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External portable chargers
- Thread starter lion2
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- htc evo 4g lte
NicksGarage
Android Enthusiast
I used an 8000 mah Energizer one. Plus I have a couple smaller Duracell ones I got cheap on Woot.com. The nice thing about getting one of these versus an extra phone battery is one, you don't have to reboot your phone. Two, you can use these for anything else that uses USB to charge. For instance I use this to charge my bluetooth headset and also to charge my tablet. This one is big enough that it will even run my laptop. It comes with a lot of connections and cables.
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Sauske
Android Enthusiast
Wow...what is that a generator! lol! I have that motorola pack for size related purposes, and what the size of that incredible hulk? How long would you say it take to charge your phone!?
NicksGarage
Android Enthusiast
Here's a picture of it next to my EVO. It's about twice as thick as a naked EVO. If I need to use it while using the phone I just put it in my pocket and plug in the USB cable. Or put it in my backpack. Just depends on what I'm doing. I don't rememember how long it takes to charge the phone from dead as I usually don't let it get dead but it will charge the phone at least 3 times.
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Does anyone have any input on the charging speeds of these batteries?
Not all a/c chargers are made equal and some support higher currents (aka much faster charging) than others. Currently my Evo 3D is most happy at 1.5 A or 2 A chargers -- does anyone know what the current draw limits/specs are for these batteries?
Not all a/c chargers are made equal and some support higher currents (aka much faster charging) than others. Currently my Evo 3D is most happy at 1.5 A or 2 A chargers -- does anyone know what the current draw limits/specs are for these batteries?
NicksGarage
Android Enthusiast
On the back of my Energizer 8000 it says the output for the USB is 1000mA.
With my OG EVO I've used it while using GPS navigation with the screen on and it was able to charge faster than the phone depleted. With my EVO View tablet it can't keep up with the device just using apps or the browser. Definitely slows down the discharge rate but even a regular USB cable connected to a computer won't do any better.
I'm surprised that a 3D can draw more than an amp. I don't think that I knew that.
NaterTots
Android Enthusiast
I found one on eBay lats year that is 5000 Maahs I think. Its not very big. It fits in my pocket easile and came with a bunch of different plug ends.
I don't use it very often but with the evolte I think it will come in handy. With the loss figured in it would probably come close to charging the phone twice. Between that and a car charger I'm not worried about it.
Nater
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
I don't use it very often but with the evolte I think it will come in handy. With the loss figured in it would probably come close to charging the phone twice. Between that and a car charger I'm not worried about it.
Nater
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
I'll have to post the battery charge curves of my Evo 3D on different sources some time. There's most definitely a measurable difference in the slopes. Strangely, I've observed that the fastest charging doesn't come from the 2 A rated charger (from the Palm Pre, it needed a higher current charger to overcome some of the inefficiencies of the inductive charging), but a 1.something rated charger (from my old Moto WinMo 6.1 Q9C, that outputs to MiniUSB but I have rigged to a MicroUSB adapter).
novox77
Leeeroy Jennnkinnns!
I thought I read a long time ago that the phone limits the draw to 1.5A. If the charger can deliver more than 1A, the phone is in A/C charging mode, denoted by the OS.
When plugged into a USB port, which delivers 500mA max, the OS denotes it as USB charging mode. Any charger rated for under 1A will also show in the OS as USB charging mode, even if the charger is plugged into a wall socket.
The phone limits the max rate of charge for safety reasons. The higher the amperage, the faster the battery can potentially charge. The side effect is the temp of the battery gets higher. Li-Ion does not do very well at high temps. It can cause plating, which means your max capacity diminishes. Worst case, you get thermal runaway, which leads to an explosion.
Standard Li-ion charging best practice is 'easy does it.' You can extend the life of the battery by charging slowly, not keeping it fully charged for long periods, and keeping the temperature down. A lot of this is irrelevant to cell phones, since we tend to replace them before we notice the damage to the battery. But for laptop battery maintenance, this stuff is really important.
novox77
Leeeroy Jennnkinnns!
Also, the phone draws the current from the charger. The charger can't force current into the phone. Meaning, if you have a theoretical 5A charger, if the phone is only designed to draw 1.5A, you charge at 1.5A.
So why get a 2A charger? If it supports multiple phones, each phone can get a full amp. A 1.5A charger with 2 phones charging means each phone only gets 750mA and will therefore charge slower than with the 2A charger.
So why get a 2A charger? If it supports multiple phones, each phone can get a full amp. A 1.5A charger with 2 phones charging means each phone only gets 750mA and will therefore charge slower than with the 2A charger.
CriticalCritic
Android Expert
I bought this dual port 5000mAh 5V external charger a few days ago for $25.95 and free shipping (after using promo code 16IMP50D). One port is 1A, and the other port is 500mAh. It's supposed to be delivered today, I'll keep you all posted.
novox77
Leeeroy Jennnkinnns!
mAh refers to the capacity of the battery. In this case, that product came with an external battery with a 5000mAh capacity.
The charger has two ports: one of them can deliver a full amp of charge (which to the Android OS means fast, A/C mode charging). The other port is a half-amp charge, which is equivalent to the current available from a standard computer USB jack. That naturally charges slower, and Android will indicate USB mode charging.
