Review: Choetech Power Bank!

A power bank with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 support? Where have you been all our lives?

After months of seeing multiple variations on the same theme when it comes to power banks, in the past two days we’ve seen two new functionalities that have been introduced to these portable phone- and tablet chargers. Also this month we have reviewed the MiPow Power Tube 3000 (admittedly just for iPhones, so we haven’t included it here), which includes Bluetooth connectivity so you can pair it with an app and monitor the remaining capacity and device temperature – a hot topic, thanks to a recent EE Power Bar fire-safety scare.

Here we have the Choetech Portable Power Bank, the first power bank we’ve seen to include support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 – and not only for charging your devices but also for refilling its own battery, which means you could refill this high-capacity bank in just 7.5 hours.If you have a phone or tablet that supports Quick Charge, you’ll know just how welcome a feature it is. Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 is able to reduce charging time by up to 75 percent, and in the case of our own Samsung Galaxy S6 we can obtain a 40 percent charge in just 30 minutes. Having tried it, I actually wouldn’t buy a phone without it. With our phones now an essential part of our daily lives, and hardware getting more powerful with every new release, battery life is an issue; the ability to get enough charge for several hours’ use in literally a few minutes is an absolute life saver. Incorporating that functionality into a portable power bank is genious.

We say portable, but the Choetech for all the great tech that lies inside is a bit of a brick. It’s a shiny brick, thanks to its glossy black coating, but this does little to hide its size and actually makes it feel a little cheap. (And cheap it isn’t, at £33.99 from Amazon UK – at least not when compared to many rival power banks of this capacity.) The Choetech measures 147x78x16mm, and weighs a hefty 356g. To be fair, the Choetech does provide 15,600mAh of power for charging up a connected phone and/or tablet. Most power banks, unless the manufacturer specifically states otherwise, hover around 65 to 70 percent effciency.

This means not all of that 15,600mAh of power will make its way to your devices; instead, you should expect something closer to 10,500mAh. That’s still plenty of juice, mind, and would fill our Samsung Galaxy S6 four times, or a smaller-capacity iPhone battery something like five- to six times. Talking about iPhones, if you have a phone or tablet that doesn’t support Quick Charge you’ll note there are two outputs and two inputs on this Choetech power bank. Input 1 is a 5V 2.1A (5.5W)/9V 1.5A (13.5W) Micro-USB port that supports Quick Charge; to refill the bank just pair it with the charger that came with your Quick Charge-compatible device. Input 2 is a Lightning port, making refills easier for iPhone users who are unlikely to have a Micro-USB cable to hand (although one is supplied in the box).

This operates at the slower speed of 5V 2.1A or 5.5W. When it comes to charging up your phone or tablet, those with Quick Charge-compatible devices should use output 2, which is instantly recognisable by its blue connection. This is a 5V 2.4A (12W)/9V 1.7A (15.3W)/12V 1.3A (15.6W) output. The other output, output 1, is a 5V 1A (5W) connection for charging an iPhone or non-Quick Charge-compatible Android phone.That’s it for the ports and connections, and the only other hardware control you’ll find is a power button on top of the Choetech Portable Power Bank. Beside this are four LEDs with the legends 25-, 50-, 75- and 100% to show how much power remains. The power button is used to see the capacity status at a glance, and also to begin charging, since the Choetech doesn’t support auto-on.Another feature the Choetech doesn’t support is passthrough charging, which is the ability to charge both the power bank and a connected device at once.

We’re happy to ignore this gripe, however, given that charging time is greatly reduced for both phone and power bank via Quick Charge. Also missing is a soft carry case and an LED torch, two things commonly provided with the vast majority of power banks. But you know what we’re going to say: who cares – it supports Quick Charge! In all honesty, though, were it not for the inclusion of Quick Charge support and the ability to refill the device via either Micro-USB or Lightning, the Choetech would be a very standard, albeit high-capacity power bank. If your phone doesn’t support Quick Charge, or the Lightning input is of no use to you, we would advise you to look elsewhere.

Verdict

We can’t say enough just how pleased we are with the inclusion of Quick Charge 2.0 support in this power bank, and if speed is important to you then no doubt you’ll feel the same. iPhone users will also appreciate the Lightning input, although the Quick Charge functionality will be of no use to them. In other respects there is nothing standout here, so if you won’t benefit from Quick Charge or Lightning you should look elsewhere.

