POWERBANK: A smart phone's new bestfriend

Many people say that change is the only thing permanent in this world. Well, I agree. We can never deny the massive change that we have witnessed through the years. Change is so evident in the Earth’s structure. Back then, there is only one piece of massive land called Pangaea, but now we already have seven continents and each of these have numerous states or even islands! Change can also be observed in the lifestyle of us, human beings. Before, we never cook our meals. We just eat them fresh and raw. But as time passed by, we learned how to make us of all the resources that surround us. We started to discover so many things, even fire. Besides discovering random things, we also started to invent things for our own comfort and luxury. This led to a very huge step in the development of technology. A good number of objects were invented by our fellow human beings. One of the oh-so-many things that made a huge impact in our lives is the cellular phone.

When I was younger, I remember that the most famous cellular phone was Nokia’s very own 3310. I still remember how happy my mom and dad were when they bought their very own 3310. It cost a hefty Php 5,000 that time. A few years later, when I was already 7 or 8 years old, several new models of these cellular phones were released. This time, it has cameras on it! Can you imagine that? A cellular phone with a camera on it! It was just so awesome to have that kind of phone during those times. And now after 10 years, smart phones are taking the lime light. These phones are a million times (that's an exaggeration) more awesome than those phones with cameras, I tell you. These phones have games in them (or applications, as what most people call them). And you can also connect to the internet using these. No need to use a bulky PC or even your laptop to check your Facebook notifications or tweet your current status. Yes, you may say that this thing is absolutely perfect, but when you already have one you’ll soon realize that you were absolutely wrong. You see the thing is, with all these features, smart phones are equipped with batteries meant to last a full day or two, usage and network status decide to a large extent just how long your device’s battery would last (Yang, 2013). If you are usually on the go, you might not have the time to recharge your smart phone and you won’t get to enjoy the things that your smart phone may offer.

Now the good thing is, nowadays there is thing called ‘powerbanks’. But what exactly is it? What does it do? A power bank is an external battery in a sealed case (Handel, 2013). Powerbanks come with a USB cable - you connect it to a power source such as a laptop to charge the powerbank. Some charge instead via flip out blades for plugging into the wall. In either case, you carry the charged up powerbank - and the cable - in your pocket, purse, backpack, briefcase or whatever and use it to charge the phone (using the same USB cable) when you see the battery meter sinking into the sunset (Handel, 2013). Battery packs also come in handy during this typhoon season when strong rains and winds wreak havoc on electrical lines and brownouts become an expected and regular occurrence.  Handy battery packs keep us connected to our loved ones especially in cases of extreme emergency (Yang, 2013).

Powerbanks are rated in mAh (milliamp hours), just like the battery in your cellphone ( Handel, 2013).  The higher the mAh, the longer talk, Internet or standby time it can give your device. For example, the iPhone’s built-in battery is 1,400 mAh. If you buy a power bank with the same mAh, then in effect you’re doubling your phone’s battery life since your power bank is capable of charging your device back to 100 percent. The higher the mAh, the thicker and heavier the power bank is.  Chances are, it is also pricier since you’re buying more power ( Yang, 2013).

In this generation of Ipads, tabs and smart phones, powerbanks are considered as miracles. It is really great that we already have this new technology. It may not be as complex as the others, but is sure is a witty invention! I can say this since I have my very own powerbank. It is also very handy since back in our place in Leyte, only offices and establishments have electiricity as of the moment. Households have no power supply yet. So what my mom does is that she charges the powerbank at the office and brings it back home for us to use for our phones and other gadgets.

Technology has indeed come a long way already. It has made our lives easier and more livable. We can never deny that it has made a great impact in our simple lives. And in the case of power banks, you will never have to worry again if your smart phone say this:

 

 

Or this (if yours is an Iphone).

 

 

 

References:

 

Yang, Tatin, 2013. When You Need To Power Up. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/112273/when-you-need-to-power-up. February 28, 2014. 

Handel, Jonathan, 2013. Power Banks (External Batteries) Review. HuffPost Tech. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-handel/chargers-and-power-banks_b_3665760.html. March 08, 2014.

 

 

 

Bea Cristine T. Ledesma

2013-64643