Monday, September 11, 2017

Hands on: RavPower AC Power Bank Charger 27,000mAh review

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Think about a battery charger and what usually comes to mind is a cheap plastic box with a USB port that charges your phone. The RAVPOWER EXTERNAL BATTERY (model number RP-PB055) couldn’t be further from that stereotype.
For starters, this charger comes with an AC outlet, one that can support devices rated at up to 100W, which is enough to power a 55-inch television, not to mention most laptops and even some desktop PCs.
And although it is not as powerful as say the MaxOak K2 (with its massive 50,000mAh capacity), this effort has some useful features that make it worth considering, especially if you’re after a charging companion to take on frequent trips abroad.

This PowerStation series 27,000mAh charger comes in a stylish semi-rigid casing that holds, other than the battery charger, two microUSB cables, a user guide, a travel pouch, travel adaptor and a power adaptor.
The latter offers a modicum of flexibility (it is fully reversible) but also hides the power LED that indicates whether the socket is active – ouch! Why RavPower didn’t simply integrate the universal power adaptor in the first place boggles the mind.

The Power Bank feels like a hardcover book you’d slip in your handbag. It’s about the size of an A5 notepad but with a thickness of nearly 40mm and a weight approaching 870g (exceeding 1kg once you add the accessories).
RavPower has used an anthracite rubber finish with eight status LEDs and the company’s insignia on top. Cooling air vents and the power input are on one side, and on the other side there’s a Type-C output, two USB ports, a power button and the AC outlet behind a flap.
An LCD screen might have been useful in order to get a more granular reading of remaining battery capacity, and a couple of extra ports certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss (as well as high-capacity output USB Type-C ports for compatible laptops or tablets).

The battery is rated at 27,000mAh/99.9Whr with the AC output delivering a maximum of 100W, but rated at a more sustainable 85W. The two USB ports can deliver 12W each (5V, 2.4A) while the Type-C connector hits 15W (5V, 3A).
The ports use RavPower’s proprietary iSmart technology which detects and delivers the power needed for any connected devices minimising the risk of overcharging. With the capacity here, you will be able to charge your Galaxy S8 or your iPhone 7 between seven times (for the former) and almost a dozen times (for the latter).
However, it’s a shame that there’s no cable for the latter out of the box, although this Power Bank does automatically charge any supported device once connected. The charger will automatically turn off when not in use, and you turn it on by pressing on the power button for three seconds or more.
It’s good to note that 99.9Whr is below the 100Wh threshold imposed by most airlines for batteries – you won’t be able to put the RavPower charger in your checked luggage, only in your hand luggage.