Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATED REVIEW: Anker 2nd Gen Astro E4 13000mAh Battery Anker sent me the 2nd Gen Astro E4 battery to review as the original review was getting a bit dated. In summary, the 2nd Gen Astro E4 definitely improved on a few items that were problematic with original version. Even if you are not upgrading from the 1st Gen, I believe the improvements are still worth considering compared to other batteries on the market. Improvements compared to 1st Gen Astro E4: - Slimmer (But Longer) Body: While the 1st Gen Astro E4 was wide and shaped like a portable hard-drive, the 2nd Gen version is shaped like a flat glasses case (or a fancy pen case). This shape is much easier to slip into a front/rear pants pocket (albeit a loose fitting pair of pants). Both version weigh about the same. - Increased Efficiency to 86% (11200mAh Actual): As stated in the original review, no batteries ever hit their capacity but this one came fairly close. This updated version hit 11200mAh while the original version only reached 9200mAh. I was able to charge my Nexus 5 phone fully about 5 times or my Nexus 7 tablet about 3 times. This will be my go-to battery for extended trips away from an outlet. For those of you using Apple's latest iPad Air, this will charge it fully about 1.2 times. - 3A Maximum Output: With the new PowerIQ technology, either of the two USB ports can now charge to a total maximum of 3A. There is no longer a need to remember which port is the higher output port. Anker also increased the maximum to 3A for newer devices that support this amperage, which is a nice upgrade from the 2A of the 1st Gen. - Flat Side Activate Button: The activate button for the battery is now on the side of the unit and flat against the body; this allows the battery to be turned on easily without accidentally switching on the flashlight mode; the old placement was very susceptible to this issue. - White LED Flashlight: The 1st Gen Astro E4's flashlight was quite purple/blue; I'm happy to report that this has now been fixed. The white LED flashlight is quite a useful feature! - No More Adapters: The 2nd Gen simply comes with one MicroUSB cable instead of an adapter cable with multiple heads. I hated the adapters heads as they kept falling off and getting lost. This actually decreased the functionality of the cable, but it is an improvement in my book. At least now I have an extra MicroUSB cable instead of a bag of useless adapters. Compared to my original review, the only negative aspect of the new Astro E4 battery is that it still doesn't come with a USB-AC adapter; be prepared to bring your own. The 2nd Gen E4 still has auto-on/off for maximum battery usage and the four blue LED power indicator. All in all, a great high-capacity portable battery and a great update from Anker. ----------------------------------- ORIGINAL REVIEW: Anker 1st Gen Astro E4 13000mAh Battery Since Anker gave me this product in exchange for my honest feedback and review, I decided to take the Astro E4 power bank through its paces to see how it performs. I was quite pleased with the results; this is one solid external battery. Details below. The battery came in a nice-looking box along with a carrying pouch and an interchangeable-head USB cable; the cable came with three adapter heads: Micro-USB, Mini-USB, and iPhone/iPad (30-pin). The power bank itself has a smooth, black plastic shells and is quite elegant-looking with its chrome button and silver-colored frame. The unit has 4 bright, blue LED lights that reveals roughly how much battery life is left. The Astro E4 is somewhat heavy, but it is expect of a power bank of this large a capacity; the best way I could describe it is probably holding 2-3 rolls of quarters in your hand (not bad, right?). Due to its size and weight, this external battery is a perfect companion for your day-pack (messenger bag, backpack, purse, etc.) In terms of real-life performance, I ran tests using an iPad 2 and a Google LG Nexus 4, on multiple charge cycles. After charging the power bank to its fullest, I was able to get around 9200 mAh out of the the unit, which is around 71% of the stated capacity. Almost all external batteries perform below stated capacity, and some by a lot, so getting this amount of juice out of the Astro E4 is pretty decent. It is important to note that the charging devices were left on and drawing power for Wifi and cell signal; the actual capacity is probably even higher. To wrap up, here are my pros and cons: PROS: - Great design: nice size, weight, look, and feel - Large capacity: this thing will charge a powerful tablet once and a cellphone multiple times - Dual USB ports: can charge two devices at once - 2A output: one of the USB port outputs 2A which comes in really handy as most tablets and now some phones require this to get max charge speed - LED flashlight: energy-efficient LED flashlight allows the battery to double-duty as a flashlight, even when there very little charge left - One-button simplicity: seriously easy to figure out with only one button to push for turning on and charging - Auto-off: unit shuts off automatically after timed duration when it senses that there is nothing drawing power CONS: - Adapter heads: interchangeable adapter heads tend to get lost after a while, making the included USB cable useless - BYOACC: Bring-Your-Own-A/C-Adapter may cause frustration for some as one is not included - Misleading LED indicator: even on very low battery level, the unit will still show one light; showing none would be better - Purple hue to flashlight: this might be just my unit, but the flashlight has a heavy purple/blue hue to it and not as white (or bright) as expected Final verdict is a 4-star from me, which means if you're in the market for a powerful battery back, buy this thing as you probably will be hard pressed to find a better one with this quality/price balance. I reserve 5-stars for products that is perfect in my book and I love using. This one is nearly there but did leave me with some slight frustration at the misleading charging indicator, the missing A/C adapter, and the dimmer purple flashlight.