The Anker 2nd Gen Astro E4 External Battery holds a series of lithium batteries to deliver up to 13000mAh of power to your devices. Let me start by saying that I am a big fan of the external battery pack product, regardless of brand. I now own four different brands of external batteries and this is the one that I like the best. The battery measures 5.9 x 2.5 x .9 inches and weighs about one pound. My battery is black but it comes in a variety of colors.
To use these batteries, you get a micro USB cable that will plug into the battery for charging. The battery comes with the cable only, no AC adapter. This typically isn’t an issue for any smartphone owner but something to be aware of in case you don’t have a free one available. The battery was sufficiently charged well enough out of the box for me to use, but your mileage may vary so be prepared to charge it overnight once you get it. A series of four lights appear on the top of the battery indicating how much power the battery has. When it’s fully charged, all four lights are on, just like the one in the photo to the left.
The battery itself has two ports with each delivering over 2AMPS which is what you need to charge any smartphone or tablet. I have found that not all batteries have two ports capable of delivering over 2AMPS. Some have a single port that delivery 2AMPS and another that does 1AMP. While I question the usefulness of any port that’s still delivering 1AMP, a lot of batteries still exist that give you this output, so whatever battery you decide to buy should be checked for this important capacity.
The battery swiftly charges up my iPhone 5s, especially when it’s the only device being charged. This is because the battery itself is capable of delivering 3AMPS. The battery has enough juice to fully power an iPhone five times or iPad Air once so you can go a long time between having to recharge the battery. Speaking of my iPhone 5s, be aware that you also need to supply your own lightning or mini USB cables for charging your device.
This battery has a feature which I have seen on other portable ones which is a flashlight. Although I can’t think of a time I would use this other than shining it in my wife’s eyes for entertainment purposes, you have one built into the battery when you need it.
So when do I use this battery? Almost daily. I always find at the end of the day, I am close to draining my phone. I can continue to use it while sitting on the couch watching TV. Coupled with a standard three-foot lightening cable, this battery powers my iPhone 5s up to 100% in a short period of time. I also like to bring it on a plane with me to keep the phone charged. I used to always land and use my iPhone as a GPS only to find it’s close to empty. I have never had any issues carrying the battery onto a plane going through security.
The Anker 2nd Gen Astro E4 External Battery is a good one. I use it every day and highly recommend it for anyone looking for portable power.