Does your phone’s battery hit the red zone at the worst possible times? If you’re a heavy user then you’ll agree that keeping your battery life in the ‘safe zone’ is a serious challenge and if you’re caught by surprise on the wrong day, ending up with a dead phone can turn into a nightmare.
So if you’ve exhausted all other ways of extending your phone’s battery life and need a way of powering your phone for those few extra hours, pay attention – because the Veho Pebble Smartstick Emergency Charger (£18.99) could be the next accessory on your wishlist.
Design
At a mere 70 grams, 22mm wide and 86mm long, the Veho Smartstick is a portable cylindrical emergency charger for your battery powered devices (mainly to be used with phones). Its outer metallic casing feels strong and resistant to damage, which is good news if you’re intending on just throwing it into your bag on the way out.
Available in black, silver, pink or purple, the Smartstick has a very simplistic design on the outside which isn’t surprising- after all, it’s only meant to be a hidden companion rather than a “look at me” accessory.
Features & Performance
Once you take everything out of the packaging, you’ll find a Pebble Smartstick, carrying pouch, USB charging cable, and 5 charging tips (for the Sony Ericsson, Nokia, mini USB, micro USB and 30-pin iPhone tip). If you want to charge newer iDevices that use lightning connectors though, you’ll need to use your own cable which is a bit of a let down.
The Smartstick doesn’t boast the largest power capacity or fastest charge, but the 2200 mAh battery provides a full recharge for most common smartphones – or near enough a full charge for larger ‘phablets’. I did try pushing its capacity by charging my iPad 3 but as I expected, it didn’t work since the iPad needs a bigger power supply.
For many, the second power boost from the Smartstick would be enough to get through the day. But if you’re a serious power-hungry user – you’ll need to look at alternatives like the Pebble XT Portable Battery Pack Charger that packs a whopping 5000 mAh power supply. When you consider the size, weight and overall portability of the Smartstick though – you’ll have little to complain about when it’s there to save the day!
Veho Pebble Smartstick: The Bottom Line
So is it worth your money? At £18.99 it’s hard to argue with the value you’ll be getting from the Smartstick. It isn’t going to add any significant bulk to your travels and most importantly, when you think about how reliant you are on your phone – can you really afford to go through the day with a flat battery?
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