Intocircuit 11200mAh Portable Battery Mini-Review
Though they take up little space in your bag, a portable battery is a godsend for frequent travelers, or for those times you end up being away from a charging station longer than anticipated. A portable battery is only as useful as its ability to charge your phone, however, and there's one big downside with most portable batteries: you can't see how much charge they have left, or you have to guesstimate using a few LED indicators. Enter the Intocircuit 11200mAh battery — it has a built-in display showing the percentage of charge left, among other things.
This Intocircuit battery features a sleek brushed metal shell with a black rubberized plastic cap on each end. The bottom is smooth; the other end features two USB charging ports, a micro USD power port (for charging the battery itself), and a single powerful LED that serves as an emergency flashlight when needed. As the title suggests, the battery has an 11,200mAh capacity.
The battery looks larger than it is — you can hold it in one hand easily, and it'll fit in most pants/jackets pockets. You won't even notice it in your backpack, and probably not your purse, either. The top of the battery features the logo stamped on the metal, and a small display with a single button next to it.
Press and hold the button to turn on the display. Once on, it is illuminated by a bright blue backlight and shows the percentage of charge the Intocircuit battery has left. Press the button and immediately release it, and the LED light will turn on. The flashlight is about as powerful as an average LED penlight, more than adequate enough to find a cable at the bottom of your bag or the car keys you dropped in a dark parking deck.
The battery comes with a carrying bag made of material that feels like a cross between suede and velvet; it has just enough room to hold the battery and a USB cable, and is a welcomed addition to keep the battery from getting scratched. Though the packaging said the battery didn't include a cable, the Intocircuit did, in fact, include a small white charging cable — just long enough to reach from an outlet to the floor or counter top, so you'll want to use your own longer one in most cases.
The Intocircuit 11,200mAh battery functions exactly as advertised: it charges completely in a couple of hours, and recharges devices without overheating or having to be intermittently reconnected. The battery is not heavy, and the display makes it easy to see when you'll need to plug the battery back in to charge. The combination of durable construction, light weight, display, and attractive design makes the Intocircuit one of the better portable batteries in its class.
The battery is currently priced at $23 USD on Amazon.
