Introduction
We at Screenless Allies do not only review software. We also review hardware, as well! In this installment, I, Jose, will be reviewing the Energrid Vs150x accessible power bank. I personally own this product, and I must say, the price point is worth it, along with its features! The price for the power bank is $75 as of this review.
Description
Remember the iPhone 6? It is about the size of that device all around. It is a long rectangle with three ports on one of the short sides, and a button with a dot on one of the two surfaces of the rectangle. That’s it! No complicated buttons. This power bank can be used to charge any of your devices that need juice, such as a phone, tablet, or radio. We all know you want to charge your radio so you can play “Electric Zoo” for the millionth time. Anyway, it lasts up to about twelve hours on a single charge, before it needs to be plugged in again. It can last longer, depending on how often you charge your devices on it. The box it comes shipped inside contains the power bank itself, a micro USB connection, and a carrying pouch. The micro USB cable it comes with is pretty short, so I recommend finding a longer one to use with it if you plan to travel especially if there is no table right by the outlet to set the power bank onto when you are charging it.
Using The Power Bank
The first thing you should do is charge the bank before using it. It normally would come charged at least halfway, but it is ALWAYS recommended you fully charge it before use. It does not come with an actual charger cube that connects to the USB cable, but you can use your iPhone charging cube, or any you may have lying around. You can also obtain a charging cube at any convenience store, since many places now a days carry them. Many places even carry micro USB cables. Just look or ask for, “old Android charger cables.” I say it that way, because most people at stores do not know the technical name for these cables. To charge the power bank, connect the smaller end of the micro USB cable into the middle port of the unit. Remember, the three ports are located along one of the short sides of the power bank. The bigger USB ports have two dots beside them, and the Micro USB port in the middle has one dot above or below it, depending on how you have the power bank turned. Connect the bigger end of the USB cable into the charging cube, and plug that into the wall, like you are charging your phone. The device will give a beep to indicate it is charging. This will be a short beep, followed by a longer one. You will here this two more times for extra confirmation. If it does not beep, press the single button on one of the big surfaces of the rectangle. It will begin to charge normally after this. When it is finished, it will beep until you unplug it. This one is just an ongoing beep, like if you are in a hospital and someone passes. This may be a good alarm clock, especially if you charge it over night. However, I do NOT recommend you throw this against any other object. It takes about two hours to fully charge this unit if the battery is completely dead.
Plugging In a Device
You have charged the power bank, and you are ready to plug in a device. This is also simple, because now, it is backwards. The smaller end of your USB or other charging cables will go into the device you want to charge. The bigger end will plug into one of the other two ports of the power bank. These ports take a regular USB connection, which most devices’ charging cables have. You can connect two devices at a time. When you connect a device, press that dotted button on the surface of the rectangle, and you will also get the same three time sets of beeps. When the device you plugged in finishes charging, the power bank will beep three times again to indicate it is finished and will stop charging the device.
The Dotted Button
This button has a couple of purposes. Note: When a device is connected to charge using the power bank, pressing this button does nothing while it is charging the device. You can press the button right after you plug something into it to start charging the device in question. After that, it will do nothing if the button is pressed. To check the battery level of the power bank, press this button when a device is not plugged into it. It will tell you the percentage in beeps. The way you can remember these is by remembering, “$1 = 4 quarters.” Each quarter is 25%. So, for a full charge of 100%, it will beep four times. If the charge was 75%, it would beep three times, and so on. The power bank will beep even more if the battery is dying, and you are trying to charge a device. If the battery dies, the power bank will disconnect any devices you are charging prior to shutting down.
Vibration And Beeping
This power bank also vibrates when you are using it. By default, it beeps and vibrates at the same time. If you want to turn off the beeping functionality, hold down this button. The unit will do a long vibration to indicate you turned off the beeping. If you want the beeps back, hold down this button again. The unit will do a long beep, and a vibration at the same time to indicate you have enabled the beeping again. I wish there was also a beep without vibration mode, but these two modes are useful, especially the “Vibrate Only” mode, where you do not want people around to hear the sound of the power bank.
Rating and Final Comments
I give this unit a 5 out of 5. This is pretty portable, and you can even fit it into a jacket pocket. It is very handy, especially if, for example, you are at a hotel and do not wish to look for outlets, or cannot find any. We all know many hotels do not have many outlets in a room, and if they do, they’re occupied. Oh well, at least some allow you to get food delivery instead of paying an extra couple of hundred for food service, but that’s not what this review was about! You can use this to charge your devices while you are there. Hopefully Energrid will come out with more equally accessible products. Be sure to get one for your friends! This battery pack is not just for the blind. Fully sighted people can put one of these babies to good use! Happy Charging!