Although smartphones have innovated with latest technologies and features added, one area which is still needs innovation or at least some improvement is battery consumption. Even with higher capacity batteries, most of the high end smartphones are not able to last for more than a day. It is pretty annoying when the battery of your phone goes out and you are travelling and your only way to connect to Internet is your smartphone.
The real problem is that with the new technology for touchscreens and high speed processors, the battery consumption has also increased resulting in poor performance. In cases where you are travelling or on a long flight, the best companion for your smartphone is a battery pack. There are different types of battery packs, some of them in the form of cases while others normal packs which can be used to charge your phone.
Related Reading: Best Portable Battery chargers
TYLT’s PowerPlant is one such portable battery pack which can be used to charge your phone on the move. PowerPlant is a robust, portable energy charger with high output capacity, designed for people who expect high-output charging in a small design. Today, we are going to check out the performance of this PowerPlant.
Lets first have a look at the specifications;
Technical Specifications:
- Battery Cell: Lithium Ion
- Battery Capacity: 5,200mAh
- Output Voltage: 4.75V-5.25V
- Output Current: 2.1 Amps
- Battery Charge Time: 6-7 hours
- Dimensions: 78 x 44 x 33mm
- Weight: 5.4oz
In the Box:
- PowerPlant Universal Battery Pack
- Micro-USB Charging Cable
- User Guide
The packing of TYLT’s PowerPlant is really good and solid. There are three types of PowerPlant available, one for iPhone 4/4S, second one for iPhone 5 (lightning) and third is based on microUSB (compatible with most Android and Windows Phones). For the review, we received the microUSB version.
One of the unique features of PowerPlant is the embedded flex charging cable, this is the cable used to charge your phone and it is built into the battery. So you will not need the phone’s USB cable. The cable is flexible making it easy to use in any position. PowerPlant comes with superior build quality and importance is given to even minor design aspects. The PowerPlant is indeed very small and ultra portable making it easy to carry even in pocket.
When you open the cover (called as flex port cover), you can see the micro USB slot for charging the PowerPlant and also an additional USB slot for charging a second phone. This is again a handy feature as you can charge two phone simultaneously.
The flex charging cable can be inserted into the slot when not in use. The mechanism is neatly arranged and the flex cable is patent pending.
At the bottom, you can see a small button, when pressed shows the remaining charge in the unit in the form of an LEDs. Time taken to charge the unit is around 6-7 hours during our tests, which is pretty good considering it is a 5200mAh battery.
The PowerPlant can hold a charge for over a year if not in use. For best results, store the product in a cool place. If it is exposed to excess heat for long periods of time, it will reduce the amount of time the battery will hold a charge. It will work for almost 500 cycles of recharging, this means 500 recharges and full discharges. The 5,200mAh battery is really powerful and you can charge two high end smartphones using it. We tested the charger using Lumia 920 and Galaxy Nexus. If you want to charge a tablet, it can do for one 7inch tablet.
There is no power button on the charger as it automatically turns on when you connect to phone. The microUSB version is priced at $69.99, the 30 pin iPhone version at $74.99 and the lightning connector at $89.99. While the price is a bit high when compared to the competition, PowerPlant is really worth the value for its superior quality and ultra portable dimensions. You can buy the PowerPlant from here.
Here is video review of TYLT Power Plant;
