Today, we got another powerbank to stress test and showcase to you guys. Today’s powerbank is easily one of the smallest and the most portable powerbank we have reviewed to date and it is brought to us by the guys over at Echo. The Echo PowerConnect Mini 1600mAh Powerbank is a nifty small gadget that weighs light on the scale (43 grams or 1.52ounce) but packs some important emergency power with an integrated cable.
In the small box, Echo will pack a small brochure of their products, an instructions sheet as well as an authenticity/warranty card. In addition to the powerbank itself, a separate small microUSB cable is provided for charging.
The provided cable came with a protection swivel on the microUSB head and has a length of just 6CM. It might feel short for many, but it could just be fine for charging.
The Echo PowerConnect Mini 1600mAh Integrated Cable comes in at just 5 cm, which means that you will need to keep the powerbank relatively close to the device to charge it.
The powerbank comes in a matte rubbery design, hence, it is very good grip, apart from being fingerprint resistant. On the right of it, you can find the microUSB port, which is used to charge the powerbank. On the left side, we find the power/control button where you can turn or off the power bank. The bottom is flush whilst the top we find the microUSB cable and its holder.
Note that the powerbank comes in two variants and two colors – Lightning (for iOS) and microUSB (for everyone else). Both variants come in both colors – Black and White.
Now, come the time to give it a stress test. Connected to our measuring kit, it draws a healthy 5.17V. What happens when we put in the stress testing unit?
Connected to a 1A load, it draws out 0.98A. Connecting in the 2A load, we managed to draw 1.54A for a good 3 seconds before the battery bank cut the power output.
Now, with that test complete, can it charge the picky BlackBerry Bold 9900?
Well, clearly from the image, the answer is YES!
Overall, the powerbanks are no doubt made of good materials. It feels solid in the hand, yet it is lightweight – perfect for just storing in the bag for a rainy day. On our tests, we could charge the BlackBerry Bold from 15% to 95% before the battery ran out and that is about 65% efficiency based on a rating of 1600mAh. However, charging up a BlackBerry Z10 from 10% to full and still able to juice about 5% more for my other Z10, showed a efficiency of a little over 75%.
Because of the smaller capacity, its final efficiency/power really depends on the power draw of your device and whilst there is more efficient yet larger capacity powerbanks available out there in the market, the fact that finding one of such size, quality is not that easy. Having one in your bag for rainy days is not a bad idea, however, be sure to buy the right one, as you can’t share it with your friends using Apple devices (without an adapter) if you got the microUSB variant and vice-versa.