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Anker Astro E4 (Portable Charger) 2nd Generation, 13000mAh AUD$56.81 Delivered from Amazon

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Anker Astro E4 (Portable Charger) 2nd Generation, 13000mAh AUD$56.81 Delivered from AmazonAffiliate
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Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 17:39 amazon.com (596 clicks)
Last edited 18/10/2015 - 18:21
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Massive price drop on a highly regarded portable charger from Anker, a US company that specialises in power supplies and other smartphone accessories.

This model has two USB-out ports (to charge two devices simultaneously), carries more power compared to portable chargers with similar price, size and weight, and charges the fastest.

I've been keeping my eye on this model for a while but Anker typically doesn't deliver to Australia, keeping it from being cost effective until now.

Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.
Electrical & Electronics 13000mAh Anker Power Bank

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  • Plentiful3271 on 18/10/2015 - 17:57
    +2

    I like Anker stuff… but I just cannot understand why they ship some of their products to Australia and not others. e.g. you can't get their car chargers, their newer external battery lines, yet they'll ship this? I've contacted them about this and get brushed off every time. It's a shame, because I really like their products and would happily pay the postage.

    • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:14

      I agree – they also have some great USB 3.0 hubs that don't post out to Australia. Have you found any Australian websites that sell Anker? I will keep looking but I haven't found any.

  • mr kindface on 18/10/2015 - 18:01
    +3

    any advantages over a 16,000mAh xiaomi that's much cheaper?

    • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 18:11
      -1

      any advantages over a 16,000mAh xiaomi that's much cheaper?

      No. The ANKER multi-port chargers and these Power Packs are usually just re-branded Chinese products.

      • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:19

        Really? I thought they made their own products, and they certainly don't look like or have the same shape as any generic Chinese products that I've seen. But happy to be proven wrong, I've only started researching these things. Where did you learn that?

        • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 18:30

          Really? I thought they made their own products, and they certainly don't look like or have the same shape as any generic Chinese products that I've seen. But happy to be proven wrong, I've only started researching these things. Where did you learn that?

          No, all their stuff is made in China. They don't have their own factory.

          I purchased several of their multi-port chargers from Amazon, and had them forwarded via Shipitto.

          I also purchased some via AliExpress.

          All have failed.

          ANKER wanted serial numbers and receipts. They would not honour their warranty on the chargers purchased via AliExpress (although the serial numbers were present and correct). They would honour the warranty on the ones purchased via Amazon BUT wanted me to pay for the return shipping to the USA. The cost of shipping was prohibitive. So I ended up throwing all the chargers away in the recycling bin.

        • Clear on 18/10/2015 - 18:52
          +2

          Yep. Most of their stuff comes from the same factory. The 5 port USB charger from Anker is also the same as Blitzwolf and Tronsmart.

        • eug on 18/10/2015 - 20:38

          @A3Australia:
          One of the ports on my Anker multi-port charger died. I contacted Anker support and gave them the serial number and Amazon order number. They gave me the option of a replacement (mailed to a US address) or a full refund. I opted for the full refund, then repaired the port myself.

          They would not honour their warranty on the chargers purchased via AliExpress (although the serial numbers were present and correct).

          I wonder how they ended up on AliExpress. Did Anker supply it to the chinese resellers?

        • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 23:02

          @eug:

          I wonder how they ended up on AliExpress. Did Anker supply it to the chinese resellers?

          I think that the AliExpress seller must have obtained the stock from the same wholesaler who supplies ANKER.

          One of the ports on my Anker multi-port charger died. I contacted Anker support and gave them the serial number and Amazon order number. They gave me the option of a replacement (mailed to a US address) or a full refund. I opted for the full refund,

          They only gave me the option of me returning the Amazon supplied chargers to the USA at my cost, and then them posting the replacements to a USA address.

          I had sent them photos of the chargers with the faulty ports marked in red felt tip marker.

          then repaired the port myself.

          How did you do that? The units were plastic welded or at least glued together. Anyway, on some of mine 3 ports had failed.

        • eug on 19/10/2015 - 00:03

          @A3Australia:

          I think that the AliExpress seller must have obtained the stock from the same wholesaler who supplies ANKER.

          That sounds quite possible. If that were the case, it sounds like they bypassed Anker, so I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to deal with it.

          How did you do that? The units were plastic welded or at least glued together

          Nothing a spudger and mallet won't take care of. :)
          Just break the glued seams and it'll pop right out. It can then be glued back.

          Once inside, just replace the SMD fuses marked T1 on the left with a polyfuse or jumper them with fuse wire. All the ports share a common bus.

    • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:13

      I'm not an expert on these things but from the research I've done it looks like there can be big discrepancies in quality of the batteries and circuity used, affecting the amount of charge the battery can hold and the speed of charging, i.e lost current during a charge. There are websites that have tested and compared various units and I've never seen the Xiaomi ones mentioned, but neither are any other generic Chinese brands, for good or bad. That said, I'm sure the Xiaomi would be fine for lots of people, and it certainly is a lot cheaper, but for me, I'm happy to spend a bit more on something that I hope will last and do a better job. Anker prides itself on good quality power-related products. This model also has a nice design, is space efficient (small and light, compared to much heavier units from Mophie with the same size battery) and charging status lights. It also has the two USB ports which can charge at the same speed as a wall outlet (some portable batteries with multiple USB ports slow down when charging two devices at the same time as it can't provide full speed to both.)

      Keep in mind this model is more geared towards travel, i.e. multiple recharges of your phone or iPad from one full charge of the portable battery, because you might be using your phone more than usual, draining it more, have multiple devices, as opposed to even smaller, lighter portable chargers that are geared towards a single-charge to get you through the rest of the day, and get you home. My primary focus for this is travel. The daily-use one from Anker is the Anker Gen Astro 6400 (Second Generation) http://amzn.com/B00EF1OGOG but it doesn't post to Australia. Although the Astro E4 is probably only $10-20 more expensive (but it is physically larger.)

      • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 18:16

        Anker prides itself on good quality power-related products.

        The first lots of their 4-port chargers were terrible. They all failed one port at a time.

        • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:18
          +1

          Thanks for the info.

        • eug on 18/10/2015 - 20:40

          The original design used non-resettable fuses. They then updated them with poly fuses so they'll recover after a short.

        • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 23:04

          @eug:

          The original design used non-resettable fuses. They then updated them with poly fuses so they'll recover after a short.

          Yes, I was an early adopter - unfortunately. It cost me a lot of money wasted.

      • coxymla on 18/10/2015 - 18:45
        +3

        Gough Lui tears down a lot of power banks and posts the results:
        http://goughlui.com/category/power-bank-2/

        The Xiaomi ones are pretty good quality compared to other "no-name" Chinese brands, and some western rebrands of OEM Chinese products can be dire.

      • twocsies on 18/10/2015 - 23:32

        I've never seen the Xiaomi ones mentioned, but neither are any other generic Chinese brands, for good or bad.

        Xiaomi is not a generic Chinese brand of power banks. Xiaomi is the world's fourth largest smartphone maker. Its power banks are regularly ranked in the rankings of power banks.

        http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/mobile-phone/20-best-…

        The only problem with Xiaomi power banks was cheap knock-offs, but their current system of scratch off security codes seems to be working.

        Just to be sure I wasn't crazy, I googled "power bank ratings". Of the first six results, we can see that there are plenty of lists that cover both, some that cover one and not the other, and some that cover neither. There are simply too many different brands of battery packs to claim that one is not good just because we haven't heard of it or seen a review.

        PCAdvisor.co.uk 20 best for 2015: both Xiaomi and Anker
        gizmodo.com.au: Neither Xiaomi nor Anker
        powerbankreview.com: Neither Xiaomi nor Anker
        digitaltrends.com: 30 best: neither xiaomi nor anker
        heavy.com: top 10: both xiaomi and anker
        top10bestpro.com: No Xiaomi but Anker

        • Clear on 19/10/2015 - 09:04
          +1

          XiaoMi don't actually make the power banks though. They're actually rebranded ZMI power banks. I can't remember if ZMI is owned or invested by XiaoMi.

        • twocsies on 19/10/2015 - 14:53

          @Clear: Apparently XiaoMi owns ZMi. Is it all part of the "mi" umbrella? The font seems very similar between Xiaomi and ZMI. Apparently ZMI power banks sell on Xiaomi's site mi.com.

          The Xiaomi batteries come from LG or Samsung. And the chips are from Texas Instruments. I like Xiaomi power banks, but the large capacity ones do take hours to recharge.

        • Clear on 19/10/2015 - 15:06
          +1

          @twocsies: XiaoMi buys or invests in other companies to make their products. XiaoYi is invested by XiaoMi to make their camera range and the packaging carry "yi" instead of "mi". Huami is another company invested by XiaoMi that sell their OEM fitness band as the MiBand.

          It's a smart way of doing business and part of the reason why they're so successful.

  • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 18:38
    +1

    Look at the size.

    Allow for the ports and the circuitry.

    I would not be believing the claim of 13,000mAh - certainly NOT at 5v.

    Not even at 3.7v

    I think it would be better to buy a Xiaomi product.

    In fact, unless you plan to carry this in a backpack or to only use it perhaps when camping etc. I would get a thinner lighter unit such as the Xiaomi 5,000mAh or the JustOne that claims to be 6,000mAh.

    • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:47

      I was using information gathered from this website:

      http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-battery-pack-trave…

    • mr kindface on 18/10/2015 - 19:04
      +1

      they're definitely big enough to hold 5 x 18650 cells + circuitry, you could very easily get 13000mAh at 3.7 at least.

      • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 19:18

        they're definitely big enough to hold 5 x 18650 cells + circuitry, you could very easily get 13000mAh at 3.7 at least.

        Yes, I have been looking around and saw this 5 battery one:-

        http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2pcs-lot-18650-power…

        and this:-

        http://www.aliexpress.com/item/hotsale-DIY-8X18650-Power-Ban…

        and others. So I agree.

        However, this unit is just far to big and heavy for portable use - unless you had it in a backpack with a long cable. Or, of course, if you were to use it when camping - away from a vehicle or other power source.

        The new lighter thinner portable power pack/banks use Lithium Polymer battery packs.

        I have purchased several Xiaomi 5000mAh units, and a couple of the JustOne 6,000mAh ones.

        I strongly recommend both the Xiaomi 5,000mAh and the JustOne 6,000mAh units.

        The JustOne are similar in size to the Xiaomi, but a little shorter in length. They are more expensive, even when on sale. I don't know if I believe the 6,000mAh rating, they don't give exact details of how they came to that rate/figure. Xiaomi says they test/rate at 3.7volts. However, in actual use, the JustOne does appear to have 10%-20% more 'charge' than the Xiaomi.

  • A3Australia on 18/10/2015 - 18:41

    OP Jesmond - what exactly is your planned use for this type of device?

    I have all the Xiaomi Power Banks and several others, such as the Super Slim JustOne, and some counterfeit small slim Xiaomi (that are also sold under other brand names).

    I believe that I may be able to advise you on the best device for your needs.

    • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 18:47

      Thanks, will e-mail you.

      • eug on 18/10/2015 - 20:43

        If you type it here, everyone else can benefit too.

        • Jesmond on 18/10/2015 - 22:43

          OK. I messaged A3 privately. I'll let A3Australia post their own reply, but my question was that I am interested in a charger specifically for travelling, i.e., one that can last for a few recharges, not minding if it's a bit larger, 1-2 days without access to a wall charger.

          The recommendation was the JustOne 6,000mAh units.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2015 - 20:21

    Anker anf zerolemon are overrated. In once put a 7500mah battery in my Samsung phone. The battery capacity reported by Ampere was 3500 mah. So yeah.

    • eug on 18/10/2015 - 20:46

      Is Ampere accurate for that?
      More importantly, how was your battery life after a few charge/discharge cycles?

      • twocsies on 18/10/2015 - 23:52
        +1

        Ampere says on the info for the app: "The app is not meant to be mA accurate. It is only good for evaluate which Charger/USB cable combo is working the best for you on the same device." The bold text is as they have written it in bold. In other words: "Please don't use the readings on this app as concrete science. However, the readings are good enough to relatively measure how various chargers and USB cables fair on the same device."

        https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gombosdev.…

        But actually Ampere doesn't have a battery capacity feature, as far as my past experience, plus what I searched for in the app or its website. It shows mA, voltage, but not a way to track the mAh of an external battery bank.

        Maybe he's talking about AnTutu Tester or another app? Or alternately, maybe he used an ammeter and tracking software on a laptop. I would be interested to know.

  • umoddbro on 18/10/2015 - 23:53
    +1

    I think I'll stick with my trusty Xiaomi chargers.

    • ak47992 on 19/10/2015 - 02:37
      -1

      I totally agree with you, Xiaomi is good. However, there is a risk of getting fake products from unfamiliar websites. And it is very dangerous to use fake chinese produces.

      • A3Australia on 19/10/2015 - 19:29

        I totally agree with you, Xiaomi is good. However, there is a risk of getting fake products from unfamiliar websites.

        There don't seem to be any fakes of the 5000mAh model.

        Also, not of the 10,000mAh model so far - although there are fakes of the previous 10,400mAh model.

        And it is very dangerous to use fake chinese produces.

        Indeed, I was present when a fake Xiaomi 10,400mAh one went up in smoke.

      • eug on 19/10/2015 - 20:16
        -1

        However, there is a risk of getting fake products from unfamiliar websites.

        mushtato.com.au. Local, and no risk of getting a fake. They have a very good reputation here on OzB. Their 16,000mAh one is $49.95 delivered. Last month they had it on special at $39.95.

        • ak47992 on 20/10/2015 - 05:04
          -1

          Did I mention about mushtato ??
          I just want to let you know that there are many oversea companies sell fake power banks.

        • eug on 20/10/2015 - 09:11
          +1

          @ak47992:

          Did you mention overseas companies??

          No.

          You said there is a risk of getting fake products from unfamiliar websites.

          Just use a familiar website then, like the one I mentioned.

  • Navgsc on 19/10/2015 - 02:43
    +1

    I have used this Anker power bank every day since 2013 and I am super happy with the quality and performance!

    • A3Australia on 19/10/2015 - 19:30

      Yes, but it is too big, too heavy, too expensive.

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