As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options

Portable Power at PAX

zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
edited November 2014 in PAX East
This discussion was created from comments split from: East 2015 pre-faq Q&A Thread.


Figured this was a busy enough topic for its own thread.

zerzhul on

Posts

  • Options
    rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    So I know last year people were talking about things that you could use as phone chargers basically battery packs that you can use to charge your phone. I know last year my phone crapped the bed almost every day so to have a back up thing would be great. Does anyone know exactly what I am talking about and were I can find one.

    1. Does any kind work for any phone or do they only work for certain phones ie do some only work for iphones and others for other smart phones I have a zte majesty which is a android phone
    2. How do these things work do you just touch them together and they charge or do you have to plug the battery pack into your phone or how does it work
    3. Were can I get one of these I am guessing amazon would be best place to check but what do I search for

  • Options
    StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited November 2014
    rascrush wrote: »
    So I know last year people were talking about things that you could use as phone chargers basically battery packs that you can use to charge your phone. I know last year my phone crapped the bed almost every day so to have a back up thing would be great. Does anyone know exactly what I am talking about and were I can find one.

    1. Does any kind work for any phone or do they only work for certain phones ie do some only work for iphones and others for other smart phones I have a zte majesty which is a android phone
    2. How do these things work do you just touch them together and they charge or do you have to plug the battery pack into your phone or how does it work
    3. Were can I get one of these I am guessing amazon would be best place to check but what do I search for
    1. It depends on what your phone uses to charge (like the iPhone 5 or newer will use the lightning connector and the old ones use the 32 pin dealy). See what your phone uses and then shop around. Usually it's just a brick with USB ports.
    2. The thing is just a big battery, and normally you just plug it in like you would when hooking it up to your PC to charge.
    3. Typically you want something like "external battery" or "power packs" This Amazon search should get you started.

    Also, you may want to do a bit of extra work and search for a universal power supply that can charge other devices like 3DSes or Vitas.

    Sterica on
    YL9WnCY.png
  • Options
    rascalrascal Registered User regular
    rascrush wrote: »
    So I know last year people were talking about things that you could use as phone chargers basically battery packs that you can use to charge your phone. I know last year my phone crapped the bed almost every day so to have a back up thing would be great. Does anyone know exactly what I am talking about and were I can find one.

    1. Does any kind work for any phone or do they only work for certain phones ie do some only work for iphones and others for other smart phones I have a zte majesty which is a android phone
    2. How do these things work do you just touch them together and they charge or do you have to plug the battery pack into your phone or how does it work
    3. Were can I get one of these I am guessing amazon would be best place to check but what do I search for

    Search for "power bank", "external battery" or "portable charger" on Amazon, and stick to Anker or RavPower. As long as you have a compatible USB cord, these external batteries will work with any phone.


  • Options
    rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    shouldnt really any smart phone have a compatible usb cord

  • Options
    SatoruSatoru Registered User regular
    rascrush wrote: »
    So I know last year people were talking about things that you could use as phone chargers basically battery packs that you can use to charge your phone. I know last year my phone crapped the bed almost every day so to have a back up thing would be great. Does anyone know exactly what I am talking about and were I can find one.

    1. Does any kind work for any phone or do they only work for certain phones ie do some only work for iphones and others for other smart phones I have a zte majesty which is a android phone
    2. How do these things work do you just touch them together and they charge or do you have to plug the battery pack into your phone or how does it work
    3. Were can I get one of these I am guessing amazon would be best place to check but what do I search for

    You're going to be wrestling between a few factors
    1) cost
    2) mAH rating (higher means more juice)
    3) weight/dimensions (more mAH means heavier/bulkier)

    Most will have 1-2 output ports (for your device) and 1 input port (to charge the actual battery). Geneally it's just a regular USB port out, and micro usb in to charge. The only thing you might want to make sure is that the output port has 2A off it. Though this tends to be fairly standard for new devices its worth checking. You dont need any new cables as these things usually ship with a bunch of them anyway, or you can just use your existing cables

    Basically you can look on amazon or ebay. They're pretty much everywhere.

  • Options
    Bunta_FujiwaraBunta_Fujiwara Albany, NYRegistered User regular
    External battery packs have been pretty darn cheap lately in the daily deals section of Kotaku. I got one a few years back that has 2 USB power ports and can charge both simultaneously. Can recharge my phone 3+ times and almost as fast as outlet charging., and that was purchased 3 years ago. They've only gotten faster, cheaper and better.

    zmYaVYP.png
  • Options
    DanQDanQ Registered User regular
    If you are worried about battery life, turning on airplane mode does wonders. If you don't expect any calls, turn on airplane mode and if you need to meet with friends you get separated from or whatever, turn it on every 15 minutes or whatever for texts. When you get a crappy signal, your phone spends battery trying to search for one.

  • Options
    cardkid123cardkid123 Registered User regular
    I bought a charger backpack last year TYLT brand. It had a battery pack that could charge the iPhone 4 times. It also had multiple USBs so I was my groups charging station.

  • Options
    upstateny-danupstateny-dan Registered User regular
    rascrush wrote: »
    So I know last year people were talking about things that you could use as phone chargers basically battery packs that you can use to charge your phone. I know last year my phone crapped the bed almost every day so to have a back up thing would be great. Does anyone know exactly what I am talking about and were I can find one.

