Over the past few years, phones have gone from a luxury item that a few could afford to the most used devices in existence. In fact, it’s hard to find someone that doesn’t use or own a mobile phone, regardless of country or region. However, even though phones have a lot of benefits and features that help us, they also have one big drawback — their short battery life. And while taking a charger with us can be a solution, we can rarely find a wall plug when we need it the most.
Luckily, power banks seem to be the solution for those on the go whose phone’s batteries have a hard time keeping up. As a result, branded power banks are perfect promotional materials, mainly for giveaways and contests. So, let’s take a closer look and learn more about power banks and what makes them special.
What Is a Power Bank?
Power banks are portable batteries designed to recharge electronic gadgets when you are unable to use a wall charger. From mobile phones and tablets to laptops and gaming consoles, power banks are capable of charging all sorts of devices. As a matter of fact, as long as your device has a USB or similar port, you can find a power bank capable of charging it. And while they might look simple at first glance, power banks have extremely complex technologies built-in.
How Can I Charge a Power Bank?
Whenever you purchase a power bank, it will come uncharged, meaning that you will have to charge it before usage. So, how can you do it? To put it simply, most power banks come with a USB cable that you can use to charge them. You can connect the power bank directly to your computer or laptop or you can use a USB wall charger.
How Fast Do Power Banks Charge?
How fast your power bank will charge depends on its capacity and the charging method that you use. A higher capacity power bank will take much longer to charge compared to one of a lesser capacity. Similarly, using a USB wall charger usually results in quicker charging than plugging the power bank into your computer.
How Much Power do Power Banks Have?
Generally speaking, mAh stands for milliAmpere-hour and is a unit of electric charge, equal to the charge transferred by a current of one Ampere flowing for an hour. Why is that important? Because all power banks use mAh as a unit of measurement in order to express their electrical capacity.
Even though the whole concept might sound complicated, it is easier to understand when put into perspective. Simply put, you can determine a power bank’s capacity by hooking it up to supply a 1000 mAh discharge and seeing how long it takes to deplete it. If it lasts for seven and half hours, you have a 7500mAh battery. In contrast, if it depletes in one hour, your power bank has a 1000mAh capacity.
As mentioned earlier, power banks with higher capacity will charge for a longer time compared to one with a lesser capacity. For example, a Congress High Density Power Bank – 10,000mAh will take much longer to charge than a Span Power Bank – 1200mAh.
Power Bank Shopping Tips
Are you intrigued by power banks and want to purchase a few for your own use or your promotional campaign? Then you need to understand that power banks are not identical, with some more reliable and effective than others. As a result, we’ve rounded up the following factors that you should consider when shopping for power banks.
Understand the Charging Power
Along with their capacity, power banks also have their own charging power, usually mentioned as output voltage and output current. More specifically, power banks can push out power at a particular speed, which should match the specification of your device. As an example, if your phone charger can support up to 12V, you will want a power bank that has similar output. That way, you ensure that your power bank charges your phone at a similar rate to the one when using the wall charger.
Consider the Number of Charges
As previously stated, what makes each power bank unique is its power capacity and charge rate. And while it’s hard to pinpoint how many charges a specific power bank can offer, the rule of thumb is that the more mAh it has, the more charges it can provide.
For instance, a cell phone with a battery capacity of 2000mAh will be able to receive a single full charge from a Fuel Power Bank – 2000mAh. That’s why it’s important to purchase a power bank that has a capacity at least equal to the one on your phone. Otherwise, if the mAh of the battery is too low, it will not work or provide the wanted results.
Additionally, it’s also worth noting that power banks have their own efficiency ratings, usually 60% of the stated capacity. In other words, it is unlikely that a power bank can transfer the exact amount of electricity it has to your device. Why? Because USB cables are not perfect conductors and some power can seep through them, escaping the circuit. Therefore, you need to make sure that your power banks have a high capacity and can account for the power lost during transfer.
Functionality Matters
Like any gadget, power banks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As a result, you need to carefully consider which one fits your needs and budget. But since portability is the main benefit of power banks, you want them to be as small as possible. Our recommendation is to make sure that the power bank you choose can fit comfortably inside a pocket, a bag or a purse.
Furthermore, some power banks offer more than one output, allowing you to charge multiple devices at once. A perfect example for that would be our Stellar Slimline Dual Power Bank – 4000mAh. So try to keep that in mind when looking to purchase power banks, especially for a marketing campaign targeting teens and young adults who use more than one device.
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Final Thoughts
Overall, power banks are extremely useful accessories that make everyone’s life much easier. Not only are they portable, but they provide enough juice to keep your device running, regardless of where you are. And while power banks are great for personal use, they are also popular promotional items. Thanks to their functionality, anyone would love to receive a branded power bank, which could increase your company’s brand recognition.
If you want to give power banks a try, then head on to GoPromotional and check out our offering. With a wide variety of shapes and sizes, our power banks are perfect for your next promotional campaign. And best of all, we can customize them using your logo, motto or any other custom design.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to boost your brand awareness and take your business to the next level!
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Looking for something different? Browse our full range of promotional technology giveaways and if for any reason you still can’t find what you are looking for, then simply give us a call on 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today. You may also wish to consider complementing your order of power banks with some printed phone chargers or even some custom phone accessories which are sure to be well received by customers and employees alike!
