Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

(Updated for the 2nd gen, 2014 model) Frankly, I wouldn't have thought to buy this for myself. I would have thought, "I can manage... I HAVE managed without this portable power plant of a battery so far..." And I have, for years, managed. But I received the E4 as a review unit (see disclosure below), and just threw it in my bag with my things when I went out. And once you realize you've got such in incredible reservoir of power everywhere with you, well, let's just say your daily behavior that was previously subconscious to you... changes. THE "SO WHAT": If you feel you're making too many compromises for the sake of battery life (airplane mode, lowering the brightness, etc.), get yourself an external battery. Throw it in your bag, and forget about finding outlets in public spaces anymore. Even if that doesn't happen for you often, it's perfect to take along on trips (use it for rechargeable camera batteries!), to the airport... you get the idea. LOOKS - Glossy black finish, with glossy charcoal for the front and back - Sturdy/solid (read: not flimsy-feeling, almost seamless) plastic enclosure. - Great propotions; fits in the hand well and the narrow shape tucks in bags well. - Comes with a nylon mesh drawstring pouch that fits it perfectly. ==BENEFITS== No need for outlets or long cables. I think what surprised me the most was that I was finding it useful where I never would have guessed, because it never would have dawned on me. For example, I wanted to show my friend some videos on my iPad at his place, while we wait for another friend to arrive. But my iPad didn't have much juice left, so we could ordinarily only watch it where there was an outlet, and even then I'd need to be sure I had an extra-long cable so we could sit comfortably. Since I brought this wonder along, we took it outside, put it on a table with the iPad, and cranked up the brightness. No problem. Charge while on the move. If you're thinking that this battery is too big to be holding with your iPhone, consider just leaving it in your bag, and thinking of it like an outlet in your bag. So if you're on the move, just have a cable running out your bag to your device while you're using it, or have both put away. Charge... Intelligently. Anker's got this tech called POWER IQ, so your charging time for your devices is as fast as can be because it knows what it's charging. Check this out for more info: http://www.ianker.com/poweriq/poweriq.html Charge it once and you're good for days And last but not least, because of the massive battery capacity this E4 has, I don't have to "baby" it, making sure it's full before every outing. Even at half, its far more than enough for my iPhone, and will hold me through a few hours of video on my iPad. Charging with an iPad charger, for example, should take 6-7 hours. =============== Charging the E4 If you don't have one, invest in a "2 Amp" or "2.1 Amp" USB wall charger. Chargers supplied with cell phones are often 1 Amp, while tablets like the iPad come with a charger that's at least 2 Amps. Think of amps like rate-of-flow for electricity; the more amps, the more juice travels in a given time. Because of the E4's immense battery capacity, you'll want to charge it as fast as possible, because otherwise it won't even be done overnight. Hooking it up to a computer will take FOREVER, so I don't advise doing that. TIP: Combined output of the two ports is 3 Amps, meaning you can charge a smartphone and a tablet at the same time at about full speed. ALTERNATIVES BY ANKER If you're looking for something smaller, I'm a big fan of the Anker 2nd Gen Astro mini External Battery with PowerIQ Technology- Silver, though the compactness comes at the loss of a lot of battery capacity. Still, it's great as a "peace-of-mind" tagalong. Full disclosure: Anker gave me this product for in exchange for my honest, unbiased feedback.