank 18,000mAh

EasyAcc® 18000mAh Dual USB on Amazon

Today we'll be reviewing the EasyAcc Power Bank 18,000mAh. This is a large power bank that is meant to keep your electronics good and charged while on the go. This is a heavy duty charger targeted at those with a lot of gear (I feel I fit that category rather well) or those who travel a lot. Let's jump on in and see how it does.

Look and Feel
It comes in a rather plain cardboard box, but don't let that fool you. Once open, you'll find the charger, two USB to micro-USB cables, and instructions. The charger has a nice black finish with a chrome plastic outer ring. It's contoured in a way that makes it very pleasant to hold. It has a good heft to it and has a quality feel to it. EasyAcc managed to make it affordable without feeling cheap. A simple carrying pouch would have helped since it is so nice and don't want it to get all scuffed up.

Features
The charger has 18,000mAh capacity with two USB output charging ports, 2.1A and 1.0A at 5V. There is also a power button (which also can be double-clicked to toggle the flashlight), flashlight LED, and 4 blue status LEDs, and a micro-USB input for charging the power bank.

LED Status Guide:

• 4 Lights - 75-100% Capacity
• 3 Lights - 50-75% Capacity
• 2 Lights - 25-50% Capacity
• 1 Light - 5-25% Capacity
• 1 Blink Light - 0-5% Capacity

The 2.1A USB port is geared more toward devices like tables with larger batteries while the 1.0A USB port is geared towards phones. The 1.0A port has a special feature which allows Samsung Galaxy Tabs to be boosted to 1.3A-2.0A. I was unable to test this specifically as I do not have any Samsung Tablets. You can certainly plug phones into the 2.1A ports if their tolerances allow it and you can also plug a tablet into the 1.0A port if it can supply enough juice. For most (not all) instances, both ports are mostly universal.

Real World Use

The max input power is 5V at 2.0A which is rated to charge from empty to max capacity in 9 hours. In our testing we found this to be accurate and will completely charge overnight. We tested a couple of devices, an iPhone 6 Plus and Nexus 7 2013 Edition (still under test at the time of this writing) and kept a log of the results using the 2.1A port.

Battery Before	iPhone Before	iPhone After	Battery After	Time to Charge
4 Lights (Full)	14%	100%	4 Lights	2.5 Hours
4 Lights	22%	100%	3 Lights	2 Hours
3 Lights	18%	99%	2 Lights	6.25 Hours
2 Lights	2%	63%	1 Light	3.5 Hours
1 Light	41%	52%	1 Light (blinking)	3.25 Hours

Battery Before	Tablet Before	Tablet After	Battery After	Time to Charge
4 Lights (Full)	0%	100%	4 Lights	3.5 Hours
Still testing…

Just a few notes. The tablet charging is still under test and those numbers will be updated as results come in. The iPhone 6 Plus has a batter size of 2,915mAh and the Nexus 7 2013 Edition has a 3,950mAh battery. The phone and tablet were still being used with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled while charging with some intervals of heavier use than others.

We found the EacyAcc PB18000 to be extremely robust, easy to use, good quality, and extremely useful. The iPhone 6 Plus has a huge batter and to be able to still get nearly 4 solid charges from the charger is really nice. Theoretically, with the iPhone battery capacity of 1,570mAh being nearly half of the iPhone 6 Plus', you should be able to get around 7-8 charges from this charger. Pretty impressive.

We also plugged in various other items such as PS4 controller (seriously, those things can't hold a charge worth a darn), PS Vita, PSP, 3DS, and other sundry devices. The charger fit easily in my backpack and was super convenient to use at work, or while picking up the kids, at church *cough*, and even at the in-laws. It's just so convenient to use.

Final Thoughts

The EasyAcc PB18000 is a quality product that will keep any tech-head charged without having to constantly worry about where the next outlet is, especially while traveling or on the go. We highly recommend it since it's affordable, robust, quality built, and keeps your gear charged. EasyAcc has a winner when compared to some of the high priced, lower capacity name chargers. No techie should be without one.

Stayed tuned for our YouTube Video in the coming week, our first one!

Review: iOttie Easy View 2

iOttie Easy View 2 on Amazon

As mentioned earlier this week, I have been reviewing the iOttie Easy View 2 dash mount for our vehicles.

My goal was to find a strong suction that would adapt to various surfaces of dashes (too bad I can't test this in a Tesla Model S, if only). My other requirements were to hold my iPhone 6 Plus with a case on it and retail for less than $20. After several searches, this one trickled its way to the top of the list.

Now, I have had my fair share of cheap department store solutions but those always tended to break within a week, not hold up the phone well, or just plain stink (literally and figuratively). I just needed something that worked and not break the bank.

When I received it, I was surprised at how small the box was. I was starting to wonder if it would really fit my iPhone 6 Plus at all. After opening the package I did a quick test to see if it would fit. I was quickly shown that it fit rather comfortably, even with my Spigen Tough Armor Case. If you are  looking for a no fuss dash mount for your iPhone 6 Plus, just stop here, you have found it.

Now for some more of the fundamentals. The first thing to address is the suction/stickiness of the suction cup. I tried every surface type on our minivan which varied from smooth, textured, curved, and flat and held up like a champ. It simply wouldn't budge. Then I realized I hadn't even clamped it down yet! Once I had that clicked into place, it was going nowhere. I will say though that if you need to move it ton another car or another position, it can be done, but it takes some serious effort. (Which is what you want out of a dash mount right?)

 Next test was to see how well it held up my iPhone 6 Plus and case. The main thing I was looking for was wobble, or the arm falling under weight, or the whole thing coming off the dash altogether. I am happy to report that none of those thing occurred. In fact, after driving around with it for some time it held up perfectly. I was still able to make some minor adjustments while I drove around however. Here are a couple shots of my phone mounted on it.

Landscape

Portrait

There are just a couple minor quibbles with this unit, but they are extremely minor. My first is that I had a hard time telling if the phone was all the way on. It's kind of hard to explain, but I have a hard time knowing if it's all the way pushed back against the back, mostly due to the clamped edges clamping down so tight. I found that if I wrapped my had behind the flat part of the mount while installing the phone that I could could ensure it was pressed back all the way. My second complaint is that I feel there should be some arm movement to allow for additional minor adjustments. The mount on the stationary arm does allow some movement for small adjustments and rotation, but I still feel like there could be a tad more. For the price however, these are easily forgiven.

I highly recommend the iOttie Easy View 2 as a sturdy and affordable dash mount for your phone, especially if your looking for one for your iPhone 6 Plus. The iOttie Easy View 2 also comes in four colors too for a little variety: Black, Red, White, and Mint.

Upcoming Review: iOttie Easy View 2

Up on deck for review is the iOttie Easy View 2. I recently did some research to see which dash mount would work best for our vehicles and my iPhone 6 Plus. I'm still taking it through its paces, but should have a report back in the coming days!