Tech Review - CD-R King 5000 mAh Mobile Powerbank

In our increasingly mobile age, mobile power is a must. We are increasingly dependent on mobile devices: tablet PC's, notebook computers, music players, mobile phones, & c. But these devices are only as good as their battery charge. And once a battery's power is exhausted, what you have is no longer a high-tech gadget, but rather a grossly expensive paperweight.

Photo courtesy of Cd-R King.

I have tried experimenting with portable battery chargers: One of those I bought is powered by two AA batteries. The unit itself was the size of a large cigarette lighter; and, needless to say, "batteries not included". So I bought a set of expensive lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. However, two penlight batteries are unable to meet the power requirements even of a mobile phone. Another one that I bought was a solar-powered charger. After 24 hours of charging, it can fully charge a mobile phone (a Nokia 3310). However this charger needs to store power in an internal battery (I opened it out of curiosity). If the battery is out of juice it cannot recharge a device while it is charging under the sun.

To be able to use my power-hungry mobile devices (thanks to wireless Internet, large TFT screens, and mobile applications), on the go, I had to buy a mobile power bank. There was even an instance when I was using my tablet in class when the batteries conked out: What an embarrassing situation. And the solution happened upon me with CD-R King's Mobile Powerbank (PWB-023-GHI).

Specifications: (from the box)

With LED Flashlight

Input Voltage: 5.0 V / 1 A

Output Voltage: DC 5 V / 1.8 A

USB interface charger

Power Capacity: 5000 mAh

Supports: mobile phones, iPad, iPhone, iPod, and other USB supported device

Dimensions: 75 x 58 x 21 mm

The first thing I noticed about the Mobile Power Bank is its power capacity: a whooping 5000 mAh (milliampere-hours). For the uninitiated, the ampere is a unit to measure current, i.e., how much electricity flows through a given point. (By the way, the Tagalog word for "electricity", kuryente, comes from the Spanish word for current, corriente, instead of the word for electricity, electricidad.) For batteries (and capacitors), milliampere-hours are used for measuring capacity, i.e., how much electricity something can carry (as opposed to "voltage", which measures the strength of an electrical charge). Five thousand mAh could easily meet the power needs of my mobile devices: I have a couple of phones in the 1000+ mAh range and a tablet PC in the 3000+ mAh range. This means I could probably recharge my tablet PC and have enough power left to for at least one of my mobile phones.

Four LED indicator lights show how much juice the Powerbank has.

Another thing that I noticed was its size. CD-R King has another mobile power bank which is slimmer, similar to the size of an iPhone; but that was rated at only 4000 mAh. So, for a few more bucks, I opted for one with the higher capacity. The one with 5000 mAh was the about the size of a cigarette pack. 

Another thing I noticed was that it also has a LED bulb that turns the power bank into a flashlight. I tried testing it while walking home in our dark school campus. The bulb wasn't very bright; but with a battery with 5000 mAh, I wondered how many hours (days?) a single charge would last.

The Powerbank is recharged via USB charger through a mini B USB cable (included in the package). The USB charger was not included in the package. Fortunately, I had one lying around (also from CD-R King) rated at 1000 mA. It takes an overnight charge to charge the Powerbank's batteries to full.

The output is via a standard female USB outlet. The package only includes a micro B USB cable; unlike the other power banks that includes a cable with interchangeable pins. A device that uses any USB charging/data cable can be used with the Mobile Powerbank.

The first test of my Mobile Powerbank is when during my bus ride home from work. I used it to supply power to my Da Peng T2000. The Powerbank was able to provide power to my phone while I was surfing the Internet during my one hour commute. When I got home, it was able to fully charge the phone's batteries in about four hours.

Another test of the Powerbank's capacity is when I charge two 1000+ mAh mobile phones, one after the other. It was able to fully charge the phones with plenty of power to spare.

The ultimate test of the Powerbank is to charge my tablet PC (tech review coming soon), whose batteries are rated at 3000+ mAh. I went to Burger King, my favorite hangout for several reasons: the Whooper, large fries, large drink, and free ice cream sundae, and for the free WiFi. I have been using my tablet for the whole day. I began with 12% battery power, which would normally last maybe half an hour. But plugged into the Powerbank, the tablet was able to last up to two hours! It was not able to charge the tablet whilst in use probably because it uses as much (or more) power at the rate that the Powerbank gives.

Overall, I find this product very good. I keep it in a leather pouch in my bag so that when any of mobile devices run low on batteries, I’d just plug it into the Mobile Powerbank and I’m off and running again.