Anker Astro Mini charging an iPhone.
by D’land Hubby
Disclaimer: Anker donated the Astro Mini External Battery (3200 mAh) to Diva for review.
When at Disney I’m always using my phone. We use our phones to accesses our favorite wait time app, take pictures, text people in our party, take video, or to just check our email. It is not uncommon for either D’land Diva or myself to run through our battery fairly quickly while on a visit to Disneyland. In many cases, we have to shut down our phone(s) in order to save enough battery power to reach our car. But there is a solution, we use an external battery pack.
The Anker Astro Mini external battery is a very small battery pack. It is about the size of a lipstick container (just under 4″ long) and is very light weight (2.8 ounces). It is sold in a variety of colors. Each package comes with the external batter, a charge cable (USB to lightening), a small carrying pouch, and the various printed materials (i.e. directions).
When we received the battery and opened the package I started by charging the unit. The device may not come fully charged out of the box and it would be a good idea to fully charge the battery before using it in the parks. If the battery isn’t fully charged, the light indicator on the top will glow yellow when you press the button. When the battery is finished charging the light indicator will turn to green. The cable that comes in the box is a USB to lightning connector. To charge the device, I simply used the square plug for our iPhone to plug directly into an outlet. You can also charge the device using the USB plug on your computer or laptop.
After arriving at Disneyland, D’land Diva started taking lots of wonderful pictures and videos using her phone. We have an older (4S model) version of the iPhone so our battery drains easily. We’ve run our batteries down within an hour or two upon arriving at the park from time to time. After a few hours of constant use, D’land Diva’s phone was down to 35%.
We pulled out the Astro Mini battery from our bag. We brought one of our phone cables with us since the Anker cable was a lightening cable and not the older 30 pin cable. If we had one of the newer iPhones we could have just taken the Anker cable that was supplied in the box. We plugged in the phone to the battery using our 30 pin cable and pressed the button on the top of the device. It started charging immediately. Here is a breakdown of the time it took to charge the phone.
Useful device for life at Disney!
35%: Started charging the phone
47%: 15 minutes after start
62%: 31 minutes after start
93%: 1 hour and six minutes after start
Wanting to put the charger to the full test, I wanted to see if I could use the charger to also charge my phone. I was able to get a small charge (maybe 5-10%) but it didn’t have enough energy to bring me all the way back to life.
Here are the Pros and Cons of the device
Pros:
* Very small, the device will easily fit into your pocket, backpack, or purse. It doesn’t weigh much and will not pull you down.
* The pouch allows you to keep everything in one place and organized.
* It comes in a variety of colors (this is important for some people).
* It is easy to use.
* It will easily charge one device back to full strength.
Cons:
* It will not fully charge two devices that are heavily used.
* The device gets a little warm while charging (and so does our phone).
This is a great device and will easily fix your dead battery syndrome while at the parks. Your not going to have to worry about lugging around a huge external battery. You will also avoid having to stop to find a power plug until your phone gets back to full strength. You can charge your phone while your in line or in an attraction. If your on a multi-day trip, recharge the external battery when your in the car (with a car adapter) or back at your hotel. At a cost of $19.99, it can fit any budget and you can easily purchase multiple devices for different members of your family. DIVA TIP: Carry the external battery and cables in a zip lock bag to protect it from rain or while on the water rides.
If you are interested in purchasing the Anker Astro Mini, please click HERE!
If you would like to purchase an external battery with extra power, click HERE to see Anker’s vast assortment of external batteries for your phone.
