I've been looking into an external battery pack for my phone as a backup, partly because the phones I am considering buying in the very near future don't have replaceable batteries, and partly because a replaceable or even extended battery doesn't really guarantee I can get through a day.
My biggest fear and reason for wanting this battery is if I have little to no charge in the evening/night and can't manage to get a decent amount charged. Having a battery backup would make me feel more secure knowing I have something to keep my phone going even if I somehow end up away from a charger for an extended period of time, however irrational such a situation may be.
As such, I have been looking and found there are 3 different types of battery packs.
1) Built in Lithium ion (most common)
2) Replaceable lithium ion (ibattz mojo is the only example I can find)
3) AA based charger.
Now charger type 1 seems to be common, but overall the battery will lose charging capacity over time, not be replaceable, and will need to be tossed.
Type 2 and 3, the battery can be easily replaced, especially on the cheap. However type 2 can be smaller and slimmer, while type 3 has the benefit of using LSD NiMH batteries. For those who don't know. LSD is Low Self-Discharge in this case. A lithium ion battery dies every week or two just sitting there, LSD NiMH batteries can hold up to 75 or 85% of their charge even after a year of just sitting there.
Overall type 3 seems the most ideal. However there is another element. Some chargers have cables built in, while others have just a standard usb plug. At first I thought the USB plug was annoying and a built in cable made more sense. However after some thought, I realized the built in cables added too much bulk, and I found keychain cables, which make more sense. My favorite example of this, is the mojo treble keychain, which seems to do everything and then some.
So basically now I am looking for the best AA based charger that doesn't have any usb cable built in, just a simple full usb plug. The closest I can find is by energizer, but it has the plug built in on a super short cable that looks as if it would put undue stress on my phone if I used it.
However if anyone has any other suggestions, or reasons to recommend something else, I'd greatly appreciate any input. At this time I just want to find the most versatile option. I would also love to hear other reasons for why people went with options other than AA rechargeables for their battery packs.
My biggest fear and reason for wanting this battery is if I have little to no charge in the evening/night and can't manage to get a decent amount charged. Having a battery backup would make me feel more secure knowing I have something to keep my phone going even if I somehow end up away from a charger for an extended period of time, however irrational such a situation may be.
As such, I have been looking and found there are 3 different types of battery packs.
1) Built in Lithium ion (most common)
2) Replaceable lithium ion (ibattz mojo is the only example I can find)
3) AA based charger.
Now charger type 1 seems to be common, but overall the battery will lose charging capacity over time, not be replaceable, and will need to be tossed.
Type 2 and 3, the battery can be easily replaced, especially on the cheap. However type 2 can be smaller and slimmer, while type 3 has the benefit of using LSD NiMH batteries. For those who don't know. LSD is Low Self-Discharge in this case. A lithium ion battery dies every week or two just sitting there, LSD NiMH batteries can hold up to 75 or 85% of their charge even after a year of just sitting there.
Overall type 3 seems the most ideal. However there is another element. Some chargers have cables built in, while others have just a standard usb plug. At first I thought the USB plug was annoying and a built in cable made more sense. However after some thought, I realized the built in cables added too much bulk, and I found keychain cables, which make more sense. My favorite example of this, is the mojo treble keychain, which seems to do everything and then some.
So basically now I am looking for the best AA based charger that doesn't have any usb cable built in, just a simple full usb plug. The closest I can find is by energizer, but it has the plug built in on a super short cable that looks as if it would put undue stress on my phone if I used it.
However if anyone has any other suggestions, or reasons to recommend something else, I'd greatly appreciate any input. At this time I just want to find the most versatile option. I would also love to hear other reasons for why people went with options other than AA rechargeables for their battery packs.
