Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Lepow Poki, Moonstone and Virtue external chargers: Style and staying power



As soon as I opened the box I liked the Poki. It has a grey felt carrying wallet-like case which held the battery charger, the user guide and its charging cable.

The charger itself has a smooth ergonomic design with curved edges and rounded corners - unlike most of the box-type chargers I have seen. Three colour choices and a matte finish make a nice change to most other power banks that are available in black or silver.

To check the battery level, stroke the bar on the top of the Poki. Ten blue light segments indicate how much charge is left on the power bank. The charge output of 2.1A means that it happily charges my Lumia 1520 at full speed and the phone does not show the "slowly charging" warning.

The Poki 5000mAh weighs 4.94 ounces and the 10,000mAh weighs 7.69 ounces - about the same as the Lumia. It is a similar size too. The soft case is almost large enough to hold the phone as well as the power bank.

The short dark grey ribbon charging cable is slightly too long to fit in the carry case comfortably - my only gripe about the device.

This is a lovely charger for anyone who wants style, performance and functionality from their tech gadgets.

Lepow Moonstone 6,000 mAh - $24.99

Like the Poki, the Moonstone also has its own grey felt woollen carrying wallet to hold the charger and cable. The Moonstone white ribbon charging cable is much longer than the Poki at about 22 inches, but it coils nicely in the carrying wallet.

The Moonstone case is available in high gloss lacquer in four bright colours, white and black. Pressing a button on the case shows an LED battery indicator which shows up to four lights.

The case is nicely curved and would fit snugly in a larger hand than mine. I could just curl my fingertips around it. It weighs 8.8 ounces and feels solid and well made.

What I really like about this charger is that it will charge two devices at the same time. This is such a brilliant idea for those of us who are out with a bag full of gadgets. The downside of this is that you will need to carry two cables with you in the wallet.

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This is a great charger to have if you like brightly coloured devices that you can carry in your hand. it is also really useful for whenever you need to charge two devices at the same time.

Lepow Virtue 9,000 mAh - $24.99

After unboxing the Poki and the Moonstone, I was a little disappointed to discover that the Virtue did not also have a felt charging wallet. As the Virtue heart has just been released, perhaps this is an oversight by Lepow.

There is no carrying case which means that the cable has to be carried separately. The boxy two colour design is reminiscent of a flip top packet of cigarettes and the join between the two colours begs you to try and flip the case open.

Although angular in shape, the style is much more funky and retro than other square chargers I have used. It is also really bright orange which makes it easy to see amongst desk and 'bottom of bag' clutter.

Touching the 'Instruction Area' in the top corner above the brand name displays an LED heart blue light which shows the amount of charge remaining. This heart flashes as the power bank is being recharged showing how much more charge is needed.

Its 9,000mAh battery gave my Lumia almost three full charges each taking a couple of hours. At 11.2 ounces it was the heaviest of the Lepow chargers I tried.

This is a nice stylish chunk of a charger with an eye-catching and pleasing style.