Product review: Bolse® AON4 10000mAh Multi-voltage External Battery

I tested Bolse® AON4 10000mAh External Battery Pack with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (ICS 4.0.4) and iPad Mini.

I received this power bank from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. One of the benefits of being requested to test different power banks is that it gives me an opportunity to compare them to each other using the same charging test, so I can compare them using "apples to apples" comparison. This set of tests allows me to provide unbiased results as the numbers speak for the performance of each unit. They can also help to do comparison shopping when selecting a power pack that works best your device.

My methodology is to charge each mobile device on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charged in that 10 minute period. Each line in the table below represents a separate 10 minute test.

I use Battery App by Elvison to determine how each device recognized the charging source. 'AC' status means the charging is at full charging rate. 'USB' status indicates charging at a lower charging rate. 'Discharging' status means that the charging rate is below the power that the device is consuming so it slows down the discharge rate but does not re-charge.

➨ Key finding:
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✔ I found that this power pack worked much better with my Samsung Galaxy tablet than it did with iPad Mini.
✔ If your laptop takes a large power plug (3/8") there is no tip to fit it.

➨ General features:
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Bolse® AON4 10000mAh external battery weighs 10.9 oz. Its size is 3" x 4.875" 0.875". It has two ports labelled Out S and Out I.

The external battery comes with 6 connector tips for laptops, and 10 connectors for mobile devices. Neither my iPad Mini nor Samsung Galaxy had a connector that fit and I use my own charging cords.
None of the laptop tips fit either of our two laptops, which require a larger diameter plug (3/8"). So I was not able to test how this external battery works with them. Note that I have tested other external battery packs aimed at laptops that did include the large tip, for example Intocircuit® Power Castle Intocircuit® Power Castle Series.

The package also includes a 7" coiled charging cable, which can be stretched up to 18 inches. The charging cable for laptops is 28 inches. The package also include AC wall charger which has a cord that measures 51 inches. AC adapter has both UL and EC seals (means it passed both US and European certification). It is rated for inputs 100-240V which means it could be used when you travel abroad.

It comes with a nice nylon carrying pouch, which fits the battery and tips. However it does not fit the AC adapter. It would be nice if everything could be kept together in one carrying bag.

The unit has a switch for 9V and 12V, this switch has no effect on charging tablets as the tablet regulates how much power it needs. I tested with the switch in both positions to verify and compare.

This power pack looks good - slick black package with pretty blue LEDs indicating the charge level of the external battery. I am attaching a photo of the Bolse pack during one of the test next to my tablet for size reference. You can find this photo by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo in this listing.

➨ Test Results:
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✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet, switch on 12V
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Out I ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Out S ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet, switch on 9V
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Out I ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Out S ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet, switch on 12V
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Out I ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Out S ~~ AC ~~~~~ 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet, switch on 9V
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Out I ~~ AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
Out S ~~ AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 and iPad Mini at the same time, switch on 9V
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Out I ~~ AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)
Out S ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy 7.7)

➨ Key finding:
======================
✔ This power pack performed above average for Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and below average for iPadMini.
✔ If your laptop takes a large power plug (3/8") there is no tip to fit it.

My Samsung tablet is my workhorse tablet, so I rank this tablet 5 star for the Galaxy tablet on both ports. The iPadMini did not do as well on either of the ports. So if you are looking for a power battery pack for iPadMini and speed of charging is important to you you might want to look at Bolse® AON2 (ASIN B00CXAD9WG), which showed 5%-6% charge for iPadMini in a 10 minutes test.

Ali Julia review This power pack performed above average for Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and below average for iPadMini.

My Samsung tablet is my workhorse tablet, so I rank this tablet 5 star for the Galaxy tablet on both ports. The iPadMini did not do as well on either of the ports. I am docking 1 star for iPadMini performance and lack of a large laptop tip. If you are looking for a power battery pack for iPadMini and speed of charging is important to you might want to look at Bolse® AON2 (ASIN B00D8LOAEA), which showed 5%-6% charge for iPadMini in a 10 minutes test.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