With so many cellphone battery chargers on the market, what distinguishes this one?
Powerocks markets a variety of charging devices, including the colorful Magicstick, a large lipstick-shaped charger. It was found selling for as little as $29 delivered from eBay and as low as $25 delivered from Amazon.com (both prices sampled 9-29-13).
Build quality seems good. Performance has been as expected and according to company claims. An internal 2800mAh capacity rechargeable battery puts just about two full charges in a nearly depleted iPhone 4S. That’s enough for virtually any user’s daily needs, and likely more. Magicstick can also be useful charging tablets, Bluetooth headsets and, frankly, nearly any mobile device when on the go.
The company Website lists the product at 2600mAh ( maybe they will have fixed it by the time you visit). Packaging shows a 2800mAh capacity. The company’s US marketing site lists capacity at 2800mAh and it is only at the US site that the battery technology is revealed to be Li Ion, though this was expected to be the case.
Clearly, US-targeted sites for this company were not created by native English speakers, explaining the lack of info and errors. It is hoped that this will be corrected.
It is also noted that similar products in this form factor are available from many online marketers (search “lipstick battery chargers” and other creative descriptive terms). This suggests the product is sourced from a generic supplier and modified to suit this client’s needs by adding the end cap lighted switch/indicator.
Other similar looking and much less expensive products were not found to have this lighted switch.
Despite the less-than-perfect Websites, missing information and inconsistencies, I like this product! Performance and form factor make it easy to take Magicstick along.
On the end opposite the microUSB and standard USB ports as seen in the images above, there is an opaque push button. While plugged in for charging with supplied MicroUSB cable, an LED under the cover glows red. Period.
The in-package instruction pamphlet, the PDF of which is linked here, is also vague and incomplete. A call to the company’s US arm was my source for information that, to this reviewer, seems mandatory in the company-supplied literature, including:
• 3- to 5-hour charging time from nearly dead
• There is no state-of-charge indicator when the unit is being charged. WHY?? The unit must be unplugged, and then the end-cap button activated to show state-of-charge as indicated in the manual – red indicates 0-29%; green indicates 30-69%; blue is for 70-100%. Don’t consumers need to know when it is 100% charged and not in a range from 70-100%? Similarly, why not let red indicate less than 10% charge, green 69% and a blue glow to show a full charge?
As most mobile devices are provided with USB charging capability, consumers should find it easy to charge and use this handy battery.
Searching for devices with comparable power specs in as convenient a form factor revealed that Powerocks 2800mAh Magicstick is also a good value.
With solid performance and a pleasing form factor along with numerous color and pattern choices, Powerocks Magicstick is Mr. Gadget® recommended.
