Tuesday, September 15, 2015

#newin: Lepow's U-Stone Portable Charger

A few weeks ago I received Lepow's U-Stone portable charger. It couldn't have arrived at a better time - I had just lost my previous portable charger (from thecoopidea) at uni, and, as someone who is constantly having to solve stuff from her phone, I was quite annoyed at the fact that around 4pm, everyday, I'd have to find a place to sit and a wall to plug in a charger and recharge my phone. So, thank you, Lepow ♡. Now - onto the review: 

lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review

Packaging:
Biodegradable, made from recycled materials, you open the box, you get an oval box thingy that looks like a dinosaur egg, you open this thingy, you get another oval package thingy, you open it, you get the portable charger that looks like one of those stones you often see in Chinese films. It came with the user manual, the charger and a micro usb flat cable (that fits into the charger). No wall charger included.

lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review sony z1
lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review kindle amazon

Functionality
The 12,000mAh capacity puts Lepow's U-Stone ahead of smaller rivals, being able to fully charge my phone (Sony Z1) almost 3 times. Operating at a 1.8 Amp speed, it quickly charges my phone. I usually use it around 5pm, when I'm getting ready to go to uni & the phone's either already dead or dying. My class starts at 7pm and by the time I get to the classroom, the battery's already up to something around 90%.

I've used it once to charge an iPad (second generation; had to use the iPad's own cable), and Lepow's U-Stone brought the iPad from 17% left of battery to 82% in about an hour - it only didn't get to 100% because the U-Stone was not fully charged. It also fully charged my Kindle in less than an hour once. I think the speed and capacity of the U-Stone are quite impressive. ^.^~

Other than that, the U-Stone "uses a safe, high quality lithium polymer battery (...). The smart circuit in the U-Stone protects against overcharge, over discharge, and overload.Oh, and to check the battery life, you have to shake the U-Stone. Yes, shake it. 

Design:
Lepow's U-Stone won the Red Dot Design Award - which supposedly means the product is both stylish and very functional. The U-Stone is, indeed, beautiful. According to the description, "the product also features a unique texture that feels like smooth white sand and a unique curved body for easy grip." Yes, it has a smooth texture, it's like a river rock - but it also gets dirty quite easily, and it shows. I rarely use it outside a little cloth bag I have, fearing it'll get dirty. When I first started using it, I made the mistake of pulling it out of the bag right after getting off a bus, before washing my hands at uni. It got sorta brown-ish. I felt frustrated. 

lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review

This is how the flat cable is kept when you're not using it - one "in" (micro USB) port and one "out" (USB). So, as you can see, it only has one USB port. An external battery pack bigger than my Sony Z1 and a bit heavy (6.7 x 3.1 x 1 inches & 12.8 ounces, to be exact), with a 12,000mAh capacity would definitely be better if it had more than one USB port! 

lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review
lepow u-stone portable charger power bank external bateria carregador portátil bateria externa resenha dica review

Long story short:
It's beautiful, its got a great texture. 
If you're obsessed about little dirty spots like I am, you'll feel like you have to clean it all the time or wrap it in something to protect it from the cruel world getting dirty. It doesn't come with its own bag.
It's got power - lots of it. You can go on a 3-day-camping trip in the middle of nowhere that it'll be able to charge your phone and keep you connected - not if you keep streaming Netflix, though (but why would you wanna stay connected during a camping trip?)
It's big - probably can fit into some men's pockets, but I always have to carry it in a purse/bag and I have never seen women's pants/shorts/whatever huge enough to fit an U-Stone in. 
I strongly recommend it if you're the kind of person that frequently stays a long period of time outside, working from your phone or a tablet. I can go 5, 6 days without recharging it - btw, it takes one night to fully charge (7 hours..?). 

However, if you prefer things a tad bit smaller and easier to deal with, I'd recommend for Lepow's Moonstone portable charger. It's smaller; it also has a great design, cute colors and all; a 9,000mAh capacity, which is very good considering how small it is; comes with its own little bag; and, most importantly, it has two usb ports - all this at the affordable price of $30.*

Do you have any portable charger? Is it good? Do you need one? Of course you do, who doesn't these days. Tell me, tell me!

* All opinions and suggestions in this post are my own; I was not paid to write this post.