Product review: amzdeal gimall Dual-port Portable High Capacity External Battery Charger Backup Power Bank

This external battery pack has 2 charging ports (1A and 2A) and 10000 mHat capacity. It has a nice black matt non-smudge finish and comes with a 9 inch charging cable. The battery itself is 5" long, 2.75" wide, and 0.625" thick. The battery together with the AC plug weigh 7.8 oz. 4 small LED lights indicate the charge level.

I tested GiMaill external battery pack with Samsung Nexus phone and Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet. For testing Galaxy tab I used my own charging cable (the package does not include any adapters).

I own a number of external batteries and to compare them I run the same set on tests on each of them, so they can be compared to each other using "apples to apples" comparison. This set of tests allows me to provide unbiased comparisons between different external batteries because I can compare based on numeric results of the tests. For those who are interested in the details of the test I include at the end of this review. For those who are interested in the bottom line this battery performed respectfully, falling in the middle of the pack.

★ How I tested this battery pack
==================================

I use a USB current monitor and a charging test to test each port. The current monitor shows the voltage and the current flowing between the battery and the device.

The amount of energy transferred from the charger to the device is calculated by multiplying voltage and current. Most of the chargers are 5V devices and most devices show the voltage very close to 5V. The interesting number is the current as it varies from unit to unit and from port to port.

The current varies based on what the device requires and what battery provides. This communication happens using different protocols depending on OS. Newer Android OS versions have adapted their protocols to get better performance from ports aimed at Apple devices. An addition variable for Android devices is whether a data cable or charging cable is used to charge the device. The charging cables short the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection, and thus accept the higher current of the charging source.

The 10 minutes test consists of charging each mobile device on each port of the battery pack for 10 minutes and measure how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. 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.

★ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
1A port ~~ AC charging rate ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes
1A port ~~ current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.92A and 4.98V

2A port ~~ AC charging rate ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes
2A port ~~ current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.00A and 5.09V

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet
--------------------------
1A port ~~ AC charging rate ----- 5% change in charge in 10 minutes
1A port ~~ current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.38A and 5.00V

2A port ~~ AC charging rate ----- 5% change in charge in 10 minutes
2A port ~~ current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.41A and 4.99V

★ Summary
------------------
It does not have many extras (no flashlight, no travel pouch, no adapters) but it has a nice capacity and performed respectfully falling the middle of the pack. Enclosed user manual was entirely in Chinese, but the external pack was straightforward to use and I did not need the manual.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: iKross 4-in-1 Universal Windshield / Dashboard / Sun Visor / Air Vent Car Mount

In the market place where there are so many car mounts that are very similar to each other 4-in-1 iKross car mount really stands out. In addition to the windshield and dash mount iKross 4-in-1 also includes a mount that attaches to the car's vent and the car's visor.

The phone holder is universal, it opens from 1.6" to 4.1" wide and the arms extend 1.125". My Nexus phone has an extended battery which makes it much fatter than a typical smart phone. However this holder holds my big girl very securely.

★ The windshield mount held securely and the 4" arm brings the phone to a nice distance to the driver. 360 degree swivel ball joint allows full freedom of positioning.
★ The dash mount works with a disk that needs to be permanently adhered to the dash. The gel pad can be washed for longer life.
★ The mount that I was most interested was the vent mount. We use windshield mounted Nexus 7 for navigation, however occasionally we also need to refer to information on the phone and I typically have to hold it in my hands. A vent mount allows us to have both devices mounted in way that is convenient for the driver to see. The vent mount hold very well, but it took a bit of experimenting to wind a quick and easy way to mount it on the vent. I fount that the easiest way to mount it was to dissemble it and to mount the arms into the vent first (see video), then add the plate, and then attach the phone mount. The mount works on horizontal air louvre vents.
★ The visor clip put the phone an an awkward position for using during driving. I had to take my eyes off the road quite a bit and it did not feel like a good option to navigation. However, it was a pretty nice option if you wanted to use your phone as a music player that you did not have to look at.

Overall, I thought it was a nice package that gave us some unique options.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Liger High Output 3 Port USB Car Charger 3.1a (15w)

Liger car charger did something I have never seen in any other charger: when I inserted it into the car's electrical socket for the first time it retracted its center contact (my husband described it as "a frightened turtle"). With the center contact retracted it did not make contact with the car's electrical system and I could not get any power to the charger. My husband managed to get the contact tip out with a pen, but it happened again as soon as I inserted into the socket for the second time. I was not able to use it even once.

