Anker
Anker 2nd Gen Astro
06/05/14 01:59 PM Filed in: Hardware
The Astro came in the same slick packaging that I have come to expect from Anker. It is minimalistic and eco friendly with no plastic to worry about. You get the Astro external battery, a micro USB cable, an instruction manual and a mesh travel pouch. The Anker 2nd Gen Astro is an external battery that is always on, there is no on/off switch. They have an LED light display that shows the battery level. You give it a firm shake to start a charge or to see the remaining battery level. It is less than 5 ounces in weight and has a nice feel to it with a soft rubberized coating. The battery itself is charged by one micro-USB input port. There is only one USB port and it is intelligent in that it won't exceed the capacity of your device. In all the Astro has 6000 mAh of power and supports up to 2 Amps.
I decided to give the Astro a real workout so I planned a day where I would have to depend on it. I let my Samsung 7" tablet and my iPhone 4S both get below 30% on their respective batteries. I made a day of taking the trolley downtown, taking pictures, using an app to record my steps, etc. I had the iPhone quickly use up what was left of it's charge. So, the Anker Astro charged it up while both were in my backpack. I then used my Samsung tablet while the iPhone was charging. Later on it was down to about 15% and I used the Astro to charge it back up to 100%.
The Samsung tablet has a 4000 mAh battery and the iPhone 4S a 1430 mAh battery. The Astro has a 6000 mAh battery and a percentage of that is lost in the charging process I believe. Anyway, both were able to get fully charged and the Astro had a single 10% segment left on the LED display. The tablets will chew up most of that capacity pretty quick. If I use the Anker 2nd Gen Astro just for the iPhone, I figure the Astro should be able to recharge it three times before the external battery needs a full charge.
Anker Cube MP141
02/13/14 04:15 PM Filed in: Hardware
I keep striking out with Bluetooth products. Whether it was speakers or headphones, I just have not had a good experience. Now we have products and devices sporting Bluetooth 4.0 and I decided to try again. I had a couple people recommend the Anker Portable Mini Bluetooth Speaker [Drum]. When I saw they had a newer product, the Anker MP141 Portable Bluetooth Speaker [Cube], I chose to buy it instead.
The Cube has a 4-Watt Driver, a microphone to use it as a speakerphone and a 3.5 mm audio port to connect it to other devices. The wireless range is 30 feet and it lasts 20 hours on a single charge. The battery life is impressive and the sound quality is very nice. Not enough people talk of packaging and extras that you get, but Anker knows how to do it right. They give you an audio cable, a micro USB cable to recharge it and printed manuals, but I loved the travel pouch best of all!
I highly recommend this speaker and believe it is a great bargain for the quality of the sound and the fit and finish of the components. It does not look, feel or sound cheap in any way. It was only $35 when I bought it on Amazon.
The Cube has a 4-Watt Driver, a microphone to use it as a speakerphone and a 3.5 mm audio port to connect it to other devices. The wireless range is 30 feet and it lasts 20 hours on a single charge. The battery life is impressive and the sound quality is very nice. Not enough people talk of packaging and extras that you get, but Anker knows how to do it right. They give you an audio cable, a micro USB cable to recharge it and printed manuals, but I loved the travel pouch best of all!
I highly recommend this speaker and believe it is a great bargain for the quality of the sound and the fit and finish of the components. It does not look, feel or sound cheap in any way. It was only $35 when I bought it on Amazon.
Anker 5 Port USB charger
12/22/13 09:50 AM Filed in: Hardware
Living in this digital age, with so many devices that need to be charged, you can quickly find yourself charging devices throughout the house. I wanted to find something that could handle recharging multiple devices while only using a single power cord.
This is where the Anker 40W, 8A 5-Port USB Charger came in and has worked out beautifully. It has been able to simultaneously charge my iPhone, iPad, Speaker, Camera, Bluetooth Stylus, etc, and haven't had any issues so far. There is a 25 Watt, 5 Amp version that is slightly less expensive but it doesn't have the extra juice needed to recharge everything that the big brother can do with ease. I really like the products that Anker produces. They have excellent build quality and the packaging and instruction are very good as well.
This is where the Anker 40W, 8A 5-Port USB Charger came in and has worked out beautifully. It has been able to simultaneously charge my iPhone, iPad, Speaker, Camera, Bluetooth Stylus, etc, and haven't had any issues so far. There is a 25 Watt, 5 Amp version that is slightly less expensive but it doesn't have the extra juice needed to recharge everything that the big brother can do with ease. I really like the products that Anker produces. They have excellent build quality and the packaging and instruction are very good as well.