As smartphones get more powerful with even greater capabilities, it is battery technology that still hasn’t really caught up. Chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm are doing phenomenal research to reduce power draw but the fact of the matter is that it is hard to find a modern smartphone that can last much over a day. This would also explain the huge variety of portable battery packs or power banks available in the market. Most portable battery packs are in the range of 2,400 to 5000 mAh. Occasionally they also step up to 10,000 mAh. Today we take a look at the Kit: High Power. A battery pack that promises to hold 20,800 mAh of charge. How does it perform? Read on to find out.
Box Contents
- 1 x Universal Power Bank 20,800 mAh
- 1 x USB charging cable
- 1 x Micro USB adapter tip
- 1 x Mini USB adapter tip
- 1 x Apple 30-pin adapter tip
The Kit battery pack is a large black slab that weighs 454grams. Needless to say this is not the kind of power bank that you can just carry around in your pocket. The dimensions too are 172 x 70 x 21 mm which are decidedly big and relegate it to your backpack or a large man purse perhaps. The plastic used is glossy and exceptionally fingerprint and scratch prone. In fact we ended up getting more than a few scratches on our unit.
A single button can be seen up top that switches on the battery pack. Four LEDs are lined up below that indicate power status on the Kit portable battery. On the front are two USB ports. The one on top has a 2.1A output that is ideal for charging tablets while the one below it has a 1A output that can be used to charge secondary devices. Over at the back is a single mini USB port which is used to charge up the Kit portable battery itself.
Functioning
A portable battery pack is a single purpose device and for what its worth, it either does or does not do its job. We tested the Kit High Power battery pack over the course of a couple of weeks to gauge the number of charges possible out of the handset. Worth noting is that there is always an amount of transmission power loss. This generally amounts to between 15-20% depending on the power bank. In the case of the Kit High Power, we were able to get over 8 complete charges on a handset with a 2,100 mAh battery before the Kit pack dropped down to the last bar. Charging the battery itself is an entirely different affair though. Since the input tops off at 1A, it took us over 24 hours to completely charge up the battery from scratch.
Conclusion
Portable battery packs are a dime and a dozen and the Kit High Power is definitely overkill for anyone who needs something for day to day usage. We found that the Kit High Power performed exactly as it advertised and was good for between 8 to 9 charges on our handset. The battery pack is ideal for use on hiking trips, camping or when travelling to places where you might not have access to a charging point for more than a day or two. The Kit High Power is priced at £44.99 and can be bought over at Mobile Fun.