The charger draws 1.5A from whatever it's plugged into.
At 1A charging current, a 5000mAh (5Ah) battery will take 5 hours to charge under ideal conditions.
The charger has two ports: one of them can deliver a full amp of charge (which to the Android OS means fast, A/C mode charging). The other port is a half-amp charge, which is equivalent to the current available from a standard computer USB jack. That naturally charges slower, and Android will indicate USB mode charging.
The charger draws 1.5A from whatever it's plugged into.
At 1A charging current, a 5000mAh (5Ah) battery will take 5 hours to charge under ideal conditions.
CriticalCritic
Android Expert
Well, it's been charging for about an hour now. Just from first impressions, it's comparable in size to my original evo. It's pretty much the same width, maybe about 33% thicker, but also about a half inch shorter. I'll measure the charger once it comes off the charger 
.
One strange thing though, it didn't come with a converter to plug it into the wall! It came with exactly what is pictured on amazon... which I did not notice was lacking the USB-to-AC converter (luckily I have about 3 HTCs from my Evo, my wife's old Shift, and her current Evo)!
.One strange thing though, it didn't come with a converter to plug it into the wall! It came with exactly what is pictured on amazon... which I did not notice was lacking the USB-to-AC converter (luckily I have about 3 HTCs from my Evo, my wife's old Shift, and her current Evo)!
CriticalCritic
Android Expert
Update:
Preliminary testing of this charger is mixed. It seems to be acting a little funny when I tried to charge my Evo 4G using the included micro-USB cable plugged into the 1A output. My phone was showing that it was charging before I even turned on the charger. But it didn't seem to be really charging. Maybe I didn't accurately record the starting bat%.
So I changed to my HTC cable to connect to the 1A output. Now my phone thinks that it's connected to something less than a 1A output (I know this because Tasker set to change homescreen when connected to a weaker charging current). But it has been steadily charging and is now fully charged (I only started at 89% charge). I'll do some more in depth tests over the next few days.
novox77
Leeeroy Jennnkinnns!
Some 1A or higher chargers have pins in the USB female side that can prevent the device from getting the full current. This is the biggest problem in shopping for chargers.
Side note: my first post ever on these forums was to ask someone if they knew of a high-amp charger that would work with the Evo 4G. Being the noob I was, I posted in the HTC Incredible forums.
Anyway... I bought a 1.5A Belkin charger. It was advertised for the iPhone, but I assumed it would work with my Evo since it's just a USB-A female port. Unfortunately, it's pinned to make the iPhone charge fast, but apparently that pin config could only slow-charge my Evo.
Current on the charger is NOT the only variable to charge rate, unfortunately.
Side note: my first post ever on these forums was to ask someone if they knew of a high-amp charger that would work with the Evo 4G. Being the noob I was, I posted in the HTC Incredible forums.
Anyway... I bought a 1.5A Belkin charger. It was advertised for the iPhone, but I assumed it would work with my Evo since it's just a USB-A female port. Unfortunately, it's pinned to make the iPhone charge fast, but apparently that pin config could only slow-charge my Evo.
Current on the charger is NOT the only variable to charge rate, unfortunately.
drexappeal
Extreme Android User
I've had my kinsington charger since my EVO 2 years ago. Works great.
Rose4uKy
Android Expert
I've been thinking about getting this. I know we don't know about the battery yet but I've been looking at chargers and I found one for 19.99 on Amazon that someone on here posted about and then a friend send me this one and said it will charge faster cause it's 1A and it has a 5200 mah and it's only like 30 bucks.
Amazon.com: PowerGen External Battery Pack 5200mAh High Capacity Power Bank Charger 1A output for Apple iPad 2, iPhone 4 4s 3Gs 3G, iPod Touch / Samsung Galaxy S S2 S II, Galaxy Nexus, Epic 4G / Blackberry Torch Bold Curve / HTC Sensation 4G, XE, XL,
Amazon.com: PowerGen External Battery Pack 5200mAh High Capacity Power Bank Charger 1A output for Apple iPad 2, iPhone 4 4s 3Gs 3G, iPod Touch / Samsung Galaxy S S2 S II, Galaxy Nexus, Epic 4G / Blackberry Torch Bold Curve / HTC Sensation 4G, XE, XL,
looks like a good emergency pack.
ive been reading the comments on the pack and the company who produces this gadget was responding to questions.
here is an excerpt from the company on the charging capacity of the pack:
ive been reading the comments on the pack and the company who produces this gadget was responding to questions.
here is an excerpt from the company on the charging capacity of the pack:
overkill but it can charge my PS Vita, bt phones also. its 3 usb ports, one port offering up to 2.2 mah.
couragedragon
Newbie
There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to batteries! A couple more of those bad boys and we'll be able to go..... BACK TO THE FUTURE without lightening.
p.s. You left out a zero in your post title. I was very underwhelmed at first
Rose4uKy
Android Expert
I was on Amazon looking at the one I posted above and at the bottom it said you may be interested in one of these and it showed 8400 one's. I was looking at 5200 I think or 5600. Now I don't know which to get. I do know I need 1A and I'm willing to spend thirty forty bucks. One guys review said he had one by a company new Trent also that was great. The few I've looked out all had good reviews.