    1. Does any kind work for any phone or do they only work for certain phones ie do some only work for iphones and others for other smart phones I have a zte majesty which is a android phone
    2. How do these things work do you just touch them together and they charge or do you have to plug the battery pack into your phone or how does it work
    3. Were can I get one of these I am guessing amazon would be best place to check but what do I search for

    I have a 12,000mah Newtrent battery pack with two USB one port is 2A (in case you require extra juice in order to charge, my Note 2 requires this for example). I use it all the time. Got it off amazon for like $70. It's also waterproof and dustproof.

  • Options
    rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    do they have cheaper ones that work just as good was looking to spend 25-30

  • Options
    Bunta_FujiwaraBunta_Fujiwara Albany, NYRegistered User regular
    rascrush wrote: »
    do they have cheaper ones that work just as good was looking to spend 25-30
    I'm sending you a link to a really good one that's on sale in a PM, don't think they like links on the board.

    zmYaVYP.png
  • Options
    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    If you aren't advertising something, or linking to ebay/clist or something like that, it's fine.

  • Options
    TabooPhantasyTabooPhantasy Registered User regular
    Paging @redfield85 to tell everyone what his back-up battery is. It charged his iPhone and my phone S4 multiple times in one day (and maybe his 3DS?).

    ~Taboo
    BH11Fnk.png
  • Options
    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    I use the limefuel 18000mAh battery. It keeps my phone, tablet, and 3ds charged easily during pax.

  • Options
    SatoruSatoru Registered User regular
    I got a 6000mAH on ebay for like $7

  • Options
    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
  • Options
    Streetlight345Streetlight345 Seekonk, MARegistered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »

    Even tho it doesn't say it, it will charge a 3DS with the right usb cable?

    OgqpDBS.png
    PAX East 2019!
    Badges [X] Hotel [X] Time off request [X]
    https://www.pinnypals.com/pals/Streetlight345
  • Options
    rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    just grabbed one thanks guys

  • Options
    jayh0vajayh0va Registered User regular
    zerzhul wrote: »

    Thats a MONSTER Deal. 10,000mAh packs were going for at least $45-50 two years ago.

    npyymaqh3gup.png
  • Options
    rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    ya i ended up get a 10,000 one for 25 just figured I wouldnt need more then that as I will pretty much only use it for events like this and the 10,000 seemed like it would work just fine for me

  • Options
    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited November 2014
    zerzhul wrote: »

    Even tho it doesn't say it, it will charge a 3DS with the right usb cable?
    3DS can charge off of a USB port, yes, with a compatible cable. I charge my 3DS with my limefuel.

    zerzhul on
  • Options
    sfford2008sfford2008 Registered User regular
    If you are looking for even cheaper options, groupon goods always has power supplies at reduced prices...I would check the quality though. I have seen them on groupon anywhere from $5 to $100 but there were alot in the $10 to $30 range.

  • Options
    chellerschellers New HampshireRegistered User regular
    On black friday, Five Below is having 6600 mAh battery packs for $5 each. Groupon has bunches, but they average $10 for 2000ish mAh.

  • Options
    iltailta Registered User regular
    edited November 2014
    I would second the recommendation of waiting until Black Friday. With the new phones that just came out having pretty poor battery life, the market for battery packs has exploded in recent years and retailers are going to be falling over themselves to give you a reason to buy from them.

    Personally, I LOVE my UNU charger. Got it a few years ago. It's about the size of an oversized bic lighter and can charge my iphone or ipad about twice before crapping out. Also has a flashlight! Keeps a charge very well between plug-ins. They make a variety of battery packs with various features and price points.

    If you're an ipad kind of person then Kensington also makes a keyboard case that you can charge your phone with, which is pretty nice.

    ilta on
  • Options
    tt1701tt1701 Registered User new member
    Of course, if your phone has a replaceable battery (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S5), consider getting some cheap extra batteries. Make sure you label them to differentiate each one. I label them 1, 2, 3, etc. so I can differentiate which ones are discharged or not. I also measure their approximate operational times so I know and can manage how long to my next battery change (if needed).

  • Options
    jbkjbk Registered User regular
    http://www.amazon.com/Intocircuit®-11200mAh-External-Smartphones-Lightning/dp/B00BB5GQRE/ref=sr_1_2?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1416492200&sr=1-2&keywords=ntocircuit®+Power+Castle

    Redic price - on super sale. It's about the size of a paperback book, and holds 5 full iphone or 1.5 full ipad charges. Connect a USB cable to the charger and your phone. I used one last year - carried the item around in a backpack, connected wire to phone in pocket.

  • Options
    JohnBlazeNYCJohnBlazeNYC Registered User regular
    Power Bricks saved our lives at Pax East. I have one per person (one full charge) and I also had a larger one that gives about three charges.
    Most do not come with a cord. Also, if you purchase a larger one with multiple USB ports, expect most of the ports to charge your devise slower. There should be an indication on the device as to which ones were designed for a smaller device.

  • Options
    GhostDanGhostDan Registered User regular
    For pax I usually bring 3 battery packs. Two smaller ones 5-7kMah that I can switch out (one is charging in the hotel room while I'm using the other, when the other runs out, switch) and I also have a 20k one that I keep on me for larger items or if I'm not going to make it to the hotel room. The smaller ones I have weigh very little so I don't mind having them on me.

  • Options
    DolarrahDolarrah New JerseyRegistered User regular
    Power bricks are a must if your a super user. There are vendor on the floor that sell them, but the $ 10.00 you can get at staples sells for $ 25 on the floor. Don't count on open power sockets, they are horded worse then oatmeal with cards of humanity in them

Sign In or Register to comment.