I received a sample charger from the manufacturer for testing and review. Getting a sample does not influence what I say, the review is purely based on how the product worked.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: iXCC ® Quad USB 30W 6.2A AC Charging Station 4 Port High Speed Charger

Product review: iXCC ® Jumbo Defender 8-Pin Lightening Cable

iXCC Jumbo Defender Data Sync & Charging Cable is a cheaper alternative to Apple lightning cable. The cable is 38" long. To see how it measures up to the original Apple cable I ran the same charging test on Apple lightning cable that came with my iPad Mini and iXCC Cable.

Why run these tests? To make sure the cable is not faulty and delivers as advertised. I have tested several generic lightning cables and some charged my iPad Mini slower that the Apple OEM cable. However, this cable delivered on par with the original Apple charging cable.

My methodology is to charge iPad Mini for 10 minutes using each of the cables and measuring how much iPad Mini got charged in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. I ran each test twice on each cable to make sure there are no variations between the two charging cycles. In addition I measure the current with current meter. For those who are interested in the details of the test I am including the results below.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Apple Lightning Cable to USB plug cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10 minutes ~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.66A and 5.05V

✔ iXCC Jumbo Defender Cable to USB plug cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10 minutes ~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.63A and 5.10V

The iXCC Jumbo Defender Cable performed as well as the original Apple Cable in my tests.

I received this cable from the manufacturer for testing and review (positive or negative). In my test I was able to compare two cables in "apples to apples" (no pun!) comparison, and they performed the same. Based on the results of the test I rate this cable as a 5 star product.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: OXA Qi Wireless Charger

This is my third wireless charger and my favorite thus far. In addition to excellent charging speed it has one other key design feature. This charger has a rubberised ring in the center which creates a bit of extra friction especially if you have a rubberised skin on the phone. My first two chargers have a smooth finish which turned out to be an important difference. A smooth finish makes it easy to knock of the phone from the charger, especially if you have a pet or a child who  might unintentionally do it without you noticing. 

OXA wireless charger is 5.125" by 3.375" and 0.625" thick. It weighs 7.2 oz.

This charger is not only a wireless charger but a 70000mAh external power pack. In addition to wireless charging it is capable of charging another device via a mini USB cable. The package includes two micro USB to USB cables: one is 55" and the other is 10.5".

WIRELESS
~~~~~~~~~
I ran several test to see how fast this wireless charger is charging the phone. I included the details of these test below for those who are interested, but to summarize the test I can say that this charger has a excellent  performance.

In addition to excellent performance there are several things I really like about the design of this charger:
1. It is an external power pack in addition to being a charger
2. It uses a generic USB to micro USB charging cable not a proprietary charging cable.
3. Its shape matches the shape of the phone, so it is easy to place it right on the sweet spot on the wireless charger
4. It has a rubberised ring in the middle of the charging sweet spot, which creates nice friction with the phone
This charger provides the best friction with the phone among the three chargers I own. Ideally, I would like the charger to be shaped as a tray with raised edges so it would be impossible to push the phone off the charger.

The minor weak point of the charger is the light that indicates that wireless charging is on.  This LED is fairly dim and it is hard to see whether it when the light is bright in the room.

WIRED
~~~~~~~~~
In addition to being a wireless charger, this battery can also be used to charge a wired mobile device from a USB port.  The USB port does not charge if the charger itself being charged. Note that wireless charging works both when the external battery itself is charging and when the battery is not connected to AC.

I tested charging Nexus 5 wireless and Nexus 7 via the charging port at the same time. I tried both a data cable (charging at USB rate) and a charging cable (charging at AC rate). When the second device was charged using a data cable it charged but charging was fairly slow, while wireless charging was superb.  When the second device was charged using a charging cable the charger could not charge both devices, the unit shut down. Charging only once device with a charging wire worked well, the device was charged at a good speed (average compared to other external batteries).

How I tested the wireless charger:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tested the charger with a current monitor to see what current it is drawing. I also did a 10 minute charging test which I run on all chargers I test to compare how much the phone was charged in 10 minutes. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level.

✔ Wireless Charger (phone not charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.01A (i.e. not drawing any current)

✔ Wireless Charger plugged into AC (Nexus 5 phone charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.07A and 5.15V

✔ Wireless Charger NOT plugged into AC (Nexus 5 phone charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Wireless (Nexus 5 phone) and Wired (Nexus 7 tablet)  using a data cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wireless 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
Wired    2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Wireless (Nexus 5 phone) and Wired (Nexus 7 tablet)  using a charging cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wireless - unit shut down, power demand too high
Wired    - unit shut down, power demand too high

✔ Wired (Nexus 7 tablet) by itself using a data cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wired    2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔  Wired (Nexus 7 tablet) by itslef using a charging cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wired    5% change in charge in 10 minutes

Overall, this an excellent wireless charger.  It is now my favorite of the three I own.  Not only does it give me superb wireless charging, I can also charge another device at the same time via a micro USB cable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

How its Made Waxations Candles

 I own one of these, it is neat to see how they are made!