Sorry about this, I have to gush over this flashlight. Oh no, I mean lithium ion battery device charger. This Kinivo battery is just too darn cool.There are so many rechargeable lithium ion batteries designed to charge up a USB device. They all seem to use about the same batteries, and all have similar capacity. The differences between them are the little things. How is the battery charged? What kind of outputs does it have? What is the case made out of? The shape of the case? Does it have to be turned on to start charging a device? Will it charge an iPad or other high amperage device? And what other goodies did the manufacturer pack with the battery?
Well Kinivo did something special with this battery. They used a nice standard 5200 mAh battery that will charge an iPhone several times and fully charge an iPad once. Super nice capacity. The port they chose for charging, I can tolerate, but don't like too much a micro USB connector. The great news, the battery can be charged with any USB port or AC adapter (you probably have a few laying around, like that tiny iPhone charger). You probably also have a spare micro USB cable lying around (if you don't, no matter the battery comes with one). The bad news, I hate this plug, it is fiddly to use and can be broken by forcing the plug upside down (pretty easy to get the orientation mixed up).
The charging port is on the rear of the battery. Next to it is a tethered black plastic cap that covers the USB port. Nice standard USB port, any USB cable can be plugged into this, the iPhone 5 adapter, the iPhone 30 pin connector, a USB mini or micro adapter, or even a Nokia or Samsung USB to minijack adapter.
The battery starts charging the moment it is plugged into the device. That is outstanding; a lot of batteries require a button press to start charging the device. This charges at the high rate, it tells the device high amperage is available and will charge devices at their fastest speed possible. There are five blue LED's to indicate the fullness of the battery charge. A fully flat iPhone 4 took two lights to charge to 100%.
Where this battery turns into something special is the case and the flashlight. The case is a nice firm rubbery material with ridges. It feels solid in my hand, I know it is there and won't drop it. It is a nearly perfect size, the right length and width each tube is about the size of two thick AA batteries. I like that it is two tubes bonded together, that means it fits in my pocket nicely and it won't roll away.
That flashlight is so darn nice. It is bright, like a flashlight should be. The first press of the power button on the battery turns on the blue LED battery level lights. The second press turns on the flashlight. A third press switches the flashlight to a flashing light. And a fourth turns the flashlight off. Because the lights are LED, using this as a flashlight won't run the batteries down.
Well yes I gushed over this thing. I've tried out a lot of rechargeable batteries. Some are very nice, some are silly. This one is at the top of the heap. And the even better deal, this is only $20. That isn't really all that far from the cost of a nice flashlight. Really well designed battery.
Inside the box is the battery, a nicely Velcro wrapped USB cable, and a velvet pouch (not necessary for this device, but fun to carry around my marbles).
I was provided a review sample.
The flashlight is super bright!
The battery charged my ipad over 50% one night. Other than that I've used it to charge my phone when it was going dead. It charged very quickly
This is a must have camping, or sustainability item!I purchased this product for my friend (lawyer) in Panama. But tested myself before on my my S3. It is excellent product and a real face savior. I don't need to give a embarrassing excuses "sorry my cell was discharged". Now I am buying it for myself too.Works great, so i can charge my phone is my pocket.
Perfect since i like using Pandora and Bluetooth headphones which tend to eat the battery in a few hours.I bought this battery because I have to spend long stretches of time away from any kind of outlet or my car because of my job, and I was expecting to maybe eke out an extra hour or two at the end of the day. (which is when my phone normally dies off and when I need it most.) I also was sure the flashlight would be somewhat gimmicky.
I couldn't have been more wrong. On a full charge this thing will completely refill my phone more than twice over. And the flashlight is very bright and doesn't seem to drain the power noticeably. In addition the product has a nice and solid feel to it. I am going to buy another to stress test it, but I feel I could bash it around without impairing functionality.
I recommend it for anyone who has to work away from an office, military, campers, and people who just like gadgets. At 19.99 how could you go wrong?
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