Google Alphabet FAQ: What it means for you.

Google is not dead, but there are many more letters in the alphabet than G. Here are the A-Z on Alphabet.

Google has a new parent company, Alphabet. But what exactly does Google Alphabet mean for you?
What’s the fi rst thing that comes to mind when you hear the name ‘Google’? Most likely, you’ll visualise the search engine that pops up as your browser’s home page. That’s not surprising, given that Google was born in 1998 as a research tool that brought order to the huge amount of info available on the web, making it easier to find specific data.

But Google is much more than a search engine company, and co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s dreams are bigger than the web. They want to expand their views, invest in research, bring about new inventions and contribute to human progress. Many investors and customers might wonder why a search engine company is interested in making smart contact lenses, for example. However, with the creation of a new umbrella company, Alphabet, Brin and Page’s dream might become true.

Rather than Google owning lots of little companies that have little in common with each other, a slimmed down Google will sit alongside those companies as a wholly owned subsidiary of new parent company Alphabet. Alphabet will be headed up by Brin and Page, as President and CEO respectively, while Sundar Pichai will take over as CEO of Google. Alphabet will gather innovative ventures that focus on development and new technologies. The companies will finally be free from Google’s search stigma, and the co-founders will be able to manage more e effectively the disparate areas.

What will Alphabet do?

Alphabet is going to allow Google’s co-founders to realise their ambitions. Page and Brin want to explore innovative sectors, leaving a mark in human history, and Alphabet will be their control tower. The company will host a constellation of ventures, whose focus spans from lenses to drones. All will share a common goal: to improve our lives.

How can Alphabet improve our lives?

• Self-driving cars: Google’s autonomous vehicles are still being tested. When available, they are expected to be fundamental in reducing traffic and car accidents.
• Delivery-drones for disaster relief: Google is testing autonomous aerial vehicles. The so-called Project Wing aims at developing drones that could deliver goods, such as medicines, in areas hit by war or natural disasters.
• Robots: Through sub-company Boston Dynamic, Alphabet plans to develop cutting-edge robots.
• Life extension: Created by Google in 2013, Calico is Google’s Life Extension Project. It is aimed at combating age-related diseases and investing in drug development and innovative therapies.
• Artificial intelligence: DeepMind, purchased by Google in 2013, is a company that aims to create ‘learning algorithms, a man-made intelligence that could be applied to machines and used to get a deeper understanding of the human mind.
• Exploration: Google Earth gives you a virtual image of the globe. It lets you navigate around the world without needing to leave your computer, but it is also useful to get directions, plan trips, locate public areas and get an up-to-date image of areas hit by hazards.
• Super-fast internet: Google Fiber provides high-speed internet and cable TV in many US cities. Its internet connection operates at 1Gb/s, allowing you to download a movie in less than two minutes.
• Intelligent (smart) glasses: Google Glass, a wearable device with an interactive display, was first released in 2013, but it was considered a failure due to its price and scarce availability. Now the company is developing a second version of its smart glasses.
• Fight oppression: Google Ideas is a think tank that uses technology to solve problems faced by people who live in situations of conflict or repression.
• Virtual reality cameras: In collaboration with GoPro, Alphabet will develop Jump, a 360-camera rig that records virtual-reality videos.
• Measure glucose levels: Life Science is a division of Google X that researches technological advancements within the life-science field. Google Contact Lens is one of its main projects. These smart lenses can measure glucose levels for diabetics.
• Clean energy: Makani is a company supported by Alphabet that develops wind turbines to access wind at high altitudes and produce clean energy. Makani is a world leader in its sector.
• Safer homes: Nest Labs, owned by Alphabet, develops smart thermostats, smoke detectors and other security devices. Nest makes it easier for many people to better control their homes.
• Internet access for everyone: Project Loon is Alphabet’s initiative to create high- altitude balloons that would provide internet access in rural areas. In 2014, Google also bought Titan Aerospace, the aerospace company that produces drones, which could bring internet connectivity to people in remote areas.

What’s left for Google?

Don’t worry, Google is still alive and it will remain so for many years. Now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google will continue to be a search engine. Plus we can expect great improvements, since the company will now focus only on internet-related products. And that can only be a good thing for the end user, who will now (hopefully) benefit from a better service for web research.